In 1999, Fan made his film debut with a minor role in
Male Sorority Director. His first main role in a movie came with the
Spring Subway, alongside
Xu Jinglei, Geng Le,
Zhang Yang and Wang Ning. In 2003, Fan's performance in the
comedy film The Parking Attendant in July which earned him Best Actor at the 28th
Montreal World Film Festival and 11th
Beijing College Student Film Festival and was nominated for
Best Actor at the
Golden Rooster Awards. That same year, he got a small role in
Feng Xiaogang's
comedy-drama film
Cell Phone. Fan had key supporting role in the 2004
A World Without Thieves, an action drama film starring
Andy Lau,
Rene Liu,
Ge You,
Li Bingbing, and
Wang Baoqiang. In 2007, he appeared in the comedy film
Lucky Dog, which earned hi a Best Actor at the 9th
Chinese Film Media Awards and received nomination at the 23rd
Golden Rooster Awards. That same year, he co-starred with
Liu Ye,
Gao Yuanyuan, and
Qin Lan in
Lu Chuan's drama film
City of Life and Death. In 2008, Fan was cast in
romantic comedy film
If You Are the One, opposite
Ge You,
Shu Qi,
Alex Fong Chung-Sun,
Feng Yuanzheng and
Vivian Hsu. He won the
Students' Choice Award for Favorite Actor at the 16th
Beijing College Student Film Festival for his performance in
Set Off. Fan had a small role in the 2009
historical drama The Founding of a Republic. In 2010, for his role in ''Brothers' Happiness'', Fan won the Audience Favorite TV Actor at the 25th
Golden Eagle Awards and Most Charismatic Actor at the 16th
Magnolia Awards. In 2011, Fan portrayed politician
Li Yuanhong in the
propaganda film The Founding of a Party. He played the title role in the comedy film
Crazy Dinner Party, co-starring
Huang Bo,
Monica Mok, and
Liu Hua. He played a lead role as Priest in the comedy film
Guns and Roses, alongside
Lei Jiayin,
Guo Tao and
Tao Hong. He played the role of Kong Lingxue in
Tracks Kong Lingxue, for which he earned Most Brilliant Actor at the 3rd
China Image Film Festival in
London. In 2012, he played Lao Ma, the lead role in
Feng Xiaogang's
Back to 1942. In 2013, Fan was cast as a lead role in the
Huayi Brothers's production
Personal Tailor, costarring
Ge You,
Bai Baihe,
Li Xiaolu and
Zheng Kai. Fan was cast in the fantasy-adventure-comedy film
Monk Comes Down the Mountain (2014), playing the teacher of
Wang Baoqiang's character. In 2016, he landed a guest starring role in the comedy film
I Am Not Madame Bovary, a film adaptation based on the novel
I Did Not Kill My Husband by novelist
Liu Zhenyun. He took the lead role in the drama film
Someone to Talk To, which also adapted from Liu Zhenyun's
novel. In 2017, Fan earned critical acclaim for his performance in the black-and-white film
Mr. No Problem, for which he earned
Best Leading Actor at the
53rd Golden Horse Awards, Best Actor at the 7th
Beijing International Film Festival, and received Best Actor nominations at the 11th
Asian Film Awards, 25th
Beijing College Student Film Festival, and 9th
China Film Director's Guild Awards. In 2019, he was cast in the
crime film Hunt Down, playing the father of
Jiao Junyan's and husband of
Chen Shu's characters. He was nominated for
Best Supporting Actor at the
12th Macau International Movie Festival. Fan starred opposite Liu Haocun and
Zhang Yi in
Zhang Yimou's drama film
One Second. He also appeared in
Love You Forever, opposite
Li Yitong and
Lee Hong-chi. In 2021, he starred in the
war film Railway Heroes with
Zhang Hanyu,
Vision Wei,
Zhou Ye and
Yu Haoming. In 2023, Fan starred in
The Long Season, which earned him the International Competition: Best Actor at the 18th
Seoul International Drama Awards and Best Actor at the 32nd China Television Golden Eagle Awards. == Personal life ==