1.
Dearest (2014)
Role:
Li Hongqin
Zhao Wei made her screen debut in the 1994 Chinese film ‘A Soul Haunted by Painting,’ directed by Huang Shuqin. Following her debut, she went on to star in films like ‘Penitentiary Angel’ (1995), ‘East Palace, West Palace’ (1996), ‘Déjà Vu 2000’ (1999), and ‘The Duel’ (2000). In 2001, she starred as ‘Ah Mui’ in the Hong Kong sports comedy film ‘Shaolin Soccer,’ directed by Stephen Chow. The film received positive reviews from critics and performed well at the box office, grossing over US$42.8 million on a US$10 million budget. She next starred as ‘Sue’ in the 2002 Hong Kong action film ‘So Close,’ directed by Corey Yuen. The film opened to a positive reception and holds an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That same year, she also played the role of ‘Ah Feng’ in the Jeffrey Lau-directed Hong Kong mo lei tau musical film ‘Chinese Odyssey 2002.’ She next starred in films such as ‘Warriors of Heaven and Earth’ (2003), ‘Green Tea’ (2003), ‘Jade Goddess of Mercy’ (2004), ‘A Time To Love’ (2005), ‘The Postmodern Life of My Aunt’ (2006), and ‘The Longest Night in Shanghai’ (2007).
She portrayed ‘Sun Shangxiang’ in the 2008–2009 Chinese epic war film ‘Red Cliff,’ directed by John Woo. The film was released in 2 parts with its second part being released in 2009. ‘Red Cliff’ received positive reviews from critics and was a major commercial success, grossing over US$250.1 million on a US$80 million budget.
In 2008, she appeared in the supernatural-fantasy film ‘Painted Skin,’ directed by Gordon Chan. The film grossed over ¥227 million at the box office. Wei continued to star in films like ‘Red Cliff II’ (2009), ‘Mulan’ (2009), ‘14 Blades’ (2010), ‘Eternal Moment’ (2011), ‘LOVE’ (2012), ‘Painted Skin: The Resurrection’ (2012), ‘Dearest’ (2014), ‘Hollywood Adventures’ (2015), ‘Lost in Hong Kong’ (2015), ‘Three’ (2016), ‘The Light of Tiny Love’ (2018), and ‘No.7 Cherry Lane’ (2019). She was last seen in the 2019 comedy film ‘Two Tigers,’ directed by Fei Li.
