How Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu rose from rookie to starlet – and misses time with her family
Star of the film ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’, directed by Zhang Yimou, is seeking to achieve a better work-life balance, and says time with her parents is always on her mind
This story was originally published in XXIV magazine 2018
Best Actress Golden Horse Awards winner Zhou Dongyu is not content to sit still. Famous director Zhang Yimou discovered and cast her in his film Under the Hawthorn Tree, which was released in 2010 when the 18-year-old was still in high school.
An outstanding debut performance sealed her Huabiao Award for Outstanding New Actress. The perpetually-busy actress says work and life are equally important to her. “They are both my top priority and I want to achieve a work-life balance,” she says.
Zhang, a prolific director responsible for launching the careers of Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, has never been reticent about giving opportunities to unheralded actresses. But it took guts for him to trust in his instincts and pick an untrained actress, criticised for being “wet behind the ears”, as the heroine in a cast of thousands (no pressure there).
In playing the character of Jing Qiu, Zhou showed a rare ability to portray her unspoken crush with beguiling naivety. She crafted the movie’s most heart-warming moments, prompting critics to suggest that Zhou did far more than play the role of Jing Qiu well – that Zhou was Jing Qiu.
In 2016, she acted in director Derek Tsang’s cultural movie Soul Mate, which secured her the Best Actress prize at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards, followed by a Forbes’ 30 Under 30 acknowledgement.
“Time keeps a record of our lives and careers. Every year is a milestone,” says the actress, who is known to be a keen traveller. “If I had more time, I would love to learn a few new languages.”