Cover of《电视朋友》

电视朋友, Dian Shi Peng You magazine published an interview with Zhang Zhehan in their July 7, 2016 issue. He was featured on the cover.

Zhang Zhehan: A man both warm and full of fighting spirit

As one of Yu Zheng’s key leading men, Zhang Zhehan can be said to be one of the hardest workers in the industry. Barely halfway through 2016, three of his shows have gone on the air: ACG Hero, Decoded and Demon Girl, while another show Above the Clouds is waiting in the wings, and a reality show, Amazing Race Season 3, also being anticipated. And his latest work is the pop show Castle in the Time filmed with popular Korean celeb Park Min-young.

When it comes to work, Zhang Zhehan is very hardworking and has gained the moniker “Hardcore” and “Crazy” as a result; and when it comes to personality, he’s a very warm, caring person, opinionated but friendly, taking care to take the feelings of others into account. This is Zhang Zhehan, shining brighter and brighter all the while, building up his fanbase little by little, so that it seems only a matter of time before he reaches the top.

interview for 电视朋友, Page 1

Quick Q&A:

What’s the perfect breakfast for you?

ZZH: A bowl of really warm soup noodles (because I’m having stomach issues lately).

Of all your mobile apps, other than WeChat and Weibo, what’s the most frequently used one?

ZZH: App for watching sports.

Usually what’s the last thing you do before bed?

ZZH: Checking my phone.

What’s the most insane thing you’ve ever done?

ZZH: Cycling to Tibet.

A recent book you’ve read that you think is decent?

ZZH: «天才在左，疯子在右» 高铭

Your favorite actor and singer?

ZZH: Actor would be Robert Downey Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio; singer would be Jay Chou.

What’s the one thing everyone should do before they die?

ZZH: Travel around the world.

What’s your biggest strength and weakness?

ZZH: Strength is bravery; weakness is I’m a little stubborn, a little crazy, so that if I decide on something I’d stick with it to the end.

He’s everywhere—in your ipad and on your TV screen

interview for 电视朋友, Page 2

I feel like you’re a one of the key talents for your agency—after you filmed The Legend of Banshu, this time you’re cast as the male lead in the high-budget online show Demon Girl; what are your advantages over your competitors? What types of special traits do you think convinced your agency to put so much faith in you?

ZZH: First of all I really want to thank my boss Yu Zheng and his appreciation for my talents. In the Demon Girl I play the lead Ming Xia, a man whose love remains undaunted by the wealth gap or the gap between humans and demons—he never gave up on love even though his girlfriend was half demon, and he was willing to make sacrifices as a man.

Ming Xia is a dedicated, persistent romantic hero and I too, am very dedicated and persistent when it comes to people and events in my life, so that I think I’m fairly close to Ming Xia in terms of personality.

Ming Xia is a wealthy society presence who ends up being very dedicated to love; this type of character is very popular with fans. What do you think is the key to playing this character well?

ZZH: I think in order to play any role very well, the key is to understand the key personality traits of this character and try to put yourself into the shows of that character, to feel what that character would feel, to think and act like the character — this is how you create roles that conform to your artistic intentions. Demon Girl is a love story and there are a lot of scenes with me and the female lead getting together, being separated and coming back together again, with a lot of tragic scenes, so we designed a ton of tearful scenes, and I felt my tears dry up I cried so much at one point. Since I started working, this is probably the one show where I cried the most.

In the show, you fell in love with the “Half-Demon,” if there’s a half-demon in real life, would you break boundaries in order to be with her? Even if your parents object and people talk?

ZZH: If I fell in love with a girl who’s a “half-demon”, I suppose I’d stay true to my love, because when you love someone, in that instant, you’re crazy, you’d choose to give her everything and sacrifice for her, and love overcomes your reason.

In this new show, the female lead, Li Yitong is a newbie; how does it feel to film with someone so new to the world of film? Would you share your acting tips with her?

ZZH: Li Yitong is a very good actor, and I had a lot of surprises in filming with her, lots of chemistry too. She has her own way of acting and puts her entire heart into it. I’m not sure if I’d call them tips but we’d exchange our views on the characters and the script, so we’re learning from each other really.

You worked in Decoded, a spy drama, which is currently being broadcast on Hunan TV right now, and in that show you play the heartless hero, Han Bin, who’s an amazing shot. How do you view this character?

ZZH: Han Bin’s parents were killed by enemy spies, so he carries a personal vendetta in addition to being motivated by patriotism in his role as a Unit 701 Member (a top-secret Chinese intelligence agency). His tragic past keeps him aloof on the outside, but on the inside he’s a passionate, principled man dedicated to justice; he’s the kind of guy who appears to keep everyone at arms’ length on the outside but in fact has infinite capacity for human bonds on the inside.

After this, you have a drama set in the modern day, Above the Clouds, standing by for broadcasting. Can you briefly introduce this work to us?

ZZH: Above the Clouds is a television show created by Yu Zheng, and the storyline is set in the modern day. I play a pop singer Ke Luo, and I have a lot of scenes opposite Yuan Shanshan because my character solves a lot of problems for her character. Perhaps that’s one of the key highlights of the show—hope the audience will like this character that I created.

He’s Everywhere—in TV shows and variety shows

“Wishing TV Friend Magazine a brighter tomorrow! Wishing readers happiness and health!"

Other than TV shows, you also have really shone in variety shows, such as China-Korea Dream Team where you received the moniker “Crazy Variety Show Star”, and right now the Amazing Rice China 3 is landing in front of you. Have you felt that your ability to shine in variety shows have improved?

ZZH: Amazing Race China 3 is more focused on personal bodily strength, your personal strength is the basis for the competition, and really the focus is testing your grit and team spirit. Maybe it’s because I’m a Taurus, I’m pretty dedicated and committed and that may conform well to the show’s central tenet of “keep going and don’t give up” spirit.

In this season of Amazing Race China, the other contestants are Liu Xiang, Guo Jingjing and other Olympic champions, with your reputation for sports, do you feel extra pressure from facing off such competitors?

ZZH: I feel honored competing with Olympic champions, there were times during the filming of the show when I feel tired, but I was always excited and I’ve always felt it was okay as long as I did my best.

Guo Jingjing and Guo Qigang are a celebrity couple of competitors. In your view, do they act as if they are from wealthy families? Or do you think that they act just like regular people?

ZZH: Jingjing-jie and Qigang-ge are very nice people, very kind and friendly.

In the last two seasons of the show, many of the teammates end up having disputes in the course of carrying out their missions; do you have that issue with Zhang Sifan?

ZZH: The show’s game setting push personal endurance, both body and mind, to the limit. Sifan and I at the beginning of our partnership needed to work out a way of working together, with our differences of view, but after partnering for a while, we began to understand each other better and better so our cooperation became smoother as a result. In order to win, we both did our best, and to accommodate each other and work in tandem is really key to our success.

You’ve said before that you’d like to go on a show like a celebrity dating game show (a genre of reality show where celebs pretend to be dating each other and go on dates/make up scenarios where they spend time together as fake couples), because you’re at age where you should be dating—did you ever raise this request with your agency? I feel like you’ve never been rumored to have dated anyone, and it’s said that you have a steady girlfriend, is that true?

ZZH: I think it’s really a matter of chance, I believe in trusting to the fates. I believe that day would arrive, and I’ll share with everyone when that happens.

Other than TV shows and variety shows, career-wise, what other fields would you like to step into?

ZZH: At the moment I’d like to stay primarily focused on filming, but I also like to sing in my spare time and sometimes I record theme songs (ost) for TV shows. I hope I’ll have a chance to put out an album one day, haha.