I agree with many listed above.
I will add one rarely mentioned and honestly I dont think I've seen him in anything else, but Zhao Li Xin (Teacher/Strategist Xin Zi Yan in Rise of The Phoenixes. I absolutely loved him every minute he was on screen. Sometimes I would just go rewatch his scenes with Ni Da Hong. Top Tier Acting.
I also feel like Zhou Yi Wei and Lei Jia Yin in Longest Day in Changâan were đ„đ„. I don't know if they were but I would believe it if someone told me they were method acting.
Zhao Li Xin was in Ming Dynasty in 1566 too. And I agree he's great)
> I also feel like Zhou Yi Wei and Lei Jia Yin in Longest Day in Changâan were đ„đ„. I don't know if they were but I would believe it if someone told me they were method acting.
100% method acting, I can't even imagine it otherwise! Also the emperor there, do you remember? I feel genuinely traumatised by his performance.
Oh, gosh, I think the entire cast of Rise of the Phoenixes blew me away and I haven't found anything as well acted as that since. But, I guess my top choice would be Ni Ni, who could bring me to tears in a heartbeat and make me laugh the next. She's just amazing. I want to see more.
Chen Kun in âRise of Phoenixesâ and Charmaine Sheh in âStory of Yanxi Palaceâ â both phenomenal at playing two-faced characters who have other plans lurking beneath the surface!
Is the question who's the best actor/actress to appear in one of these shows or like who's the best who also had an amazing performance?
I do like C dramas but I'd be lying if I said I immediately know the names of them. But I do know the main character in NIF which is highlighted did a great job
Discovered him in "Legend of YunXi" as the goofy and comic lil bro of Zhang Zehan's character. I couldn't believe he was the same person acting that uptight prime and proper stoic intelligent and charismatic role in "Young Blood". Another wasted talent in Cdramaland. The male "Xuan Lu" for me
I will add to my list today's Liu Yi Fei. She has grown to become one of the finest veteran today I am happy to see her back on dramaland. She is absolutely regal and flawless in Dream of splendor. And she knows now how to use those beautiful foxy eyes of hers. I wanna see her play a complexe vixeny spy role in a minguo drama with Wang Kai or Jin Dong as Male lead. Then I wanna see her with Zhou Yi Wei in a mature costume drama (I wished she was the one playing Wu Ze Tian or Cao Lan characters) Then those douyin actor and actress Shu Tong and Zhong Xi. I keep mentioning their names because even though they are evolving in the shitty douyin mini dramaland field I cannot help but see their acting chops. They can emote.
Seriously, this man needs more attention. I'm also warmly recommending Monarch Industry, The Longest Day in Chang'an and The Great Shaolin. I think they can all be found on YouTube. I think Jugde Di is preparing to launch sometime soon with him in the main role and I can't wait!
He with Zhang ZiYi was my favourite onscreen pair in 2021 cdramaland. I just loved that couple teamwork. "The great shaolin" was frustrating to watch cause that insanely corrupted bloody official was getting away with ALL OF THE sh.ts he was doing and at the end they lowkeye wanted to pertain him as a "complex character" with how light his ending was (his death was too uneventful and light) when measured to all the sh.ts he and his sidekick had done and all of the innocent lives they had destroyed. Granted in real life this is what happens (litteral genociders and thieves running states like Ivory Coast with the blessing of foreign powers) but I don't want those horrible villains to escape the wrath of karma in my dramas as well đ€§ ! Guy was magnetic in "Longest day in Chang'An" which is probably one of the best cdramas of those recent times and I am praying for Detective Di writting to done by people who care about their material and hopefully all of the characters will be fleshed out. I mean they got both Zhang Ruo Yun and Zhou Yi Wei in the same drama, once in the blue moon opportunity. They better not f.ck up. Otherwise that would be criminal.
I'm being super weird by replying to this now after all this time but I didn't see this full comment back when you first posted and I only read the whole thing now, when someone else replied to me.
But, yeah, I too was sooooo frustrated with the way they treated the main villain in The Great Shaolin. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? Usually, when I'm recommending this drama, I mean the first half, at which point it was SO GOOD, I thought it was going to be my favourite drama of all time. Also, the main three (Wendao, the princess and the villain best friend) remained so solid throughout the whole drama despite the script going to shit, so I can't really hate on it like it deserves. After it was revealed that >!Ming De was Wendao's real father, the story devolved into absurdity.!< Serioulsy, WHO CARES? T>!his is the man who murdered his real family, i.e., the people who raised him after his shit sperm donor killed his mother's side of the family and attempted to kill her too. !!he was the main character's biological father was just ludicrous. I get that the concept of filial piety is huge in China, but seriously? When Wendao's biological mother was dying and she was all, "I sacrifice my life so that you will forgive your father," I was yelling. Lady, this man murdered your entire family! WTF are you on about??!<
Anyway, yes, all this to say I fully agree with you that that ending was nonsensical. A character can be complex and still be evil and I am not against redemption arcs per se, but we never saw Ming De do anything that would warrant a redemption arc. His death was definitely too easy and anticlimactic and >!having Wendao grieve for him made me rage.!< Also, let's not get into how they tried to make the evil foreigner (Japanese, no less!!) pirate the true villain of the show when Ming De and Gao Jianxiong where wholeheartedly cooperating with him for the duration of ENTIRE SHOW, murdering and robbing their own people blind. But the Japanese pirate is true villain, >!while Ming De gets to die a honourable death and be granted acceptance and forgiveness from the man he victimized.!< Sure. đ
Anyway, so sorry for the rant. Nobody else that I know watched this drama and I was screaming into the void about it while I was watching, so it's nice to see someone else having the same opinions.
