Jia graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in 1989, and soon gained fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an actor in films such as "The Case of the Silver Snake" and "A Woman from North Shaanxi". While rehearsing for a stageplay titled "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (also directed by Zhang Yang) in the fall of 1992, Jia first became exposed to marijuana and eventually became addicted, while also occasionally using heroin. Then, in 1995, after filming "Weekend Lover", Jia quit acting completely and lived off his younger sister Wang Tong. He was also an avid fan of The Beatles, listening to their music obsessively and began to fantasize himself as the son of the Beatles' lead singer, John Lennon.