Year end is here so unless there is another big drama premiering in December then 2023 will now be looking back at the successes and failures. Of the current crop of C-drama male leads, there are three are are currently in close competition due to similar height, build, vibes, and projects in recent years. It’s Dylan Wang, Cheng Yi, and Gong Jun that are almost always being offered the same roles and projects in venn diagram circles. Between the three, the order I listed them above is the current order after this year, Dylan had a good year though not as breakout as last year with Love Between Fairy and Evil, Cheng Yi had a breakout year with Mysterious Lotus Casebook, and Gong Jun dropped a bit after the meh reception of Legend of Anle. All eyes are on their next dramas in 2024 to see if these three was shake out of this close competitive scrum with each other.
Hmm I don’t think Cheng Yi should be grouped with the other 2 as he definitely can act but does not have the visual of both and the height. He is also more senior.
google says cheng yi is 181 so i guess he’s pretty tall. he just looks frail.
It’s common esp in China that they bluff their height. So the published measurement is always padded by few cms.
No he is not. He really isn’t. All you have to do is see his raw pics. CY is lying like many others.
Gong Jun is one of the rare ones who isn’t lying.
Cheng Yi’s physique always appears on the short and girlish side to me. I don’t think he is as tall as the other two.
Let him stand by Xiao Zhan and then you’ll have a pretty good idea if he’s lying about his height or not. Only Xiao Zhan have ever been honest with his height, 183.6 cm. LOL
@Somebody, is body shaming a actor’s height really needed? You look down on lead actors who are short. I have no idea how their height might be offensive to you that you feel there is a need to put them down. Not just referring to Cheng Yi, you have mentioned in a number of your past comment. No one is stopping self expression but to body shame is bullying.
Did Cheng Yi really lie about his height? I doubt so, he has no need to. But did the various sites lie about his height, maybe so. I dont remember Cheng Yi personally discussing his height in public.
Physique and visuals are part of actors’ assets. I’m just speaking of the fact. You got worked up not because of my rational criticism of actors but because your faves are also short without appealing physique or visuals.
Are you level headed to differentiate between fair criticism of an actor’s physique and body shaming of a lay person? If I mock you being too old and looking haggard, then I’m bullying you. But if I am critical of an actor looking ridiculously unappealing and weak while his role is claimed to be the most handsome creature in the whole world all the time, then I’m just giving a personal opinion of how an actor should look like a really good fit physically for his role. Can you tell the difference? Before ranting, first use your brain properly!
I found you very irrational and emotional most of the time, only judging based upon your own preference and easily got irritated because other people don’t get to appreciate your own preference and opinions. Calm down and chill! You can debate and present your own points but don’t gaslight me as if you have higher moral standards because YOU ARE NOT. You just don’t have level head to accept criticism of your own faves. Simple as that! LOL
@Somebody, you really make me laugh… You clearly never look at the mirror to really see yourself.
I will not deny my flaws, … at least I dont point down others just to prop up my idol. I have yet to find a idol as yet…
@HL…I know the film/ drama industry is one based a lot on looks but man, Cent ones really give a whole other level of shallowness based on comments of these fans. They act as if an actor’s talents, abilities, and charisma don’t factor in at all. Look at Tony Leung for example. He’s of smaller stature and he’s not classically handsome but man, does his acting make him such an attractive man!
So whenever I see these comments criticizing an actor’s heights or how their looks don’t fit the role basing on just production stills because supposedly the fans have some fantasy image of what their role should look like, it’s so laughable to me. It’s like at least wait until the trailer at least to see how the actor inhabit the role before one criticize!
Out of these 3 actors, I’ve only watched Gong Jun in a few eps to be able to see his acting ability so I can’t comment much on who’s the better one. But from what I’ve watched of GJ, he seems to be decent in one type of character and then just kinda bland or awkward in the rest. And while he has the height to wear clothes well, the editorials I’ve seen him in, the guy is also very boring in print to me 😅
@R, I feel actors are actor but they are also normal people like you and I. I dont see how body shaming them is appropriate just because they are actors. In my Country, we offer one of the best actor training schools. And out top actor/actress are really based on skills then looks.
Of course looks does play a part in some roles. But to body shame some of the Chinese actors because they are not as tall is just mean. Anyway, I will watch a drama if it is enjoyable. Is the actor even 1.8m tall really does not bother me.
Oh please. They lie about their height. Cheng Yi is even lying about his age. Everyone in China knows he is both older and shorter.
