Fong Sai-yuk In 1992, Hong Kong film producer
Corey Yuen went to
Beijing Sport University to find a martial artist to play the role of the antagonist for his 1993 film
Fong Sai-yuk. Yuen found Zhao through the latter's instructor and was immediately impressed with Zhao. Initially, Zhao was uninterested, but Yuen insisted on offering him the role because he had "the skill and looks." After further encouragement from peers and mentors, Zhao accepted the offer and shooting began in the same year. but under the instruction of Yuen and other directors, he learned the easiest way to "look evil". He said, "The director told me: Chiu Man-cheuk, when you look at people, don't look at them like how you usually do. You must look at them from the corner of your eyes with your profile facing them. That way, you will look evil." During filming, Zhao also enrolled in acting classes for three months.
Fong Sai-yuk was released in March 1993 and became a box office hit in Hong Kong, grossing HK$30,666,842.
Once Upon a Time in China After only a month into the filming of
Fong Sai-yuk, contract problems between
Tsui Hark and
Jet Li caused Li to back out from the fourth installment of the
Once Upon a Time in China saga. Tsui met Zhao on the set of
Fong Sai-yuk and was impressed with Zhao's performance that he quickly recruited Zhao to replace Li in playing the role of
Wong Fei-hung. Tsui also encouraged Zhao to sign a three-year contract to be a full-time actor, but Zhao rejected the offer, stating that he felt that his education was more important. Zhao continued to devote himself to filming during school vacations for
Green Snake (1993) and
Once Upon a Time in China IV (1994). During filming for Green Snake, Zhao was hung high up in the air during a stunt with two steel wires supporting him but during an incident one of the steel wires broke and Zhao stated that if the other wire were to also break that he could have lost his life as well. Zhao was ultimately very frightened especially after filming this scene. During the filming of one of the Wong Fei Hung movies, he seriously injured his ankle to the point where it hadn't healed until the year 2012. He stated that some of the bones in his ankle still hasn't healed yet and that before this injury he was okay with doing the majority of his stunts even jumping from third or second story high buildings. The injury has also affected his flexibility as well. Although
Once Upon a Time in China IV grossed less in the box office than the first three installments, it was significant enough to continue the franchise with a fifth installment,
Once Upon a Time in China V (1995). While shooting a scene, Zhao slipped during a fighting sequence and injured his head. He was rushed to the hospital and got stitches. He recovered quickly and shooting continued after several weeks.
Once Upon a Time in China V was Zhao's last role as Wong Fei-hung in the films, as Jet Li returned for the sixth and last installment,
Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997). Zhao continued playing Wong Fei-hung in the television drama
Wong Fei Hung Series, also produced by Tsui Hark. The series was aired on
ATV in Hong Kong for two years and received high ratings (although
Wong Fei Hung Series: The Final Victory only had moderate ratings).
1997–1999 In 1997, Zhao signed a management contract with China Star, a Hong Kong talent agency, after which he began to work on more films, such as
The Blacksheep Affair (1998),
Body Weapon (1999) and
Fist Power (1999–2000). Many considered him as "the next Jet Li".
2000–2010 Zhao's contract with China Star ended in 1999, and he decided to turn his focus to the mainland Chinese market in hope of making more money (probably due to economic differences), working on television series and films such as
The Sino-Dutch War 1661,
Wind and Cloud and
Seven Swordsmen. In 2006, Zhao returned to Hong Kong and began working on
The Master of Tai Chi, produced by
TVB. During an interview concerning his career and the transition from movie actor to television actor. He said tactfully "at the beginning of the transition, my heart felt like it was in a uncomfortable state." Reviews for Zhao's performance in television series were mixed, and many criticized him for giving up big productions and the silver screen. Zhao explained: "I never took professional acting classes. The only thing I could do back then were sports and martial arts. In order to train myself, I must accept more television series to touch up my acting." While working on
The Master of Tai Chi, Zhao was given a script for a new martial arts film and he accepted the lead role. Zhao signed with Hollywood agency CAA in 2006 with help from
Jackie Chan. He was originally selected to play the lead villain in
Rush Hour 3, but the role was eventually given to
Hiroyuki Sanada. After spending one year and a half in America, Zhao returned to
Beijing and went into an obvious physical breakdown. In September 2008 he returned to Beijing to prepare for his next film,
True Legend.
True Legend opened up to mixed reviews and was a failure at the box office. It nevertheless won the Best Asian Action Movie award. In April 2010 Zhao joined
Sacrifice's star-studded cast and was only given a minor role.
2011–present Zhao starred alongside
Yang Mi,
Louis Fan,
Xu Jiao and Dennis To in the 2012 martial arts fantasy film
Wu Dang that was directed by Patrick Leung, written by Chan Khan, and action choreographed by
Corey Yuen. On 19 January 2012, in a press conference held in
Beijing, it was announced that Zhao would be starring with
Donnie Yen in the film
Special Identity. However, on 29 February, Zhao left the production due to changes in the script by Yen. Since March 1, 2017, Zhao is employed as Health Qigong ambassador. In 2021, he joined the cast of
Call Me By Fire as a contestant. ==Personal life==