Best actors in East Asia
These are the best actors in East Asia, this list has only people who work in Asia and not from Asia to Hollywood.
List activity
54 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
20 people
- Taiwan
- Actor
- Director
- Music Department
Leon Lai won the 2002 Taiwan Golden Horse Award for Best Actor for his outstanding performance in the highly acclaimed horror film, Three, where he portrayed an obsessive husband trying to revive his dead wife with Chinese medicine. In 2003, he appeared in the final installment of the high profile franchise that created a box office sensation all over Asia and international markets, Infernal Affairs 3. He recently starred alongside Asian pop diva, Faye Wong, in Leaving Me, Loving You, a story and script he created and wrote.
Leon Lai was born in Beijing and brought up in Hong Kong. After returning to Hong Kong from his studies in England in 1985, Leon Lai entered himself in the 5th annual singing contest and won 3rd place. His potential was immediately recognized and thus began his performing career. He made his breakthrough in 1990 with his first album, becoming an immediate hit, and ultimately winning him¡°Best Newcomer¡± in the Hong Kong annual music awards. He went on to release many albums which all achieved record breaking sales, earning him the nickname ¡°4 Heavenly Kings¡±, along with Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok, a new nickname for the HK King of Pop position left vacant after Leslie Cheung retired from the music scene. While making record breaking albums, Leon Lai also starred in numerous popular TV dramas and over thirty five films. His acting was finally recognized in Comrades: Almost a Love Story starring opposite of the fabulous Maggie Cheung, in which he earned nominations for Best Actor in both the Hong Kong Film Award and the Taiwan Golden Horse Award.
A versatile performer, Leon Lai has achieved sensational success in both singing and acting. He has also shown his talents behind the camera, directing several of his own music videos throughout the years, mixing contemporary settings with special effects. Other notable film works include: Heroic Duo, City of Glass, and Fallen Angels.China mainland- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Sanjar Madi was born on August 4, 1986 in Almaty, Kazakhstan in an ordinary family. In May 2011, Kazakhfilm Studios sent him to New York Film Academy in Los Angeles to study film directing. In November 2011, he returned to LA to continue studying in acting. In 2016 he won the Hollywood Immersive Program contest among 5000 actors all over the world and flew to Los Angeles to upgrade skills in Beverly Hills Playhouse and after performed in Skylight Theater. He is a member of an international stunts team Nomad Stunts.Kazakhstan- Actor
- Additional Crew
Tatsuya Fujiwara was born on 15 May 1982 in Chichibu, Japan. He is an actor, known for Battle Royale (2000), Battle Royale II (2003) and Death Note (2006).Japan- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Nan Xing Li was born on 7 November 1964 in Singapore. He is an actor and producer, known for C.L.I.F. (2011), The Ultimate Winner (2011) and The Tutor II: League of Kings (2018). He was previously married to Emily Yeo.Singapore- Won Bin, born November 10, 1977 in Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, South Korea, is a popular actor. He is the youngest of five siblings (two older brothers and two older sisters). While growing up in Jeongseon County, Won Bin initially planned to become a car mechanic, but in 1996 entered an audition for cable TV company Je-il Broadcasting and won. In 1996, Won Bin made his television debut on the KBS Super Sunday variety show "Our Story". Won Bin's acting career then began in earnest with the KBS drama series "Propose" - Won Bin played a character on the short end of a one-sided love affair. His popularity quickly increased while appearing in several more youth orientated dramas - MBC's "Ready, Go!" and KBS's "Kwangki". His appearance in the 2000 KBS weekend drama "Tough Guy's Love" further gained more fans for Won Bin. He then shot to stardom with his popular role as Tae-seok in KBS's "Autumn in my Heart" - with his famous line "Eolmamyeon Doae?" (How Much?) becoming a much imitated slogan by his fans. Won Bin then made his move acting debut in the 2001 film "Guns and Talks" (Killerdeului suda). Three years later Won Bin would star in the action / war blockbuster "Taegukgi," which still ranks as one of the all time highest grossing films in South Korea. Won Bin then placed his acting career on hold while serving his two year mandatory military requirement, beginning in November, 2005. Won Bin was discharge early on June, 2006 due to an ACL injury to his knee. Won Bin would go through a year of rehab. His acting career then resumed in Joon-ho Bong's highly anticipated 2009 film "Mother". Won Bin played Do-jun, a young man with limited mental capacity who becomes accused of a murder. The film would screen at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival before opening #1 at the South Korean box office on May 28th, 2009.South Korea
- Qu Chuxiao is born in Meishan, Sichuan. He's graduated from The Central Academy of Drama in 2017. In 2016, he has his first drama appearance in "Wo De Peng You Chen Bai Lu Xiao Jie" and received a nationwide welcome. Later, he performed in one of Chinese biggest Sci-fiction Movie "The Wandering Earth" and another huge historic production "Ru Yi Zhuan". In 2018, he starred a leading role in the Chinese drama "Bloody Romance" which was well received nationwide and overseesMainland China
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Johan is a Macanese actor. He was born in Sweden in 1984 , became an actor in China in the early 2010s and then became actor, writer and director in Macau.
