A scene from the award-winning film Wisdom Tooth, which explores the complexity of humanity through the tense relationship among a sister, brother and his girlfriend (left). [Photo provided to China Daily]

A graduate who majored in acting at Communication University of China, Liang started his career in the film and TV industry as an actor, but some stereotypical cameo roles and rigid performance requirements had dampened his enthusiasm in front of the camera.

"Many directors like to strictly 'control' their actors. I was once told how to walk and make gestures, and even told the degree of the angle I should raise my chin during a scene in which my character was required to look upward," recalls Liang, describing his early acting experiences as resembling that of a "puppet".

A turning point emerged in 2008, when he was cast alongside actor Huang Xuan to play a college student in director Lou Ye's indie film Spring Fever.

Despite the scenes featuring his and Huang's characters were cut from the final version, the film gave him a fresh perspective as the experience enabled him to completely immerse himself in the character's world.

"Lou gave the actors a lot of freedom. He helped me to establish a comfortable bond with the role, making me believe that I actually was the character while on set," says Liang.

More cooperation with Lou followed on Love and Bruises (2011) and Mystery (2012)－the latter of which saw Liang serve as the assistant director－during which his interest began to shift toward the director's chair.