Gong Jun (, born 29 November 1992), also known as Simon Gong, is a Chinese actor. He gained attention for his role in Lost Love in Times (2017) and gained popularity from Begin Again (2020). His fame heightened when he became widely known for his role as Wen Kexing in Word of Honor (2021). He earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of Crown Prince Han Ye in "The Legend of Anle" (2023).
Early life
Gong Jun was born on 29 November 1992, in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. He was selected by a teacher from art industry to study acting for his good looks. Therefore, Gong went to Beijing and has accepted intense training. After a long and comprehensive period of study, Gong took his entrance examination and was finally admitted to the Acting Department of Donghua University in Shanghai. After graduation, he moved to Beijing seeking opportunities in the entertainment industry. Gong had once signed with a company which promised to give him jobs and living allowances every month. However, the company failed to keep its promises and Gong did not get any job or wages. So he terminated the contract. Prior to his debut in acting, Gong worked as a model for various advertisements. Since he appeared in many advertisements, he was given a nickname "The Little Prince of Advertising".
Career
2015–2018: Acting debut and early beginnings
In 2015, Gong made his acting debut in the historical drama Sword Chaos, played the upright and straightforward Bi Lu.
In 2016, Gong co-starred with Xu Feng (徐峰) in the youth drama Advance Bravely, adapted from the danmei novel with the same name (势不可挡) by Chai Ji Dan, in which he played Xia Yao, who becomes caught in a love triangle with a brother and a sister. He was selected by the novel author to act in her series after she saw his pictures on Weibo. On August 23, the urban adventure comedy film Lost in Japan was released.
In 2017, Gong co-starred with Chen Yao in the youth fantasy drama The Player, adapted from the online game "Fantasy Westward Journey" which is inspired by the classic novel “Journey to the West”, he played Ren Yi Xia, a game expert. He gained recognition for his role as the frank, loyal, free and unrestrained 11th Prince Yuan Che in the fantasy historical drama Lost Love in Times, based on the novel “Drunken Exquisiteness” (醉玲珑) by Shi Siye. Due to the success of the drama, Gong starred in a 12-episode spin-off of the drama as the main character with Xu Mu Chan. On September 19, Gong was announced as a member of reality show The Cute Teacher Arrives. On September 29, Gong science fiction film Rebirth Partner with Wang Wan Zhong was launched on Tencent Video, in which he played the helpful and cute student Yi Sheng. In December, he starred in the campus idol inspirational drama Shining Like You.
In 2018, Gong co-starred with Zheng Qiu Hong in the ancient costume drama Unique Lady Part 1 and 2, based on the visual novel game “Lust for Gold” (好色千金), played the domineering and affectionate Prince Zhong Wu Mei.
2019–2020: Rising popularity
In 2019, the French fantasy adventure animated film Tall Tales from the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings was released in mainland China. Gong dubbed the voice of Apollo. On November 7, the urban love drama Flavor It's Yours with Song Yiren was broadcast on iQIYI, in which he played Lu Wei Xun, a genius wine critic who is cold and unapproachable.
In 2020, Gong starred in the campus youth drama The Love Equations with Liu Renyu, in which he played Zhao Fan Zhou, a seriously dedicated student in the forensic science department, based on the novel “The Sweet Love Story” (舟而复始) by Zhao Qian Qian. On October 29, the urban emotional drama Begin Again with Zhou Yutong was broadcast, in which he played Ling Rui, a mature and kind surgeon. The series attracted attention, and Gong popularity became increasingly, with 1.8 billion views on Mango TV. On December 24, Unique Lady 2 with Zheng Qiu Hong was broadcast on Youku.