2015–2018: Career beginnings In 2015, while still in his first year of university, Lin Yi was discovered by the agent and signed with
Tangren Media Co. Ltd. In 2016, during his summer vacation abroad, he received education in professional training in dance and performance. In 2017, he participated in the
casting of the youth campus web series
My Huckleberry Friends and auditioned for the male lead, Lin Yang, but ultimately failed. In May 2017, Lin Yi participated in
Youku's idol reality show
Beautiful Youth Academy as a cast member. During the show's acting class, he restored the clip from the film
Mr. Six by
Feng Xiaogang. After the acting class, Director Feng recognized Lin Yi's acting skills and said he would become a good actor. On November 7, 2017, he participated in
Youku's fashion variety show
Crazy Wardrobe and won the 6th championship with 41 votes. In December 2017, he was confirmed to star in the scifi film
Hope Island with
Duan Yihong and
Andy García.
2019–present: Rising popularity at the fan meeting in
Bangkok on 20 May 2019 In 2019, Lin Yi started gaining increased attention and popularity with his role as Gu Wei Yi in the romantic comedy web series
Put Your Head on My Shoulder, which is based on Zhao Qianqian's novel of the same name. The series has gained a cult following both in China and overseas, and Lin Yi's portrayal of Gu Wei Yi has received favorable reviews, making him popular. On May 20, 2019, Lin Yi and his co-star
Xing Fei held a grand fan meeting in
Bangkok, Thailand, where thousands of fans gathered. Also, Lin Yi was featured in the May issue of ''
Harper's Bazaar Hong Kong
. In November 2019, he was nominated for the "Best Actor Award for Chinese Contemporary TV Dramas" at the 26th Huading Awards with the series Put Your Head on My Shoulder''. In December 2019, he was honored with the "Youth Trending Artist of the Year" award at the
Tencent Video All Star Night and the "New Actor of the Year" award at the 4th Golden Blossom Internet Film and Television Awards. On October 1, 2020, the song "
My Motherland", a tribute to the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China sung by Lin Yi together with other artists, was released. On January 29, 2021, the costume adventure fantasy web series
The Blessed Girl, starring
Zhao Jinmai and
Yuan Hong, was launched on
Tencent Video, in which Lin Yi plays the aspiring young monarch, Yuan Yi. On April 28, the web series
Love Scenery was aired, in which Lin Yi co-stars with
Xu Lu and plays the role of Lu Jing, an e-sports anchor. In October, he joined
Zhejiang TV's variety show
Keep Running: Yellow River Season 2 as a cast member. On December 27, he was selected into the 2021
Movie Channel "Starry Oceans" Young Actor Selection Program. On April 2, the film
One Week Friends was released, in which he co-stars with
Zhao Jinmai and
Shen Yue and plays Xu You Shu. In September 2023, Lin Yi visited South Korea to hold 23 meet-and-greet events for the upcoming film
One Week Friends. On December 14, the
time-travel and suspense web series
Derailment was aired on
Youku, with Lin Yi co-starring with
Liu Haocun and portraying Qi Lian. On March 1, 2024, the web series
Everyone Loves Me, starring Lin Yi and
Zhou Ye, was broadcast on
Youku and aired on March 19 on
Netflix. Lin Yi plays Gu Xun, a reserved guy who unknowingly falls for the girl he rejects. On June 8, the TV series
The Tale of Rose starring
Liu Yifei was broadcast, in which Lin Yi plays He Xi, a young pilot whom the heroine has a crush on. In August 2025, Lin Yi was announced to star opposite
Lu Yuxiao in the modern romance drama
When I Meet the Moon, based on the novel of the same name by Zhu Yi. ==Filmography==