Guo Cheng (郭丞)

Guo Cheng is the ultimate “character actor“ who spent years being “drama-famous but person-unknown“ — until a wordless role finally made audiences sit up and take notice. He first gained recognition as the sharp-tongued Lan Jingyi in the 2019 phenomenon The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling). But it was his 2025 performance as a deaf-mute thief in the crime drama The Sparrow (Huang Que) that truly announced his arrival. To prepare, he shaved his head, lived in a school for the deaf for three months, practiced sign language over six hours daily, and wrote a 30,000-word character backstory — all for a role that had only three lines of description in the script. His dedication paid off: audiences flooded social media asking, “Who is that mute boy?” and critics hailed his performance as proof that he had torn off the “traffic star“ label for good.

Breakthrough Role Guo‘s breakthrough came in two acts. The first was Lan Jingyi in The Untamed — a lively, outspoken disciple of the Lan clan, famously dubbed “the one not even 4,000 family rules could restrain“. The role made him a recognizable face. But his true breakthrough as a serious actor arrived with The Sparrow in 2025. He played Xiao Chun, a hearing-impaired car mechanic with no spoken dialogue throughout the entire series. Guo immersed himself completely: he learned sign language to the point of accidentally using it to order food, designed seven distinct layers for a single hand-off scene, and delivered a performance that moved the entire crew to silence. The role went viral and finally brought him the widespread recognition that had eluded him despite previous roles alongside stars like Wang Yibo and Mei Ting. He has since continued to showcase his range — as the goofy “Big Mouth“ in Run for Young (Feng Quan Shao Nian De Tian Kong), the impulsive Cheng Wei in The Returned Daughter (Hui Lai De Nv Er), and the chillingly duplicitous Su Changlin in the 2025 historical suspense drama Chang‘an Twenty‑Four Counts (Chang‘an Er Shi Si Ji).

Public Perception Guo Cheng currently occupies a fascinating space in the industry: he is widely respected as a craftsman who treats every role, no matter how small, with obsessive dedication. His journey has been one of slow, steady accumulation rather than overnight stardom. After The Untamed blew up, he turned down all variety show invitations and spent two years performing in theater to hone his craft. In 2022, he was selected for the prestigious “Starry Sea Young Actors Program“, and in 2023, he won the “Most Promising Actor“ award at the 4th New Era International Film Festival for his role in Unforgettable (Nian Nian Xiang Wang). While his public profile remains that of a “drama‑famous but person‑unknown“ actor, audiences increasingly recognize him not by name but by the indelible impressions he leaves in every role. His performance as the soft‑spoken yet cold‑blooded Su Changlin in Chang‘an Twenty‑Four Counts — a role that required him to project menace through nothing but a smile and a shift in his eyes — has further cemented his reputation as an actor who can disappear completely into any character. As one critic put it, “He used to be seen as just a pretty face who could recite lines; now people understand what it means to truly inhabit a role“.