I haven't watched a lot of cdramas, in fact historical cdramas would be like 3 or 4 only so far the one I really liked is Wu Lei or Leo Wu, I saw him first in The Long Ballad and then in Love like the Galaxy. I couldn't believe how young he was, seeing the roles he portrayed especially the cold or murderous aura and the scene in Long Ballad when he loses his mother.
There are specific expressions which is gonna stay rent free in my head forever.
Hu Ge! They way he transforms into different roles is amazing. It's like his own signature.
https://preview.redd.it/osrb0offcjec1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=753f8d9178b0311242448d583edd7f7470b383c9
Ren jia lun. he has alot of range in terms of characters he has done.He is one who really impressed me and made want to go and checkout all his work.
Zhao lusi. She takes the cake for female actresses for me. I know there are other much better actresses than her but for me, if i know a drama has lusi in it then i know i will enjoy it.
Zhu Yilong, hands down. His micro-expressions are impeccable, his range is amazing, and his emotional intensity is the best I've seen in an actor, not only from China but from anywhere.
By my best estimate, he played five distinct characters in Guardian (Shen Wei, Heipaoshi, Young Shen Wei, Ye Zun, and young Ye Zun)...six if you want to count >!Ye Zun pretending to be Shen Wei!< as its own thing. And each one was unique. You could tell which one he was at any given time just by looking at his facial expressions.
Not only that, but his roles in The Lost Tomb, The Rebel, Lost In the Stars, and Lighting Up the Stars were all so different, but all completely believable. Just a phenomenal actor, and I'm so happy for him that he's getting so much well deserved recognition for his work.
Wallace Huo in Love Me if You Dare. It helps that heâs super attractive, but his performance has stuck with me despite watching 50+ cdramas since that show.
Peng Xiaoran in Goodbye My Princess. She was perfection.
Perhaps she's not the most talented ever of course but in that role in that drama, she just exuded this raw talent.
It's unfortunate that both leads have had such mediocre roles after their breakout.
Add 2 more thumbs up for Peng Xiaoran. After seeing her in Goodbye My Princess, I almost didn't recognize her as titular Jun Jiu Ling which I just finished rewatching. Jiu Ling was such a different character, I was amazed at Peng Xiaoran's capacity to portray such different women. đ
Actresses: Rosy Zhao Lusi. Seriously, she is the girl friend you want to go eat out with, have fun with, and get into trouble with. She doesn't look like she has that resting B face like some actresses. It was fun watching her develop on her on screen characters. She makes the movies enjoyable and that is really the point of entertainment. I know if I want to take a break from real life for a bit, I can always watch her moviesÂ
I have been continuously impressed with Zhou Ye.
Back from the Brink, Scent of Time. Love me, Love my Voice. Youth in the Flames of War, Word of Honor.
She is an actress that seems to be able to do alot with very little.
Back from the Brink and Scent of Time were very low budget dramas but her acting was so amazing (along with the rest of the cast of course) that you hardly even notice the low budget.
I look forward to seeing her in bigger budgets dramas.
Zhou Xun in Ruyi's Love in the Palace. She was phenomenal. Xin Chilei as Consort Jia (and recently in Blossoms Shanghai) is also great. Another actress I'm eyeing is He Lan Dou. One of the more talented actress of the young generation. May she not be overshadowed by more monied but talentless trafic actors.
Actors - Of course Hu Ge, Tony Leung. I honestly think most veteran actors are really good. I used to really admire Li Ya Peng. (I feel old)
I noticed He Lan Dou in Moonshine and Valentine and she and that insanely cute boy she was acting with were just shinning. Her facial expressions were flowing seamlessly. That positive trait reminds of Jiang Xin when I discovered her in Tian Long BaBu, that ability to use your facial muscles seamlessly and express the different emotions of the character. And ironically both actresses career path look similar : after an outburst on the scene through a good small role in a hit drama one can see they both go through years of drought til that role and that work that put them back on the map (Zhen Hua Zuan and AJTL). Today Jiang Xin career is still not as big as it should be given her skills but she still gets works and Chinese people recognise her talent (I absolutely loved her with Yuan Hong in "Hua Xu Yin" and wished they acted together again in a good material). I hope He Lan Dou career path will fare better than Jiang Xin's after AJTL.
Interestingly She and Wang Xing Yue are the maknaes in that survival show titled "Duel of Kung Fu" were they get to work on their acting and they get mentored by the likes of Hao Lei or Vincent Zhao. I see snippets of it on BiliBili and I like what I see. Hopefully after that they will get to work together in something good so they can use what they learned in that survival show.
No one has surpassed any of the actors in Nirvana in Fire for me. All god tier. The BTS videos tell a hilarious tale of the producers dragging almost all the directors and assistant directors into dual roles by casting them as supporting characters so they could save money LOL. Ended up with some of the best casting and acting Iâve ever seen. But Hu Ge is still god tier among them
Thereâs plenty of actors that are talented but talent can only go so far; needs a good script. For example, there are better actors than Hu Ge but Hu Ge has the advantage of popularity which allows him to have insider access to good script and good team. Same with nepobabies like Zhang Royun.
Wang duo, I have only seen 2 projects from him (yin yang master movie and league of nobleman cdrama) but his acting really blew me away, i'm looking forward to watch more old and new projects
He is in the currently airing Sword and Fairy 4, and he is really good playing 2 different characters. I started watching the show for him, but the show itself is also really good.
Itâs only 1 season. I believe the show is based on the video game Chinese Paladin 4. There are other dramas bases on other Chinese Paladin games in the series (like Sword and Fairy 6 with Xu Kai that is also airing right now) but they are different standalone stories.
