Mainland actor Sun Haiying has so immersed himself in his role as rebel Peer Gynt that he has been firing off tirades at art house icons and even announced the death of Chinese theater and cinema.

Sun, who is appearing in Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt on Tuesday at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, held a press conference at the venue on Wednesday.

"China's theater has died! So has cinema!" Sun informed shocked journalists, before taking aim at popular director Feng Xiaogang.

"Feng pretends to know what he doesn't. People defend him by calling him a director of entertaining films, not art house productions, but China's cinema is now a desert of entertainment," Sun said, before adding those who worship Feng could die and they would be no loss to society.

He ended by saying that audience members who do not cry when they see Peer Gynt do not understand the play, according to Sohu.com.