Two years later in 2004, Huang graduated from the Academy and became a professional voice actor. Before Huang's breakout role two years later, he had several small roles in different TV series. In the year of 2006, Huang participated in director
Ning Hao's
low-budget black comedy film
Crazy Stone, which proved to be a
runaway hit and garnered him much exposure. In 2007, Huang won his first major award, for Best Supporting Actor at the 7th
Chinese Film Media Awards. Moreover, his performance in the film
Cow won him the Best Actor award at the 46th
Golden Horse Awards. Huang was considered one of the top actors in China in 2010. During the two years between 2010 and 2011, Huang performed in 5 films, and also started his music career. In 2012, Huang's comedy film
Lost in Thailand became the top-grossing domestic film at the Chinese box-office. He also starred in the suspense film
Design of Death, which earned him Best Actor awards at the
Beijing College Student Film Festival and
China Film Directors' Guild Award. In 2013, Huang starred in
Stephen Chow's
shenmo blockbuster film,
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons playing
Sun Wukong. He appeared for free in the comedy film
The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel directed by
Guan Hu, and the noir film thriller ''
No Man's Land'' where he played a killer. With his films, Huang became the top-grossing actor of 2013. In 2014, Huang starred in
Peter Chan's film on child-abduction,
Dearest as a devastated father whose son was abducted; which earned him Best Actor nominations at several film awards. The same year he starred alongside
Xu Zheng in the comedy film
Breakup Buddies, which became one of the top-grossing domestic films at the Chinese box-office. On January 30, 2014, he appeared on the 2014 CCTV Spring Festival Gala and sang "My Requirements Are Not Too High" while walking. In 2015, Huang co-starred in the fantasy blockbuster
Mojin: The Lost Legend, which became one of the highest-grossing films in China. In 2017, Huang won the
Golden Goblet Award for his performance in the crime film
The Conformist. The same year he headlined the science fiction film
Battle of Memories. In 2018, he launched his directorial debut
The Island, also known as "A Good Play". In 2019, it was announced that Huang will play
Jiang Ziya in the upcoming fantasy film series
Fengshen Trilogy directed by
Wuershan. The film is based on the novel
Investiture of the Gods. In August 2021, the first solo album,
Songs Saved for You Over the Years, was released. On November 25, 2023, the new drama "Crossing the Sea of Anger" directed by
Cao Baoping and starring Huang was released. On June 19, 2024, the film "A Man and a Woman" starring Huang was premiered in the main competition section of the 26th
Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Jubilee Awards. ==Personal life==