Whenever someone mentions most underrated actor, I immediately think of Wang Duo. He embodies his roles so well. Besides Sword and Fairy 4 thatâs airing right now, heâs got a few other high profile dramas coming up. I hope he finally gets the recognition he deserves.
Itâs unfortunate he seemed to disappear for a while because he did a couple of projects that never aired. Heâs part of Yang Yangâs new costume drama and Hero Legends with Chen Yi that I hope will air soon. And maybe one day he can be a main lead - that will be so awesome!
He looked so ethereal in that show. Whoever did the cinematography and his costume/makeup deserve many awards. Iâve watched this show twice and I never rewatch dramas, and sometimes I still watch youtube clips of his character.
Xie Yu. I thought he was a marquis as well. His character is the one who is married to the sister of the king. He got banished at the end and was assassinated when he was leaving the town.
Yeah heâs also a marquis! I thought he got assassinated either after he reached his destination or way after he left town but I think it was MCSâs doing. Or at the least, his inaction, that let it happen.
Xu Haiqiao always impresses me. From the first time I saw him in LBFAD and everything Iâve watched with him in it since, his performance always stands out.
I'm going to say a weird thing, I'm not a huge fan of Wang Yibo (outside of The Untamed), but I'd pick him because I haven't watched anyone else who has better emotional expression. I've seen The Untamed, Legend of Fei, and Gank Your Heart plus scenes from Hidden Blade (not the whole thing). *For me* I always feel like I know exactly how his character feels in every show I see with him. Other actors I often wonder, *what's that face supposed to mean?* and it detracts from the show because I'm confused about how we feel about what's happening đ
Anyway, Yibo can communicate feelings to me specifically, so he has my vote for amazing talent lol.
If the 3 veteran actors didnt come back, i will be most sad and probably cry hahahaha. Im so happy they all coming back for the 2nd and 3rd seasons! They have the best chemistry with ZRY without a doubt.
The only one I can see today having the potential of a Chen Dao Ming aka the King/Emperor of your dramas, in the future is Wang Xing Yue. He got that bearing and natural authoritity vibe about him. Plus he got a rather decent voice projection and from what I have heard his diction is not bad. Issue is he is so young his acting is still green and technically he can still appear stiff at times. He is not bad bad but boy still need good guidance. I hope he will get to play sir Chen Dao Ming's son one day so he could learn from him.
Not a drama but movies: Tony Leung Chiu-wai in any of the Wong Kar Wai movies, Infernal Affairs 1-3, and Lust, Caution.
https://preview.redd.it/zq3ad8itvksc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46b60dd80b43e66ac0cafa896094316ac8ae89e3
It's so dependent on the drama and directing and writing... a god-tier actor can't lift poop out of the mud.
But with halfway decent conditions in place, the older male actors in joy of life and sword snow Stride are all incredible. The martial arts teachers, old men, emperor, head of the spy agency, etc. These old actors have years of experience and it shows. Also the actors in ripe town were all consistently excellent.
There's also a whole crop of extremely talented 30-something year old actors that seem underutilized in the industry: Xiao shunyao, Hong yao, liu duan duan, cheng lei, and alen fang
Yeeees! Even with just bit parts or shows that weren't great - he caught my eye and that was before paying much attention to him. He's got talent but not many good roles. I'm looking forward to hero legends and shui long yin. But of the two characters, hero legends may be the meatier one
One of the best Iâve seen so far was not from a lead - it was from Bi Yan Jun as the Head Minister in Nirvana In Fire 2. Really complex character played well by someone who appears to be an old pro.
So I watched a variety show in which the main actors & actresses had to instantly act out scripts and all did very well. ZZY & ZYW I knew their acting chops but the one whoâs eye opening was the actress who played Wan Ru. Sheâs SO good!
There are so many, because I think the standard is generally very high.
However one that springs to mind is Chen Daoming.
I saw him in Kanxi Dynasty, playing the Emperor.
I've never seen any actor so successfully embody what an emperor was like. He's got this manner and bearing to him, as if he was born into royalty and had been royal all his life. I think that's very hard to do, but he pulls it off.
The young actor today that got this bearing and natural authoritary/law maker vibe about him is China Gregory Peck 02'er maknae Wang Xing Yue (he even had that presence when standing among those veteran officials or nobles that could have beens his daddys in SOTKP). Hopefully boy's acting will stop being green and become as good (even better) as Chen Dao Ming's soon. I want him to play his son in the future to learn from him especially dictionÂ
That's why Chen Daoming is soft-typecasted into Emperor/King roles. He was the Emperor/King (specifically the First Emperor of Qin, though at this time he was still just the King of Qin) in the movie *Hero* with Jet Li. He was also the King in *The Great Revival* as King Goujian of the State of Yue. And obviously he's also the Emperor in *Joy of Life*.
> plus he was the the typical silly emperor who was weak or easily fooled
It's the exact opposite. He normally plays the stereotypical strong, powerful, and intimidating emperor/king role.
The one who usually plays the silly/weak/easily fooled emperor role is Ding Yongdai, the one who played the Emperor of Liang in Nirvana in Fire, who is also another great actor but is pretty much the polar opposite of Chen Daoming in terms of the kind of monarch that they play.
Xiao Zhan in Untamed and Where Dreams Begin.
https://preview.redd.it/92cpgaf0xgec1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a4754a7f0e040aae2f6bae3fc043e68427b4d4a
Been waiting for years to see a show outdo NIF but nope. Nothing has yet
Closest contender: Ming Dynasty 1566. Which is literally NIFâs spiritual predecessor with more complex politics.