But tons of them lie because to say you are on the smaller side while you are trying to sell a visual doesn’t work. You know why Tony Leung was never bothered? Because he was always selling his skills and not his visual.
Of course Cheng Yi is not the worst. Leo Yunxi exaggerates his height even more.
@R, I agree Cdrama fans are shallow based upon how dramas and actors are assessed, appreciated or critiqued. LMAO.
Actors being short isn’t a problem at all as long as they fit the roles properly without forcing incredibly ludicrous ideas to the viewers that their characters have ethereal beauty and swoon-worthy visuals including physique and looks. LOL. Tom Cruise and Robert De Niro are two examples of different generations that are extremely charismatic and attractive on screen. But it was never claimed in their films that they were the most princely prepossessing guys in the whole world. To the laughable opposite, C idol dramas always advertised in their scripts that their short-stature MLs with scrawny or weak physique were the most beautiful creatures in the whole fairy-tale world while apparently their visuals showed the opposite. LOL. Find actors/actresses who have the said visuals or just don’t script the ways what they don’t look like. Funny!
@HL, getting delirious? LOL
Lol, yes Luo Yunxi is tiny around 165 cm but his height according to Google is 177 cm. I saw him in a drama, hospital scene with Bai Lu, where he was going into surgery so was bare foot and standing next to Bai Lu and he was the same height as Bai Lu who is 165 cm.
In a behind the scenes of Till the end of the Moon Luo Yunxi was running and the bottom of his costume flipped up and he was wearing like 10 cm plus platform shoes, it’s amazing he didn’t break his ankles. Lol
@rrrt
Luo Yunxi is a source of neverending laughter due to attempts to hide his height. His fans like to say he is at least 170 because that is the minimal height requirement for his ballet school but netizens dug up that at the time he went there was no such requirement. You can’t run from netizens lol
He is around 168 probably according to some very old photos that are still available.
@Lol, Another who will put other artiste down just to elevate your idol. Cheng Yi have no need to lie about his height… The media might. Why lie about sometimes that can be measured?
Honestly, why do you need to do that? Spread baseless rumours just to make your idol look good?
@HL
Of course he has a reason to lie just like all of them who are lying have a reason. You are getting bent out of shape over something that is easily proven and has been, a million times.
He, like others, lies about his height because he is selling a visual and for that you need at least around 180. Most Chinese actors lie about this. Yang Yang for example doesn’t just like about his height, he wears fake shoulder pads even during filming so that his shoulders will look straight and wide. Others were caught wearing full body suits so that it would appear they have abs.
This side of the industry depends on visuals and if you don’t have it, you will fake it. You can have as many fits as you like, it won’t change the truth. Especially not in China where this is well known.
I gravitate more towards Cheng Yi; he just needs better roles and scripts.
Never going to happen until he fixes his lines. He couldn’t even pronounce iQiyi properly during Screaming. Chinese had a field day mocking him. You can’t get serious scripts until you can actually deliver your lines properly.
He is the best actor among the three though 😭. In my opinion at least.
Out of the three, Cheng Yi is the best acting-wise imo. C-netizens has way too much time in their hands…they sure love nitpicking about everything (even the dumbest/trivial things), that’s ridiculous. I like his voice, they’re definitely reaching there *rolleyes*
All of them have limited range and can only do specific roles. But if I have to choose the best out of them three, I’ll choose Wang Hedi as he’s younger with more time to improve on his acting and voice, plus his visuals win by a long shot.
Cheng Yi has a very expressive acting range and does action scenes super well in addition to emotional scenes. He has quite the knack for nailing complex characters.
Super looking forward to his next two big IP dramas, especially since Hero Legends is said to be this generation’s Condor Heroes.
They are all limited actors though lmao Cheng Yi has been licking Zheng Xiaolong so desperately that he is definitely trying to get a different role but it’s not working. Not that surprising. For one, his lines are awful and no serious director will suffer that.
