Chen Kun

Chen Kun, also credited as Aloys Chen, is a Chinese actor, vocalist, and producer born on February 4, 1976. He gained widespread prominence through television dramas such as Love Story in Shanghai and The Story of a Noble Family, as well as acclaimed feature films including The Knot and Painted Skin. Over his career, he has earned prestigious accolades such as the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actor and the Huabiao Award for Outstanding Actor, alongside a nomination at the Golden Horse Awards. He has also been featured multiple times on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list.

Born in Chongqing, Chen was initially raised by his maternal grandmother before returning to live with his mother at age eleven. Following his parents' divorce, he took on part-time employment during high school to assist his family, working as a municipal typist and performing as a vocalist in night clubs. Guided by his vocal trainer, he joined the China Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble in 1995. The following year, he enrolled at the Beijing Film Academy to study acting.

Chen made his screen debut in the 1999 film The National Anthem. He quickly established his television career through hit series including Pink Ladies and the adaptation of The Story of a Noble Family. In 2002, he earned global attention starring in the romantic film Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. His subsequent performances in feature films such as A West Lake Moment and The Music Box garnered him early critical acclaim and accolades in the mid-2000s.

His lead role in the 2007 romantic film The Knot secured him the Huabiao Award for Best Actor and a Golden Rooster Award nomination. He gained further recognition with the 2008 fantasy title Painted Skin, winning a Hundred Flowers Award. In 2010, Chen founded his own management agency, K Pictures. He subsequently took on varied roles in major productions, including Let the Bullets Fly and Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, in which his performance in dual roles marked a key milestone in his career. His later film credits include Painted Skin: The Resurrection, Qian Xuesen, Bends, Mojin: The Lost Legend, Chongqing Hot Pot, and The Yinyang Master.

In 2018, Chen returned to small-screen acting by co-producing and starring in the television series Lost in 1949 and The Rise of Phoenixes, followed by the 2022 series The Wind Blows From Longxi. Parallel to his acting career, Chen has released three full-length music albums and performed numerous soundtrack titles. He is also a published author whose autobiographical essay collection, Suddenly Walked to Tibet, earned him a spot on the China Writers Rich List.

Chen initiated the health and environmental walking charity Power to Go in 2011 and has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for China. He has represented major national and international commercial brands, and his wax figure was added to Madame Tussauds Shanghai in 2012. In his personal life, Chen has a son born in 2002 and has publicly discussed his personal experiences with depression during the mid-2000s.