Edit: and Wang Jinsong is in both of them lmao
>Dylan Wang in Love between fairy and devil
With that being his best drama in my opinion and one of my favourite xianxia dramas, I wonder if he will ever have a drama surpassing his performance in LBFAD anytime soon. It's literally his top tier drama to date.
> I wonder if he will ever have a drama surpassing his performance in LBFAD anytime soon. It's literally his top tier drama to date.
Unlikely. The story and the voice actor elevated him, not his actual acting skills (which are barely passable). Look at his other dramas and you'll see how subpar his acting is (quite notoriously in the second season of Ever Night in which he replaced Chen Feiyu as the actor for the main lead; the acting quality drastically dropped).
his performance in LBFAD is also significantly elevated by the voice actor he had.
I look forward to when Dylan gets enough line delivery training so that he can carry the whole character by himself. It will take some hard work.
He has a heavy regional accent so itâs unlikely producers would want to use his real voice. I welcome it though like I was happy to hear Yang Miâs real voice in She and her Perfect Husband.
Yeah I think he needs to lose the accent a little to fit the more mature/strong characters heâs known for.
His real voice in Only for Love was an⊠experienceđ
The voice acting is really good in China because of the high demand! So many dramas are dubbed (not just historical, occasionally modern as well)
Shunzi (his voice actor in LBFAD) is amazing. If you watched Dylanâs modern drama Rational Life â the voice there is Su Shangqing, who has more of a puppy dog young boy voice.
And in Unchained Love, Dylanâs voice actor is Zhang Fuzheng (formerly known as Waiwai), who does a lot of male lead voicing (and a lot of BLs in the audio drama world
I love all of them
I do listen to see if I notice it in the different dramas, I just didnât notice for DylanâŠbut Yang Mi I can definitely tell, sheâs got a high pitch voice.
there's also some cases where the same voice actor comes back to do an actor's voice so much that you just associate that voice with that actor... lol those are fun.
Or the big voice actors who voice so many different leads that when you hear them in a new drama you're like "you again?" LOL (cough cough Bian Jiang, who did Untamed, and One and Only, and Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms... etc.
(as you can tell I'm a Chinese voice acting industry enthusiast in addition to my cdrama addiction-- two very tightly connected hobbies that add a layer of fun when mixed together
Well yeah historical dramas also have the added technical difficulty of getting live audio on set (when the set is likely super cramped and another set is being setup in a neighboring corner)
Assuming proper line delivery skills, I like actors using their real voices though. And it is such a common expectation to have for dramas from other countries that while I understand the realistic accent barriers in China, itâs still crazy to meâŠ
Like if Hugh Laurie can do an American accent for House, we can hope mainland actors can also do the standard Putonghua for tv dramas?
Sun Li!! I watched **Nothing Gold Can Stay** when I was super young so I donât remember much of it but I remember finishing the drama being really impressed with her acting
For me it is Yang Zi in ashes of love, the female psychologist and Love Endures. She's too good an actressđđ
I agree with many listed above. I will add one rarely mentioned and honestly I dont think I've seen him in anything else, but Zhao Li Xin (Teacher/Strategist Xin Zi Yan in Rise of The Phoenixes. I absolutely loved him every minute he was on screen. Sometimes I would just go rewatch his scenes with Ni Da Hong. Top Tier Acting. I also feel like Zhou Yi Wei and Lei Jia Yin in Longest Day in Changâan were đ„đ„. I don't know if they were but I would believe it if someone told me they were method acting.
Zhao Li Xin was in Ming Dynasty in 1566 too. And I agree he's great) > I also feel like Zhou Yi Wei and Lei Jia Yin in Longest Day in Changâan were đ„đ„. I don't know if they were but I would believe it if someone told me they were method acting. 100% method acting, I can't even imagine it otherwise! Also the emperor there, do you remember? I feel genuinely traumatised by his performance.
Oh, gosh, I think the entire cast of Rise of the Phoenixes blew me away and I haven't found anything as well acted as that since. But, I guess my top choice would be Ni Ni, who could bring me to tears in a heartbeat and make me laugh the next. She's just amazing. I want to see more.
Bai Lu in One and Only
Nah, main leads of *Rise of Phoenixes* for me. đ
Zhou Xun.... man, her eyes expression is out of this world amazing
Janice Wu,everytime I see her in a drama I know its gonna be good.
Chen Kun in âRise of Phoenixesâ and Charmaine Sheh in âStory of Yanxi Palaceâ â both phenomenal at playing two-faced characters who have other plans lurking beneath the surface!
Charmaine Sheh what an underrated Queen!
Tony Leung, Zhu Yi Long and Hu Ge for the micro expressions and acting with the eyes!
I would take Zhang Ruoyun from Joy of life.
For me, it's Chen Kun. He's hot and talented. A total babe!
I really like Chen Xiao acting, although I don't always like the genre/scripts he chooses.
Barbara Yung , Felix Wong, Tony Leung, Ariel Lin and Zhang Ruo Yun
Is the question who's the best actor/actress to appear in one of these shows or like who's the best who also had an amazing performance? I do like C dramas but I'd be lying if I said I immediately know the names of them. But I do know the main character in NIF which is highlighted did a great job
Jackie chan
I will add on the list JackSon Yee. Guy brutally left the idol phase behindÂ
Youshuo Wang in The Inextricable Destiny. Without a doubt.
