Xiao Zhan

Xiao Zhan (Chinese: 肖战), credited internationally as Sean Xiao, is a Chinese actor and singer born on 5 October 1991 in Chongqing.

He did not set out to act. He studied at the Modern International Art Design Academy of Chongqing Technology and Business University, sang in the university choir and headed its vocal music department, then worked as a photographer and graphic designer, co-founding a photography studio in 2012. He was still working in design when he joined the 2015 idol survival programme X-Fire as one of sixteen trainees, and debuted the following year as main vocalist of the group X Nine.

His screen career began with supporting roles in 2018, in Oh! My Emperor and Battle Through the Heavens. The Untamed followed in 2019, and Wei Wuxian is the role that changed the scale of his career: fifty episodes opposite Wang Yibo, adapted from Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s danmei novel Mo Dao Zu Shi. Chinese broadcast rules do not permit a same-sex romance to be stated on screen, so the central relationship is written as a sworn bond. What carries it is performance rather than dialogue, which is why the casting of these two roles is still discussed as closely as it is.

He has worked steadily since: Jade Dynasty (2019), Joy of Life and The Wolf (2020), Douluo Continent and Ace Troops (2021), The Oath of Love (2022), The Longest Promise and Sunshine by My Side (2023), and in 2025 Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants, Gezhi Town and The Legend of Zang Hai.

Music has run alongside the acting. His 2020 single Spotlight was recognised by Guinness World Records as the highest-selling digital single, and his 2024 debut studio album WM set a record on Tencent Music’s physical album sales chart. He founded his own company, XZ Studio, in September 2019.