I watched several dramas of each of these three although did not finish any of those. LOL
I root for Dylan Wang among the three. Not his fan though since his visuals aren’t my cup of tea. Nonetheless, I see his potential in acting. As long as he has a strong desire to keep expanding his acting range and improving his lines without scandals going around, then the time will come for him to move up his acting trajectory. He’s got the most balanced assets to have a solid acting career among the three. If I were an investor to pick one among the three to bank my money, I would bet on DW. LOL
As the other two, Gong Jun had lazy acting styles unable to differentiate between roles from drama to drama. I was appealed to his height and visuals in the beginning but dang he’s so incredibly boring. LOL. Cheng Yi, to the opposite, overacted a lot besides his unappealing visuals and physique. Mysterious Lotus Casebook was overrated and he gave out THE SAME vibe and aura regardless of whether his drama was modern or costume. It’s amusing his monotonic acting style is praised to the moon. LOL. I also laughed reading so many posts online and on Chinese SM announcing him on the way to replace Xiao Zhan as the top liuliang. I’ve been reading quite a few pieces of news from the Taiwanese tabloid press raving about CY but Xiao Zhan’s name was always tagged along as a click bait. I got an inkling that CY’s PR has been working really hard to tap his increasing popularity due to MLC but at the same time knowing his level is not there yet on par with Xiao Zhan and therefore XZ was tagged all the time. LOL. That has given me a further negative impression of him.
Thank Lord Koala isn’t a rabid Redditor. Otherwise, my comment about Cheng Yi would definitely get downvoted. I don’t share the same shallow taste as the majority (about 40% are teens – 20s school girls per their own member survey LOL) of the members of Reddit Cdrama based upon how Cheng Yi is popular over there.
Gong Jun is such a boring actor,too bad. Cheng Yi is much better (and I really like his voice) but although he is not bad looking, his visuals could not be considered as “dreamy”. He is also older, he should move out of the idol category. Dylan has both the looks and the charisma, but his acting needs improvement and his voice a lot of work. Still, he’s the one I would bet my money on, if I were a producer.
Don’t know and don’t care about actors’ height. I like ’em for acting abilities and if their visuals are acceptable. Besides, a guy’s height really doesn’t impact the drama much. You barely see them next to taller people in dramas anyways. They’re always sitting, talking to shorter FLs or whatever. Silly thing to be picky about
I will absolutely watch everything DL is in (post-LBFAD), but I can’t guarantee I’ll finish his dramas.
I will mostly check out Cheng Yi’s costume projects (don’t like modern dramas) and I usually do manage to finish them.
I’m not interested in Gong Jun anymore. His acting has fallen dramatically since that initial breakout role (forget drama name.)
The point: I support DL and CY, but DL more
Talking about Cheng Yi’s modern drama, I did enjoy Draw the Line. But I am fond of Jin Dong and watches most of his dramas. Cheng Yi was adorable working under Jin Dong. I bet Cheng Yi enjoy not being burdened with lead roles, idol baggage when he acts with someone like Jin Dong. He looks relaxed in his role.
In ‘Draw the Line’, I learnt more about how China’s judiciary system works. Interesting.
Dylan Wang definitely the most interesting for me. He’s also really good in variety shows so at least he has an expanded repertoire. His weakest point is his voice/ voice control and I don’t think he can use his own voice in costume dramas yet. I don’t think Gong Jun should be in the same category, boring as hell and only did well in that one costume drama he did few years back.
I don’t care if Cheng Yi lied about his height, weight, age, whatever. He still the only one on this list who is a decent actor. The other two can’t act for shit even though that is literally their JOB.
I checked out Cheng Yi, because I heard he his acting was very good and Mysterious Lotus Casebook has a high rating on MDL. I dropped it after 6 episodes, both acting and show were flat/boring. I think I fell for fake hype.lol
I also gave Love and Redemption a chance, and thought, there’s alot more wrong with Cheng Yi’s face than his nose. Cheng Yi also deserves a dedicated article about how unsuitable his visuals are for Xianxia just like how there was a article about Ren Min and Tang Song Yun’s visuals.lol
Same, I couldn’t finish any of his dramas at all. The thing that truly turns me off from him is the way he behaves while “off-filming”. He’s already over 30yo yet constantly tries to act adorable like biting his lips, widening his eyes and other infantile behaviours. Coupled that with his past videos clearly showing that he didn’t act like this in the past, it really turns me off.
Out of Cheng Yi and Gong Jun I think Cheng Yi is the marginally better actor, can’t really comment on Dylan Wang since I only skipped through a episode of his recent drama to see what the fuss was with his voice.
Cheng Yi>>>>>rando off the street>>>>>>>robot during a power outage >>>>>>>bottom of the barrel>Gong Jun
not a fan of the actors but at least they are better-looking than Xiao Zhan.
Beauty is subjective, but the fact that Xiao Zhan has way more fans than all of them combined shows that Xiao Zhan fits the majority’s perception of good-looking.
@vlive, you show jealousy overload. LOL. You constantly dissed Xiao Zhan because he’s the only Chinese celebrity who’s ever beaten up your Kpop oppa as the most handsome man in the world.
You are lying to yourself and you know it 😂