A star shaped by science

China's heartthrob channels his engineering mind and true past to forge his own path to fame, Xing Wen reports.

Most people know British comedy legend Rowan Atkinson as the bumbling Mr Bean, but few realize he holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from Oxford University. His journey from circuit boards to global comedy fame is rare but not unheard of.

In China, a Generation Z actor has taken a similarly unexpected path from science to stardom: Zhang Linghe, once a Nanjing Normal University electrical engineering student who devoured sci-fi novels, obsessed over astrophysics and tinkered with electronics. But his 6-foot-3 (190.5 centimeters) frame and photogenic face landed him his first online drama role in 2019.

What began as curiosity soon became a calling — today, Zhang is one of China's rising stars, known not just for his appearance but for his introspective and evolving performances.

"My first acting experience? I was completely clueless. Everything on set felt so fresh," he recalls.

It was precisely this sense of freshness that later drew him to acting.

"I never wanted a conventional 9-to-5 job," he explains.

"Getting to live as a new character every few months, collaborating with different actors and directors, never gets old."

Now, he has become a well-known actor with over 14 million followers on social media platform Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to X, and 1.72 million followers on Instagram.

Zhang's latest drama Our Generation is currently streaming on Youku — a project he considers the "turning point" of his career.

Set in a small town in the 1990s, the series follows a group of teenagers navigating friendship, family expectations, and self-discovery. Zhang plays Jiang Qiaoxi, an introverted boy forced to bear the weight of his family's hopes after the early death of his mathematically talented older brother. Pushed into intense Olympiad math training, Jiang grows up brilliant but emotionally stunted.