In the early 2000s Johan began with low productions to get an early start. In 2004 he went to film school in Copenhagen in Denmark. Then from 2006 to 2008 He went to Canada to work in independent films and web series that was popular to do in the 2000s.
In 2009 Johan got his first professional movie breakthrough in China for the Movie Last Kung Fu Monk (2010). In this Movie He played the role of the Russian Mafia Boss Oleg, he is the villain who want the hero to fight for him in a club. The Movie got released in October 2010.
In his debut Johan enjoyed working in China and continued working there for 6 years.
In 2010 he worked together With a Hollywood star from Taiwan named Winston Chao in the TV drama Tian xing jian (2011), a history drama about Xinghua University, in this drama he had a A small role of an American Council man with an attitude. The drama got released in April 2011 but only released on television.
In 2011 he worked for Ningxia Film Group in the Movie The Resistance (2011). In this Movie he played the role of the German Nazi Commandant named Schultz, who come to visit and Co work With the Japanese army in China during World War II in 1940. The Movie got released in November 2011 and was nominated for special screening at Cannes film festival on 17th May 2012, and Best Asian Film Awards in 2013. On DVD the movie became Top seller in TFAW comic con in USA, The Resistance got 6th place in the Top 20 list of 2013.
From 2012 to 2014 he continued working in China With TV dramas, he is mostly know as the foul mouth U.S. Lieutenant named Collins in the war drama Da jue ze (2012), he is the first Actor who Said the Word Sh**t in a Chinese TV drama.
From 2013 to 2014 he was selected for a 150 million dollars TV drama Marriage Cuisine (2014), the drama is a Co production With China, Hong Kong, and South Korea. In this Drama he was suppose to play a French professor but during a lunch break the Director Jiangang Yan listening to a conversation between Johan and The leading role player Lixin Zhao and heard they both spoke Swedish to each other. The director liked the language and told them to change the language to Swedish, and the role changed from professor Jean to professor Johan. The Drama got released Around Asia September 2014, and was viewed by over 200 million people.
During his 6 years in The industry Johan got The name Li Shuai, in Chinese it means Handsome soul. Because he was very polite to all his workers and was friend With everybody including The stunt men and extras, Johan has become good friend with actors like Jeremy Marr Williams and Lei Chen.
In the 2020s during the pandemic, Johan got contacted with a small movie company in Macau to co work with them in several movies. Johan is the first director and actor who represents Macau on a worldwide event film festival. In 2021 he made his first leading role in the movie The 21st Creator (2021) and he also directed and wrote and starred in the Macanese Blade Runner movie The Edge of Human (2022) and current he became nominated at the 2023 BCT Benevento Cinema e Televisione Awards for his latest film Return to Earth (2023) and is the first not native born Macanese actor who has proudly represented Macau three times in a world event.Mainland China (foreigner)- This Montreal-born actor holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the Actors Studio Drama School and is a Law graduate from the University of Montreal. His past service in the Canadian Army Reserve as a soldier in the Infantry complements his artistic nature and reflects concurrent aspects of his personality. Thai-Hoa is a community organizer in Vancouver and is intent on being called to the bar by 2025. Although he considers North America to be his base, he has ventured into Asia as well: In 2010, he was invited to go back to Vietnam, the land of his ancestors, and join the prestigious cast of Pearls of the Far East (Ngoc Vien Dong) by Cuong Ngo, a milestone in Vietnamese art-house cinema. Thai-Hoa then garnered legions of young fans there, as he was seen by millions in the 2013 "wuxia" epic Lady Assassin 3D (My Nhan Ke). His exposure has increased tenfold since his portrayal of General Nhuan opposite Jennifer Lawrence and Peter Dinklage in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). You will see him next alongside Zac Efron and Russell Crowe in "The Greatest Beer Run Ever" by director Peter Farrelly (2018 Oscar-win for "Green Book") and Skydance.Vietnam (foreigner)
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Baljinnyamyn Amarsaikhan is a Mongolian actor and producer, known for Thief of the Mind (2011) and Trapped Abroad (2014).Thief of the Mind (or Mind Thief) produced by Amarsaikhan and directed by Janchivdorj Sengedorj won the Grand Prix for Best Film in 2011 during the Mongolian 2012 Academy Awards with Amarsaikhan also winning the award for "Best Lead Role - Actor" during the same event. The film also won Best Supporting Role, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay and Best Sound Editing. Amarsaikhan was honored for his "valuable commitment in the development of the Mongolian film industry" at the event. He appears in Marco Polo, a television drama series about Marco Polo's early years in the court of Kublai Khan; Amarsaikhan plays Ariq Buke. The show premiered on Netflix in December 2014. The series is produced by The Weinstein Company.Mongolia- Mario Maurer was born on 4 December 1988. He is an actor, known for Rak haeng Siam (2007), Pee Mak (2013) and Jan Dara: The Beginning (2012).Thailand
