The ＂cold world＂ in the original entertainment circle is reflected in the 54-year-old Sun Honglei.

All the contents stated in this article have reliable information sources, which are detailed at the end of the article.

Text | Xin Xin

●—? Foreword? —●

In 2024, Sun Honglei, 54, seemed to "disappear".

On social media, there is little news about him. Occasionally, there are photos of his wife and daughter vacationing overseas. He is fat and smiling, and he is completely unaware of the arrogance and domineering of the "big brother" of that year.

At one time, he was a rare powerful actor in the entertainment circle in mainland China. From Liu Huaqiang in Conquest to Yu Zecheng in Latency, his classic characters are still "Bai Yueguang" in the audience’s mind.

However, in recent years, he rarely appeared on the big screen, and was replaced by the gag "Yan Wang" in variety shows.

What made the former "film emperor" gradually fade out of the audience’s field of vision?

●—? From scavenger boy to break dance king? —●

In 1970, Sun Honglei was born in a poor family in Harbin. As the youngest son in the family, his arrival did not bring much joy to this already poor family, but aggravated the burden of life.

In order to support three children, the mother had to borrow money everywhere, and even pulled her face down to pick up junk.

As a child, Sun Honglei witnessed too many hardships in life, and also deeply realized that it was not easy for his mother. In order to reduce the burden on his family, he followed his mother in every corner of the city at an early age and rummaged through the "treasures" discarded by others.

Sun Honglei, who was "afraid of poverty", planted the seeds of "making money" in her heart early. When she was in junior high school, break dancing was popular all over the country. Looking at her peers who were sweating on the stage, Sun Honglei saw hope.

He practiced his dancing skills hard and finally became the most dazzling "dancing king" in Harbin nightclubs, earning over 10,000 yuan a month and even having a special car allocated by the company.

At that time, Sun Honglei was in high spirits. He finally made his mother and family live a good life by his own efforts, but the night life of being intoxicated with money also made him see the darkest side of society and even passed by death several times.

Confused, Sun Honglei made a bold decision: he applied for the Central Academy of Drama. At the age of 25, in order to make up for the lack of appearance, he lost 36 pounds in a month, and finally knocked on the door of the performance hall as an auditor.

In Chinese opera, Sun Honglei especially cherished the hard-won learning opportunities. He trained hard and eventually graduated with the first grade in his class. This experience also laid a solid foundation for his future efforts in the entertainment industry.

●—? Ding Jiali is an important person in his life and a passer-by? —●

After graduation, with the dream of being an actor, Sun Honglei plunged into the highly competitive entertainment circle.

However, the reality has given him a blow, with no outstanding appearance and strong background. Despite his excellent acting skills, he can only walk on in various crews, with a meager salary, and live a hopeless life.

Just when Sun Honglei was lost in confusion and self-doubt, Ding Jiali appeared.

At that time, Ding Jiali was already a "big sister" in the entertainment industry, holding many heavyweight awards such as Golden Rooster Award and Golden Lion Award, while Sun Honglei was just a little-known actor.

One is a radiant shadow queen, and the other is an unknown newcomer. This 11-year-old sister-in-law relationship was not favored by the outside world from the beginning.

But Ding Jiali still plunged into it and tried his best to pave the way for him.

In order to win the role for Sun Honglei, Ding Jiali lowered herself, begged for help everywhere, and even knelt down to the director. With her help, Sun Honglei finally ushered in a turning point in her career, and successively appeared in many hit dramas such as Fog Like Rain and Wind, and Military Songs Loud, and began to emerge in the entertainment industry.

It’s a pity that this relationship didn’t end with "the prince and princess live happily ever after" like a fairy tale. As Sun Honglei became more and more famous, the gap between them gradually appeared. In the end, this relationship ended in breaking up, leaving only a feather in the ground.

Many years later, looking back on this relationship, Sun Honglei once admitted that he "made a mistake that any man would make".

Ding Jiali, on the other hand, regarded this relationship as a "robbery" in his life, and he couldn’t let it go for a long time.

●—? From "Movie Emperor" to "Variety Coffee"? —●

After breaking up with Ding Jiali, Sun Honglei devoted more energy to performing arts.

In 2003, a police drama "Conquest" made him popular overnight. In the drama, Liu Huaqiang, the underworld boss he played, was ruthless and domineering, and the phrase "Is this melon ripe?" became a buzzword in the streets.

The success of Conquest gave Sun Honglei a taste of "overnight fame" and pushed him to the peak of his career.

Subsequently, he successively appeared in several film and television works, such as Seven Swords, Half-way Couple, Mei Lanfang, etc., and by virtue of his outstanding performance in the spy war drama "Latency", he won the best actor in three major TV drama awards, namely the Flying Award, the Golden Eagle Award and the Magnolia Award, and became a veritable "three-material emperor".

However, just when his career was in full swing, Sun Honglei made an unexpected decision: to enter the variety industry. In 2014, he participated in the reality show Extreme Challenge as a resident guest.

