Up close with the man behind Xue Buhui

Zhang Haiyu, a 28-year-old actor who has quickly risen to fame as one of the freshest rising stars on screen.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

Rewarding experience

Born in Qingdao, a coastal city of Shandong province, Zhang had lots of hobbies as a child.

He studied classical guitar for two years and dreamed about becoming a professional athlete in basketball or table tennis.

But what attracted him most was acting. He recalls being good at mimicking singers and actors on TV from childhood. From high school, Zhang was determined to become an actor. But he wasn't accepted to be an acting major at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing.

In 2012, he graduated from the academy with a bachelor's degree of performance production.

He joined many competitions on campus, which allowed him to present himself onstage.

Before graduation, Zhang got his first break by performing five different minor roles in the Chinese version of the Broadway musical Avenue Q, which toured around China for over 100 performances.

The Tony Award-winning show is a puppet-filled comedy, which follows a group of adults struggling with their big city lives.

"When I auditioned for the roles, I competed with students who majored in musicals. I barely knew what a musical was then," says Zhang. "I guess I won the opportunity because I had a good sense of acting. The result turned out to be good."

He says Avenue Q was both exhausting and exciting. During each show, he kept running to change costumes and to interact with people in the audiences.

It was a rewarding experience, which taught Zhang to do improvisation onstage and polished his techniques of making audiences laugh.

However, he didn't continue his acting career after graduation. Instead, he worked at a performance production company in Beijing.

"I often doubt myself. The job with Avenue Q won lots of praise from my peers but I was not sure if it was just my good luck or my real talent in acting," Zhang says.

He spent a year with the production company before deciding to get serious as an actor. So he quit his job and joined in some small drama productions.