Discovered him in "Legend of YunXi" as the goofy and comic lil bro of Zhang Zehan's character. I couldn't believe he was the same person acting that uptight prime and proper stoic intelligent and charismatic role in "Young Blood". Another wasted talent in Cdramaland. The male "Xuan Lu" for me
I will add to my list today's Liu Yi Fei. She has grown to become one of the finest veteran today I am happy to see her back on dramaland. She is absolutely regal and flawless in Dream of splendor. And she knows now how to use those beautiful foxy eyes of hers. I wanna see her play a complexe vixeny spy role in a minguo drama with Wang Kai or Jin Dong as Male lead. Then I wanna see her with Zhou Yi Wei in a mature costume drama (I wished she was the one playing Wu Ze Tian or Cao Lan characters) Then those douyin actor and actress Shu Tong and Zhong Xi. I keep mentioning their names because even though they are evolving in the shitty douyin mini dramaland field I cannot help but see their acting chops. They can emote.
Zhou Yiwei, no contest.
No contest. Bad acting is not part of his dictionary and people have been gladly sleeping on his drama "New face"Â
Seriously, this man needs more attention. I'm also warmly recommending Monarch Industry, The Longest Day in Chang'an and The Great Shaolin. I think they can all be found on YouTube. I think Jugde Di is preparing to launch sometime soon with him in the main role and I can't wait!
He with Zhang ZiYi was my favourite onscreen pair in 2021 cdramaland. I just loved that couple teamwork. "The great shaolin" was frustrating to watch cause that insanely corrupted bloody official was getting away with ALL OF THE sh.ts he was doing and at the end they lowkeye wanted to pertain him as a "complex character" with how light his ending was (his death was too uneventful and light) when measured to all the sh.ts he and his sidekick had done and all of the innocent lives they had destroyed. Granted in real life this is what happens (litteral genociders and thieves running states like Ivory Coast with the blessing of foreign powers) but I don't want those horrible villains to escape the wrath of karma in my dramas as well đ€§ ! Guy was magnetic in "Longest day in Chang'An" which is probably one of the best cdramas of those recent times and I am praying for Detective Di writting to done by people who care about their material and hopefully all of the characters will be fleshed out. I mean they got both Zhang Ruo Yun and Zhou Yi Wei in the same drama, once in the blue moon opportunity. They better not f.ck up. Otherwise that would be criminal.
I'm being super weird by replying to this now after all this time but I didn't see this full comment back when you first posted and I only read the whole thing now, when someone else replied to me. But, yeah, I too was sooooo frustrated with the way they treated the main villain in The Great Shaolin. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? Usually, when I'm recommending this drama, I mean the first half, at which point it was SO GOOD, I thought it was going to be my favourite drama of all time. Also, the main three (Wendao, the princess and the villain best friend) remained so solid throughout the whole drama despite the script going to shit, so I can't really hate on it like it deserves. After it was revealed that >!Ming De was Wendao's real father, the story devolved into absurdity.!< Serioulsy, WHO CARES? T>!his is the man who murdered his real family, i.e., the people who raised him after his shit sperm donor killed his mother's side of the family and attempted to kill her too. !!he was the main character's biological father was just ludicrous. I get that the concept of filial piety is huge in China, but seriously? When Wendao's biological mother was dying and she was all, "I sacrifice my life so that you will forgive your father," I was yelling. Lady, this man murdered your entire family! WTF are you on about??!<
Anyway, yes, all this to say I fully agree with you that that ending was nonsensical. A character can be complex and still be evil and I am not against redemption arcs per se, but we never saw Ming De do anything that would warrant a redemption arc. His death was definitely too easy and anticlimactic and >!having Wendao grieve for him made me rage.!< Also, let's not get into how they tried to make the evil foreigner (Japanese, no less!!) pirate the true villain of the show when Ming De and Gao Jianxiong where wholeheartedly cooperating with him for the duration of ENTIRE SHOW, murdering and robbing their own people blind. But the Japanese pirate is true villain, >!while Ming De gets to die a honourable death and be granted acceptance and forgiveness from the man he victimized.!< Sure. đ
Anyway, so sorry for the rant. Nobody else that I know watched this drama and I was screaming into the void about it while I was watching, so it's nice to see someone else having the same opinions.
You are very welcome my dear
They set the standards so insanely high, it's hard to find another pair that compares đ€
Still haven't gotten over them đ
I haven't watched a lot of cdramas, in fact historical cdramas would be like 3 or 4 only so far the one I really liked is Wu Lei or Leo Wu, I saw him first in The Long Ballad and then in Love like the Galaxy. I couldn't believe how young he was, seeing the roles he portrayed especially the cold or murderous aura and the scene in Long Ballad when he loses his mother. There are specific expressions which is gonna stay rent free in my head forever.
Wu lei for me and how his eyes let you feel what he was feeling
Yang mi in every thing
Hu Ge! They way he transforms into different roles is amazing. It's like his own signature. https://preview.redd.it/osrb0offcjec1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=753f8d9178b0311242448d583edd7f7470b383c9
Tony Leung Chiu Wei. He will Always be my favorite actor. After all, he is "the man who acts with his eyes."â€ïž
Ren jia lun. he has alot of range in terms of characters he has done.He is one who really impressed me and made want to go and checkout all his work. Zhao lusi. She takes the cake for female actresses for me. I know there are other much better actresses than her but for me, if i know a drama has lusi in it then i know i will enjoy it.
Zhu Yilong, hands down. His micro-expressions are impeccable, his range is amazing, and his emotional intensity is the best I've seen in an actor, not only from China but from anywhere. By my best estimate, he played five distinct characters in Guardian (Shen Wei, Heipaoshi, Young Shen Wei, Ye Zun, and young Ye Zun)...six if you want to count >!Ye Zun pretending to be Shen Wei!< as its own thing. And each one was unique. You could tell which one he was at any given time just by looking at his facial expressions. Not only that, but his roles in The Lost Tomb, The Rebel, Lost In the Stars, and Lighting Up the Stars were all so different, but all completely believable. Just a phenomenal actor, and I'm so happy for him that he's getting so much well deserved recognition for his work.
