Zhao Dan was one of the greatest actors in China. Born Zhao Feng'ao in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. He was fascinated with film and drama since childhood, which he spent in a theater that his father owned. In 1931, he went to study traditional ink painting in Shanghai Art Academy and joined the Leftist Dramatist Association. He starred in over twenty films in the Star Studio since 1933, of which Shizi jiatou (Crossroad, 1936) and Street Angel were most popular ones. During the war time, he was active in propaganda theater and was imprisoned by a warlord in Xinjiang for five years. After he returned Shanghai in 1945, he starred in Yaoyuan de ai (Remote Love, ), Xingfu kuangxiang qu, Liren xing, Wuya yu maqu (Crows and Sparrows, 1949), and many other films. In 1957, he was awarded as Best Actor in Films Between 1949 to 1955 for his performance in Crows and Sparrows. He played a series of historical figures in the 1950s, including the beggar/educator Wu Xun, the great Chinese herbalist Li Shizhen, and talented musician Nie Er. He passed away in Shanghai in 1980.