In the program, Sun Honglei changed the image of "big brother" on the screen in the past, showing multiple personalities such as "funny", "cunning" and "childish", and formed the "extreme men’s gang" with Bo Huang, Huang Lei and others, which contributed countless jokes and made countless circles.

The success of the variety show made Sun Honglei gain a high popularity, but it also caused some doubts.

Some people say that he is "doing nothing", leaving a good actor to do nothing and running to the variety show to "get money"; Some people say that he is "exhausted in Jiang Lang" and can only rely on variety shows to maintain his popularity.

In the face of doubt, Sun Honglei did not explain too much, but continued his choice. He reduced the filming of film and television works, devoted more time and energy to variety shows, and actively tried to invest in many fields, and gradually established his own business map.

Sun Honglei is not unaware of the doubts from the outside world. He knows that the vitality of an actor lies in his works, not variety shows, but when he tries to transform, he encounters an unprecedented bottleneck.

In 2010, Sun Honglei starred in the historical film The Warring States. This time, he changed his old image as a tough guy and challenged the resourceful strategist Sun Bin.

However, after the film was released, it was criticized by the audience. Sun Honglei’s performance was also accused of "overexertion" and "unconvincing".

The failure of "The Warring States" made Sun Honglei realize that the label of "acting like a big brother" has become the biggest obstacle to his transformation. He began to reflect on whether the audience was tired of aesthetics or he really "could not act".

In 2016, the TV series "Mr. Good" was broadcast, in which Sun Honglei played a Michelin-starred chef. In the drama, he still had a bit of "big brother" piqueness and Jianghu spirit, but he was unexpectedly integrated with the role without any sense of disobedience.

The success of "Good Sir" made Sun Honglei see hope. He began to try more different types of roles, hoping to tear off his label and broaden his career.

However, the broadcast of the TV series "Take Dad to Study Abroad" in 2019 once again brought him back to his original shape. In the play, he played a "national father" who had broken his heart. However, the deliberate appearance of being tender and the excessive performance made the audience feel embarrassed.

After repeated attempts at transformation, it was only one after another that failed. Sun Honglei began to doubt whether he could return to the original state of "acting like what".

In 2021, Sun Honglei returned to the screen with his new work "Sweeping the Black Storm". This time, he returned to the "big brother" route familiar to the audience and played the role of the deputy head of a task force to eliminate evil.

This TV series, which brings together many powerful actors, is sensitive in subject matter and bold in scale. In the end, it failed to become Sun Honglei’s "turnaround work". Although the ratings have been rising all the way, the audience’s comments on Sun Honglei are mixed.

Some people say that Sun Honglei and body of work have performed a role that is both positive and evil to the fullest; It is also said that Sun Honglei’s acting skills have regressed, but he still can’t get rid of the shadow of "black boss".

After Sweeping the Black Storm, Sun Honglei once again faded out of the audience’s sight. He occasionally participated in some variety shows and spent more time with his family and enjoying life.

●—? Can the "Yan Wang" in Vanity Fair still find his original heart? ? —●

Apart from the ups and downs in his career, Sun Honglei’s love life has also attracted much attention. He has had affairs with many female stars, the most sensational of which is his "love triangle" with Gong Li and Yao Chen.

Although Sun Honglei has never publicly admitted his love affair with Gong Li and Yao Chen, these scandals have brought him many negative effects, especially the "ambiguous" rumor with Yao Chen, which once plunged him into the whirlpool of public opinion.

In 2014, Sun Honglei married his 15-year-old girlfriend Wang Jundi. After the marriage, he devoted more time and energy to his family and became a famous "wife-doting maniac" in the entertainment circle.

However, while Sun Honglei was enjoying his family happiness, a sudden "immigration storm" once again pushed him to the forefront.

In 2022, some netizens broke the news that Sun Honglei bought tens of millions of luxury houses in Sydney, Australia, and went on vacation with his wife and daughter many times. As soon as the news came out, it immediately triggered a hot discussion among netizens.

Some people question that Sun Honglei "worships foreign things and flatters foreigners", while making money at home, while trying to emigrate overseas; Others believe that everyone has the right to choose their own life, and stars are no exception.

In the face of doubt, Sun Honglei chose silence. He neither admitted nor denied it, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Sun Honglei’s life is full of legends, from the scavengers to the king of break dancing, from the spectator of Chinese opera to the "three-material emperor", from the variety "Yan Wang" to the "disappearing movie emperor". He has experienced poverty and suffering, and also enjoyed flowers and applause.

However, after years of immersion in vanity fair, he seems to have lost his way. He is eager for transformation, but he has repeatedly hit a wall. He tried to prove himself, but he got deeper and deeper.

Today’s Sun Honglei has long passed the age of "knowing his destiny". He has wealth, fame and family, but only lost his original pure love for acting.

Maybe it’s time to stop and think about what you really want.

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