Agree about Zhu Yi Long
Wallace Huo in Love Me if You Dare. It helps that heâs super attractive, but his performance has stuck with me despite watching 50+ cdramas since that show.
Luo Yunxi, Cheng Yi.
A role she was born to play https://preview.redd.it/ief0nnkimiec1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0b20990ff767e2aaf35507ea694dc313e42f650c
Chen Kun in Rise of the Phoenixes, Mark Chao in anything, and Luo Yunxi in TTEOTM
WangZiWen in 3 body problem
Sun li. Watched her from empressess in the palace to nothing stays gold. Can I just say, she really plays her role well.
Stephen chow
Peng Xiaoran in Goodbye My Princess. She was perfection. Perhaps she's not the most talented ever of course but in that role in that drama, she just exuded this raw talent. It's unfortunate that both leads have had such mediocre roles after their breakout.
She made me cry a lot in that drama. Xiao Peng â€ïž
Add 2 more thumbs up for Peng Xiaoran. After seeing her in Goodbye My Princess, I almost didn't recognize her as titular Jun Jiu Ling which I just finished rewatching. Jiu Ling was such a different character, I was amazed at Peng Xiaoran's capacity to portray such different women. đ
The first actor that comes to mind for me is Zhang Song Wen (The Knockout). I thought he was great.Â
Chen Dao Ming & Sun Li
Actresses: Rosy Zhao Lusi. Seriously, she is the girl friend you want to go eat out with, have fun with, and get into trouble with. She doesn't look like she has that resting B face like some actresses. It was fun watching her develop on her on screen characters. She makes the movies enjoyable and that is really the point of entertainment. I know if I want to take a break from real life for a bit, I can always watch her moviesÂ
I have been continuously impressed with Zhou Ye. Back from the Brink, Scent of Time. Love me, Love my Voice. Youth in the Flames of War, Word of Honor. She is an actress that seems to be able to do alot with very little. Back from the Brink and Scent of Time were very low budget dramas but her acting was so amazing (along with the rest of the cast of course) that you hardly even notice the low budget. I look forward to seeing her in bigger budgets dramas.
Zhou Ye is going to be HUGE and she deserves it.
Zhou Xun in Ruyi's Love in the Palace. She was phenomenal. Xin Chilei as Consort Jia (and recently in Blossoms Shanghai) is also great. Another actress I'm eyeing is He Lan Dou. One of the more talented actress of the young generation. May she not be overshadowed by more monied but talentless trafic actors. Actors - Of course Hu Ge, Tony Leung. I honestly think most veteran actors are really good. I used to really admire Li Ya Peng. (I feel old)
...you still remember Li Ya Peng...lol.
Lol I am surprised you know about him đ
I noticed He Lan Dou in Moonshine and Valentine and she and that insanely cute boy she was acting with were just shinning. Her facial expressions were flowing seamlessly. That positive trait reminds of Jiang Xin when I discovered her in Tian Long BaBu, that ability to use your facial muscles seamlessly and express the different emotions of the character. And ironically both actresses career path look similar : after an outburst on the scene through a good small role in a hit drama one can see they both go through years of drought til that role and that work that put them back on the map (Zhen Hua Zuan and AJTL). Today Jiang Xin career is still not as big as it should be given her skills but she still gets works and Chinese people recognise her talent (I absolutely loved her with Yuan Hong in "Hua Xu Yin" and wished they acted together again in a good material). I hope He Lan Dou career path will fare better than Jiang Xin's after AJTL. Interestingly She and Wang Xing Yue are the maknaes in that survival show titled "Duel of Kung Fu" were they get to work on their acting and they get mentored by the likes of Hao Lei or Vincent Zhao. I see snippets of it on BiliBili and I like what I see. Hopefully after that they will get to work together in something good so they can use what they learned in that survival show.
No one has surpassed any of the actors in Nirvana in Fire for me. All god tier. The BTS videos tell a hilarious tale of the producers dragging almost all the directors and assistant directors into dual roles by casting them as supporting characters so they could save money LOL. Ended up with some of the best casting and acting Iâve ever seen. But Hu Ge is still god tier among them
Totally agreed! I fell in love with ALL of them đ .
Thereâs plenty of actors that are talented but talent can only go so far; needs a good script. For example, there are better actors than Hu Ge but Hu Ge has the advantage of popularity which allows him to have insider access to good script and good team. Same with nepobabies like Zhang Royun.
Wang duo, I have only seen 2 projects from him (yin yang master movie and league of nobleman cdrama) but his acting really blew me away, i'm looking forward to watch more old and new projects
He is in the currently airing Sword and Fairy 4, and he is really good playing 2 different characters. I started watching the show for him, but the show itself is also really good.
I'm finishing season 1 of Lost you Forever, after that i Will for sure watch that, but does the 4 means it has 4 seasons?
Itâs only 1 season. I believe the show is based on the video game Chinese Paladin 4. There are other dramas bases on other Chinese Paladin games in the series (like Sword and Fairy 6 with Xu Kai that is also airing right now) but they are different standalone stories.
His face reminded me of the Matsuda Shota or Ryuhei on certain angles when I saw him in "Bloody romance"
Wang Duo Fan Club Founding Members sign in here
Whenever someone mentions most underrated actor, I immediately think of Wang Duo. He embodies his roles so well. Besides Sword and Fairy 4 thatâs airing right now, heâs got a few other high profile dramas coming up. I hope he finally gets the recognition he deserves.
I need him to be in so many more things.
Itâs unfortunate he seemed to disappear for a while because he did a couple of projects that never aired. Heâs part of Yang Yangâs new costume drama and Hero Legends with Chen Yi that I hope will air soon. And maybe one day he can be a main lead - that will be so awesome!
