2014–2022: Breakthrough and mainstream popularity
Li achieved breakthrough with the fantasy action drama Swords of Legends (2014), where he portrayed the protagonist Baili Tusu. Li became the first male actor to win the Newcomer Award at the 2014 Elle Style Awards. The same year, Li released his first autobiographical book entitled A Once in a Lifetime Moment.
Li solidified his popularity with two hit dramas in 2015: period drama Legend of Fragrance and action adventure web drama The Lost Tomb where he played the role of Wu Xie, based on the popular tomb-raiding novel Daomu Biji. The same year Li worked as a producer for the first time, taking part in the production of outdoor variety show Lets Go! Go! Go!.
Li's starred in two films in 2015, coming-of-age tale Forever Young and romance drama Fall in Love Like a Star, both were panned by critics. He bounced back in December 2015 with a supporting role in Feng Xiaogang's crime blockbuster Mr. Six, where he plays a rebellious youth who runs away from home because of conflicts with his father and later gets into trouble with gangsters. The film topped Chinese box office charts and won critical acclaim. Li won the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance at the 33rd Hundred Flowers Awards.
Following his success, Li entered the 2015 Forbes Chinese Celebrity list for the first time, placing at 9th with an estimated revenue of 69 million yuan (10.5 million dollars; 9.6 million euros). He was also named "Most Commercially Valuable Celebrity" by CBN Weekly.
In 2016, Li was appointed the Chinese Spectator Ambassador for the blockbuster film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The same month, Li the attended 2016 Style Icon Asia Awards as the only Chinese representative, and won the 2016 SIA Style Icon Award.
In 2016, Li starred as the protagonist in both seasons of Noble Aspirations, adapted from popular xianxia novel Zhu Xian. The drama received positive reviews and surpassed 28 billion views, becoming one of the most watched Chinese dramas. He then starred in Sparrow, an espionage series set in the 1940s. The drama received critical acclaim, and became the second highest rated drama of the year with the finale reaching the peak rating of 2.46. Li won the Best Actor award at the China TV Golden Eagle Award for his performance.
In 2017, Li starred in the suspense crime film Guilty of Mind, based on the novel Evil Minds by Lei Mi.
In 2018, Li appeared in CCTV New Year's Gala for the first time, performing the song "The New Era of Zanzan". The same year he starred in the thriller film Animal World, based on the Japanese manga series Ultimate Survivor Kaiji. The film received positive reviews and topped the box office of the week of its release.
In 2020, Li starred in modern romance drama Wait in Beijing and historical spy drama Fearless Whispers. The latter was in the Top 10 of 2020 highest-rated dramas.
In 2021, Li starred in the first Chinese rocket force themed military television series The Glory of Youth, produced by People's Liberation Army Rocket Force. He also starred in the xianxia fantasy drama Mirror: Twin Cities.
In 2022, the suspense series Day Breaker, in which Li took on the protagonist role, was released. The drama received positive reviews, ranked 2nd on 2022 top suspense dramas list.
