LIU Ye was born in 1978, and studied at the Central Drama Academy in Beijing from 1996 to 2000. He is a member of the China Youth Arts Theatre company. He began acting in films while still a student, notably in the Beijing Film Studio production Na Shan, Na Ren, Na Gou (1998), which won him a Best Supporting Actor nomination in the 1999 Golden Rooster Awards. He was also seen in the epic historical drama Dream of the Century (1998) and the drama Female Officer, Male Private (1999). Lan Yu gives him his first lead role in a film.