- Roy Sungkono, born in Jakarta, Indonesia. Towards the end of high school, Roy began his career in show business in Indonesia, starring in a number of films including Dilan 1991 (2019) as Bang Fariz, Alas Pati: Hutan Mati (2018) as Rendy, Ananta (2018) as Tama, Yasmine (2014) as Ali, and Dilema (2011) as Ronny. Aside from films, Roy also acts in several television soap operas and series such as Nada Cinta (2011) as Rendra, Cowokku Super MNCTV (2014) as Karel, Julaiha Princess Betawi (2016) as Midun, and Gara-Gara Duyung (2016) as Surya.Brunei
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Shun Oguri was born on 26 December 1982 in Tokyo, Japan. Shun is an actor and director, known for Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Gintama 2: Rules are Made to be Broken (2018) and Two Homelands (2019). Shun has been married to Yû Yamada since 14 March 2012.Japan- Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School. Later, he joined Kee Kuk-seo's influential theater company with its emphasis on instinctive acting and improvisation, which proved to be Song's training ground. Although regularly approached to act in films, he always turned down the opportunity until taking a role as an extra in Hong Sang-soo's The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well (1996). In the following year, after portraying one of the homeless in Jang Sun-woo's docu-drama Bad Movie (1997), he gained cult notoriety for his scene-stealing performance in Neung-han Song No. 3 (1997) as a gangster training a group of young recruits, winning his first Best Actor award.
Since that time he was cast in several supporting roles before his high-profile role as Han Suk-kyu's secret-agent partner in Kang Je-kyu's blockbuster thriller Shiri (1999). In early 2000, Song became a star with his first leading role in the box office smash The Foul King (2000), for which he reputedly did most of his own stunts. But it was with his award-winning role as a North Korean sergeant in Joint Security Area (2000) that Song has come to the forefront as one of Korea's leading actors. Song also starred in Park Chan-wook's Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), which centers around a father's pursuit of his daughter's kidnappers.
In 2002 Song starred in another major production by Myung Film titled YMCA Yagudan (2002), about Korea's first baseball team, which formed in the early 20th century. He came to international attention with the film The Host (2006), which reunited him with director Bong Joon Ho. With Snowpiercer (2013), his third collaboration with Bong, he made his debut in an English-language film with international theatrical distribution.
In 2008 he starred in Kim Jee-woon's film The Good the Bad the Weird (2008), where he played Tae-goo, the motorcycle-riding, walther-wielding counterpart to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"'s Tuco.
In 2015, Song Kang-ho works on 'The Throne', a period drama of palace intrigues par excellence and whose film is nominated that year for best non-English-language film and costumes at Satellite awards. Already in 2016 he makes his fourth collaboration with Korean director Kim Jee-woon and is none other than the critically acclaimed film "The Empire of Shadows." A period drama with a background of espionage intrigue with a very good technical bill.South Korea - Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer, and actor. He has been active since the 1980s and to the present. He is considered one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong. Kwok's onstage dancing and displays is influenced by Michael Jackson. While most of his songs are in the dance-pop genre, he has experimented numerous times with rock and roll, ballad, rock, R&B, soul, electronica and traditional Chinese music.Hong Kong- Ulan Sultangaziev is known for Jamgyrdan Kiin (After the Rain) (2019), Munabia (2017) and Salvador Dali (2021).Kyrgyzstan
- Singapore
- Mark Prin Suparat was born on 19 March 1990 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He is an actor, known for Eclipse of the Heart (2023), Nuea mek song: Mue prap chom khamang wet (2012) and Two Worlds of love (2014). He has been married to Kimberley Ann Woltemas since 14 September 2023.Thailand
- Actor
- Producer
- Stunts
Iko Uwais was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Maisyaroh and Mustapha Kamaluddin. His grandfather, H. Achmad Bunawar, was a master of silat, an Indonesian traditional martial art, and founded a silat school. Iko himself has been learning silat since he was 10 years old. He became National Champion in 2005 in Silat Demonstration category. Iko's talent as a martial arts actor was discovered by Welsh film Director, Gareth Evans, who visited Iko's Silat school for a documentary in 2007. Evans then asked Iko to quit his daytime job as a driver in a telecommunications company and join Evans' movie production company as the leading actor in his movies.Indonesia