2011–2013: Rising popularity In 2011, Lin rose to fame with the hit drama
Scarlet Heart, playing the role of
14th Prince Yinti. In 2012, Lin co-starred in
xianxia drama
Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky, which was extremely popular during its run and raised his profile. In 2013, Lin successfully made his crossover to film with his role in
Tsui Hark's
Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon. He was nominated for the Best New Actor award at the 33rd
Hong Kong Film Awards.
2014–present: Commercial success In 2014, Lin starred in youth romance film
My Old Classmate with
Zhou Dongyu. The film was a commercial success, and won the Jury Prize at the 21st
Beijing College Student Film Festival. The same year, he starred in crime action film
Black & White: The Dawn of Justice; and reunited with Tsui Hark in the period action film
The Taking of Tiger Mountain.
The Taking of Tiger Mountain was a success, becoming one of the
highest-grossing films of all time in China with US$150 million. In 2015, Lin was cast in Chinese historical drama
God of War, Zhao Yun, based on the Chinese novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He plays General
Zhao Yun, who falls in love with a girl named Xiahou Qingyi (played by
Girls' Generation's
Im Yoona). The drama premiered in April 2016, and reached viewership ratings as high as 2%, and recorded more than 10 billion hits through various Chinese online videos sites. The same year, Lin headlined action comedy
For a Few Bullets and martial arts film
Sword Master. He also featured in
Zhang Yimou's historical fantasy epic
The Great Wall. In 2017, Lin starred in
Stephen Chow's
Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, playing
Sun Wukong. The film grossed $239.5 million, becoming the highest-grossing film among the
Journey to the West novel adaptations. The same year, he starred in historical action drama
Princess Agents. The drama was a massive hit, and Lin gained renewed recognition for his portrayal of the male lead, Yuwen Yue. In 2018, Lin reprised his role as Shatuo Zhong in
Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings, the third installment of the
Detective Dee film series by
Tsui Hark. In 2019, Lin was cast in the crime suspense drama
Lost and Love as a policeman. In 2022, Lin starred in the romance and fantasy drama
The Legend of Shen Li, which was aired on March 18, 2024, on Hunan Television, Tencent Video, and Mango TV. This drama was also Lin and
Zhao Liying's second collaboration after their first drama
Princess Agents in 2017. ==Filmography==