Zhang fears hero label

Mainland film star Zhang Hanyu, who won the best actor prize at the 29th Full Blossom awards in Dalian for his role in Assembly, says he hopes to avoid being typecast as the hero he played in that film.

The award was presented last Saturday, the closing night of the 17th China Golden Rooster and Full Blossom Festival. Zhang won 68 votes from the 101 jury members representing 2.6 million mainland fans. He beat other big-name actors such as Chen Kun and Jet Li Lianjie.

Assembly depicts the mid-20th century Red Army hero, captain Gu Zidi (played by Zhang) trying to defend an area with only 40 men until he hears a call for retreat. Zhang (below) says the character was likeable and he fears being limited to certain roles.

'I heard a lot of people voted for me because of my character as Gu Zidi and this is what made me concerned the most. Sometimes when a character is so successfully portrayed, it also limits the actor,' he says.

'I want to stress that I'm not Gu Zidi. I can play different characters. I think I am very lucky to meet with a good script and a brilliant director, but I also hope this award will bring me more opportunities to play different roles, maybe even comedies.'

It's been a long road to stardom for Zhang. He started off in voice dubbing and worked his way up to becoming an actor.