The 38th Golden Rooster Awards on November 15, 2025 delivered a historical night for Jackson Yee who has won Best Actor for Big World, setting two major records: the first post-2000 actor to earn the honor and, at just 24 years old, the youngest Best Actor in Golden Rooster history. His portrayal of Liu Chunhe, a young man with cerebral palsy, was widely praised, and after three previous nominations, the award marked a clear turning point in his evolution from Chinese idol who debuted at 12 years old as a member of TFBoys to critically-acclaimed actor.

The night also celebrated established actress Song Jia, who won Best Actress for her role as a single mother in Her Story, which also took home Best Picture. The 45-year-old star has now become the fifth actress ever to achieve a “double Golden Rooster Best Actress” record. The win capped an exceptional year for Song Jia, who also secured the Magnolia Award earlier in 2025 for her Best Actress win in a drama.

Beyond the top honors, Duan Aojuan, formerly of the girl group Rocket Girls 101, trended for her surprising but hard-earned Best Actress nomination for The Lost Daughter, becoming the first survival-show alum to compete in a major Golden Rooster acting category.

Yuan Hong “Predicting” Best Actor Wins Since 2020

Meanwhile, a long-running awards-night joke resurfaced when Yuan Hong was spotted once again seated directly behind the newly crowned Best Actor, the sixth consecutive year this coincidence occurred. Netizens joked that he had “predicted” winners from Huang Xiaoming (2020) and Zhang Yi (2021) to Zhu Yilong (2022), Tony Leung (2023), Chen Daoming (2024), and now Jackson Yee in 2025.

Veteran actress Kara Wai also made headlines despite missing out on Best Supporting Actress, which ultimately went to Zhong Chuxi for Her Story. Kara remains just one Golden Rooster away from completing both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress “triple crowns”. Best Supporting Actor went to Ben Yuen for The Dumpling Queen.