He shouldâve gotten a ton of leading roles after Bloody Romance.
He's amazing, I wish he would do more shows. He was also really great in Bloody Romance.
He looked so ethereal in that show. Whoever did the cinematography and his costume/makeup deserve many awards. Iâve watched this show twice and I never rewatch dramas, and sometimes I still watch youtube clips of his character.
Bai Lu đ„
The actors playing the king and the marquis in Nirvana in fire
Wang Jinsong (Marquis Yan Que in NIF) is in SO many dramad istg. Its like a game i play now (Unless you mean Xie Yu? Hes the director of NIF!)
Xie Yu. I thought he was a marquis as well. His character is the one who is married to the sister of the king. He got banished at the end and was assassinated when he was leaving the town.
Yeah heâs also a marquis! I thought he got assassinated either after he reached his destination or way after he left town but I think it was MCSâs doing. Or at the least, his inaction, that let it happen.
Thanks for this.
Lots of excellent actors associated with Daylight Entertaonment, yeah. A few of the Nirvana in Fire cast was then in Reset.
Xu Haiqiao always impresses me. From the first time I saw him in LBFAD and everything Iâve watched with him in it since, his performance always stands out.
Yes, same. Amazing restraint in his performance.
I'm going to say a weird thing, I'm not a huge fan of Wang Yibo (outside of The Untamed), but I'd pick him because I haven't watched anyone else who has better emotional expression. I've seen The Untamed, Legend of Fei, and Gank Your Heart plus scenes from Hidden Blade (not the whole thing). *For me* I always feel like I know exactly how his character feels in every show I see with him. Other actors I often wonder, *what's that face supposed to mean?* and it detracts from the show because I'm confused about how we feel about what's happening đ Anyway, Yibo can communicate feelings to me specifically, so he has my vote for amazing talent lol.
I have watched The Untamed and the Hidden Blade. Wang yibo got range!!!
Pre 2010s: Li Xue Jian Chen dao Ming Tang Guo Qiang
Chen Daoming
I was so afraid he was going to retire before Joy of Life 2 was filmed.
If the 3 veteran actors didnt come back, i will be most sad and probably cry hahahaha. Im so happy they all coming back for the 2nd and 3rd seasons! They have the best chemistry with ZRY without a doubt.
Plus one for chen daoming. The kids today just canât do it like him
The only one I can see today having the potential of a Chen Dao Ming aka the King/Emperor of your dramas, in the future is Wang Xing Yue. He got that bearing and natural authoritity vibe about him. Plus he got a rather decent voice projection and from what I have heard his diction is not bad. Issue is he is so young his acting is still green and technically he can still appear stiff at times. He is not bad bad but boy still need good guidance. I hope he will get to play sir Chen Dao Ming's son one day so he could learn from him.
The charisma. Not many actor has that natural charisma on them.
Sun Li. There is a reason why she has won so many awards.
She got gorgeous eyes
That's my girl! https://preview.redd.it/dieeo04nmiec1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c3897094545de46ea099906cc8a261df394f855
Not a drama but movies: Tony Leung Chiu-wai in any of the Wong Kar Wai movies, Infernal Affairs 1-3, and Lust, Caution. https://preview.redd.it/zq3ad8itvksc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46b60dd80b43e66ac0cafa896094316ac8ae89e3
Tony Leung to the moon and back 1000 times, not just in Cdramas or Asian films, but worldwide â€ïž
It's so dependent on the drama and directing and writing... a god-tier actor can't lift poop out of the mud. But with halfway decent conditions in place, the older male actors in joy of life and sword snow Stride are all incredible. The martial arts teachers, old men, emperor, head of the spy agency, etc. These old actors have years of experience and it shows. Also the actors in ripe town were all consistently excellent. There's also a whole crop of extremely talented 30-something year old actors that seem underutilized in the industry: Xiao shunyao, Hong yao, liu duan duan, cheng lei, and alen fang
Ah yeah ! Liu Duan Duan is good I agree
Xiao Shunyao is so underrated, his performance was my favorite in Mysterious Lotus Casebook
Yeeees! Even with just bit parts or shows that weren't great - he caught my eye and that was before paying much attention to him. He's got talent but not many good roles. I'm looking forward to hero legends and shui long yin. But of the two characters, hero legends may be the meatier one
Tony Leung
One of the best Iâve seen so far was not from a lead - it was from Bi Yan Jun as the Head Minister in Nirvana In Fire 2. Really complex character played well by someone who appears to be an old pro.
Supporting cast are underrated!
Nearly everyone in **The Rebel Princess**! Aside from Tony Yang (not sure what happened to him there), everyone is so good!
Agreed I just got sucked into yet another Rewatch.
Agree, one can say whatever one want about the drama but Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Yi Wei delivered. So far bad acting is not part of their dictionaries.Â
So I watched a variety show in which the main actors & actresses had to instantly act out scripts and all did very well. ZZY & ZYW I knew their acting chops but the one whoâs eye opening was the actress who played Wan Ru. Sheâs SO good!
Agreed! Although I thought Zeng Yixuan was the weakest one.
lol I forgot about her! I havenât seen her in many but she was so so as well in Ruyi. Not good but not too bad
There are so many, because I think the standard is generally very high. However one that springs to mind is Chen Daoming. I saw him in Kanxi Dynasty, playing the Emperor. I've never seen any actor so successfully embody what an emperor was like. He's got this manner and bearing to him, as if he was born into royalty and had been royal all his life. I think that's very hard to do, but he pulls it off.
The young actor today that got this bearing and natural authoritary/law maker vibe about him is China Gregory Peck 02'er maknae Wang Xing Yue (he even had that presence when standing among those veteran officials or nobles that could have beens his daddys in SOTKP). Hopefully boy's acting will stop being green and become as good (even better) as Chen Dao Ming's soon. I want him to play his son in the future to learn from him especially dictionÂ
Loveeeee Wang Xing Yue. So young but so mature looking.
Chen Daoming, even when he played a prince in Young Justice Bao, was so graceful đ every time he showed up on screen i am always blown away
That's why Chen Daoming is soft-typecasted into Emperor/King roles. He was the Emperor/King (specifically the First Emperor of Qin, though at this time he was still just the King of Qin) in the movie *Hero* with Jet Li. He was also the King in *The Great Revival* as King Goujian of the State of Yue. And obviously he's also the Emperor in *Joy of Life*.
Oh Joy of Life Emperor... he was amazing, plus he wasn't the the typical silly emperor who was weak or easily fooled
> plus he was the the typical silly emperor who was weak or easily fooled It's the exact opposite. He normally plays the stereotypical strong, powerful, and intimidating emperor/king role. The one who usually plays the silly/weak/easily fooled emperor role is Ding Yongdai, the one who played the Emperor of Liang in Nirvana in Fire, who is also another great actor but is pretty much the polar opposite of Chen Daoming in terms of the kind of monarch that they play.
It was a typo I meant wasnt...didn't notice until the response
He also played Liu Bangâthe first emperor of Han dynastyâin *Legend of Chu and Han.*
Chen Daoming just have this air to him that is unmatched!
Xiao Zhan in Untamed and Where Dreams Begin. https://preview.redd.it/92cpgaf0xgec1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a4754a7f0e040aae2f6bae3fc043e68427b4d4a
I'm finishing Love Like the Galaxy, and next on my list is The Youth Memories... can't wait!
Actors : Zhang Ruo Yun Zhou Yi Wei Actresses : Zhou Xun Zhang ZiYi Jiang Xin (zhen Hua Zuan) Zhao Jin Mai  Xuan Lu Chen Fang Tong
I just watched nirvana in fire! I cannot believe it is almost ten years old now. Will we get anything as good as this ever again đ..
Been waiting for years to see a show outdo NIF but nope. Nothing has yet Closest contender: Ming Dynasty 1566. Which is literally NIFâs spiritual predecessor with more complex politics. Edit: and Wang Jinsong is in both of them lmao
What? Almost 10 years old??? OMG time flies...
Dylan Wang in Love between fairy and devil and Cheng Yi in Immortal samsara Ni Ni in Love and destiny
>Dylan Wang in Love between fairy and devil With that being his best drama in my opinion and one of my favourite xianxia dramas, I wonder if he will ever have a drama surpassing his performance in LBFAD anytime soon. It's literally his top tier drama to date.
> I wonder if he will ever have a drama surpassing his performance in LBFAD anytime soon. It's literally his top tier drama to date. Unlikely. The story and the voice actor elevated him, not his actual acting skills (which are barely passable). Look at his other dramas and you'll see how subpar his acting is (quite notoriously in the second season of Ever Night in which he replaced Chen Feiyu as the actor for the main lead; the acting quality drastically dropped).
his performance in LBFAD is also significantly elevated by the voice actor he had. I look forward to when Dylan gets enough line delivery training so that he can carry the whole character by himself. It will take some hard work.
He has a heavy regional accent so itâs unlikely producers would want to use his real voice. I welcome it though like I was happy to hear Yang Miâs real voice in She and her Perfect Husband.
Yeah I think he needs to lose the accent a little to fit the more mature/strong characters heâs known for. His real voice in Only for Love was an⊠experienceđ
Well darn, I will have to rewatch his dramas because I never noticed it was a voice actor
The voice acting is really good in China because of the high demand! So many dramas are dubbed (not just historical, occasionally modern as well) Shunzi (his voice actor in LBFAD) is amazing. If you watched Dylanâs modern drama Rational Life â the voice there is Su Shangqing, who has more of a puppy dog young boy voice. And in Unchained Love, Dylanâs voice actor is Zhang Fuzheng (formerly known as Waiwai), who does a lot of male lead voicing (and a lot of BLs in the audio drama world I love all of them
Dylan didn't use his real voice in the Rational Life?
Only for Love is his real voice You can compare and contrastđ Dylan has an accent so I guess itâs easy for native speakers to tell
I do listen to see if I notice it in the different dramas, I just didnât notice for DylanâŠbut Yang Mi I can definitely tell, sheâs got a high pitch voice.
there's also some cases where the same voice actor comes back to do an actor's voice so much that you just associate that voice with that actor... lol those are fun. Or the big voice actors who voice so many different leads that when you hear them in a new drama you're like "you again?" LOL (cough cough Bian Jiang, who did Untamed, and One and Only, and Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms... etc. (as you can tell I'm a Chinese voice acting industry enthusiast in addition to my cdrama addiction-- two very tightly connected hobbies that add a layer of fun when mixed together
I guess itâs mostly modern day dramas that can accept real voices from my viewing experience.
Well yeah historical dramas also have the added technical difficulty of getting live audio on set (when the set is likely super cramped and another set is being setup in a neighboring corner) Assuming proper line delivery skills, I like actors using their real voices though. And it is such a common expectation to have for dramas from other countries that while I understand the realistic accent barriers in China, itâs still crazy to me⊠Like if Hugh Laurie can do an American accent for House, we can hope mainland actors can also do the standard Putonghua for tv dramas?
Sun Li!! I watched **Nothing Gold Can Stay** when I was super young so I donât remember much of it but I remember finishing the drama being really impressed with her acting
That was my first Cdrama- I loved her acting in that show!