C-actress Li Meng Impresses as the Villainous Princess Character in The Double Achieving Career Boost
The gift that keeps on giving in period C-drama The Double continues on and supporting actress Li Meng who played the crazy villainous Princess Wanning in the drama is getting her well-earned attention and limelight for her bravura performance. She was probably the best actress (and maybe the best acting man or woman) in The Double, with only her onscreen boy toy Shen Yu Rong played by Liang Yong Qi giving her a run for her money. I’ve glimpsed Li Meng in other dramas but this was the first I watched through and really was so impressed with her. Bonus points that she looks so much like my girl Ariel Lin‘s earthier older sister. So happy to be impressed in a total surprise way.
Yep! Li Meng has the best acting in The Double. Chen Chiao En was also outstanding. I did not like the ending of their characters though, I felt it simple for what they represented in the plot as antagonists. LOL.
Hope this can lead to better roles for Chen Qiao En, who displayed a lot of charm in her early roles, (in spite of the overacting typical of idol dramas) but squandered her potential doing the most mind-numbingly awful dramas in existence. Among her peers, I think she was the only one whose acting never evolved, whereas many other idols who started off more deficient in talent leveled up and are now respected as actors. Anyway, hope she gets more complex roles now that she’s in her mid forties.
Yep! I’ve praised these two ladies enough. Royal Princess’s character and storylines are more dramatic in the sense easier to stand out while step mom’s role more subtle to interpret. I don’t rate Li Meng’s acting necessarily better than Joe Chen’s cause they played different characters of two extreme temperament. They both had riveting performances in the Double and their supporting roles were both critical for heroine’s revenge story. It may appear Li Meng outshone everyone else including Joe Chen simply because there are more theatrical shows in Li Meng’s acting. She is so dramatic and her extra showy lunacy worked pretty well on Royal Princess’ storylines. LOL.
@Somebody Both are great. But I personally liked Li Meng’s expression of the range of emotions better.
Yup. Royal Princess’ twirling is quite a masterpiece! LMAO. She gave me so much entertainment that I can spend several paragraphs taking about her. LOL.
Is Liang Yong Qi also affiliated with Huanyu Ent?
Unfortunately yes…he deserves so much better than being managed by such a crook.I hate Yu Zheng but he sure has an eye for talent. We can only hope he won’t hinder or screw that talented man’s career *sigh*
She reminds me of the great Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon. I feel her looks are more suited for contemporary dramas. It would be nice to see her play a chilled out fun earthy (sexy! ) character in a rom com.
I love seeing the C-ent supporting actresses getting love and attention recently.
She’s a serious actress who has worked in many acclaimed dramas and art house movies directed by auteurs like Jia Zhangke. With a bit more mainstream exposure and successful leading roles, she can join the ranks of Zhou Dongyu who is my favorite Chinese actress. She was very good in The Bad Kids. Always thought she had a contemporary look so it’s nice to see she did well in a period drama.
I googled her and noticed that too. It’s not like the Double is her breakout accomplishment in the acting department. She’s an experienced veteran actress. Drama fans weren’t familiar with her cos most of her exposure seemed to be mostly on movie side. She is better than a lot of C drama leading actresses by miles.
I hope she will land leading roles in the drama arena so that we get to enjoy her acting more. I don’t watch any Chinese movie anyway.
@Somebody There are many movies that do not have CCP propaganda. But I wouldn’t say they are exactly good. LOL.
She’s very beautiful and her eyes are so magnetic. I love her acting.
Li Meng is extremely talented (she has graduated from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy after all) and has that unconventional beauty about her that makes her really unique in my eyes. I’m following her Weibo and she barely wears any makeup in her days off. I like that she doen’t seem to be obsessed with her looks unlike so many actresses.
I’m looking forward to her next projects.
there are other actresses that have graduated from the BFA, whose acting seems to have come to an abrupt halt and never evolved. dont wanna name names to start fan wars. but LM was truly impressive in the drama.
Looks are important in this industry, even if the actresses don’t care, the public will always have opinions about it. LOL. There are many pretty faces with questionable talent but people always find excuses for them. LOL.
That said, I find Li Meng average. But it is of no relevance as I think her main function is to be reasonably good at acting. LOL. She already is.
Who don’t like good looks? 🤣🤣🤣
Li Meng deserves leading roles. She is much better than a lot of pedestrian leading ladies in the current market who are by no means leading material but somehow have been offered numerous leading roles to bore us to the heck. LOL.
Perhaps she doesn’t have strong backing to land her any leading role with good projects for so many years. A female version of Alen Fang. LOL.
I don’t think Alen Fang is as great in acting as Li Meng.
Li Meng is impressive in the Double. But I have to see her in other dramas to say she’s great like veteran Zhou Xun. Royal Princess in the Double Li Meng played is a theatrical character full of drama that is in the sense easier to stand out among all different kinds of characters. Yet to see Li Meng to handle more subdue character to say she is truly a great actress like her seniors. As to Alen, I have watched enough of his dramas, success or flop, to say he’s a good actor deserving leading roles way more than numerous equally boring leading faces in C dramas. LOL.
@Somebody Queen Zhou Xun has been on this industry since 1991, there are levels. Zhou Xun’s acting is powerhouse. But Li Meng is still a great actress like Ni Ni and other names. Zhou Xun is one of Li Meng’s role models btw.
I have watched ten Li Meng’s projects and I still think she is better than Fan Yilun. She has different types of characters (good, gray, evil, dumb, generic) and she was great playing all of them. That’s why I don’t think character writing is related to acting talent. Wanning is a theatrical character but in the hands of a lesser lady, she wouldn’t be memorable or impressive. She would be another crazy princess in the pile.
@Somebody Many actors without strong backing are better than most of the popular names. LOL. Few go hand in hand with popularity and talent.
She was amazing… really enjoyed her and LYQ in their villain roles. She gave the crazy, heartbreak, and angst so well that you hated her and then pitied but still hated her. And LYQ gave the pettiness, craziness, and victim mentality so well, you just hated him.
They were a great discovery for me besides the main CP having great chemistry.
I just hope Joe Chen doesn’t continue to play mother roles. LOL. It’s boring to see that there is no variety of characters for actresses once they are approaching 40.
In the West we have more variety 🤭
She’s indeed amazing. I can feel her love, desperation, anger, jealousy, and hatred throughout the drama. Her micro expression.. glare, stare, smile, smirk… everything about her acting is to deliver her character’s personality, thoughts, feelings well.
Chen xiao en was amazing as well but LM has given a more challenging acting scale.
Watching another drama, but hasnt met another best villain like royal princess. Will love to see an interesting antagonist like that.
The ex husband was great and amazing as well. Love their acting and chemistry.
@Yui Chen Chiao En*
Chen Qiao En*
I like Li Meng, honorable mention to LYQ, when it comes to sympathetic antagonists. Not my fav villain of all time, but her character was colorful and fun.
My favs in semi-recent times would have to be Sheren Tang in War & Beauty, Rain Wang in Mysterious Lotus Casebook (very high honorable mention here – she played the crazy brilliantly to the point where I felt she was actually having FUN playing that role), and Jiang Xin in Empresses in the Palace.
Li Meng is a pitiful and fun character because she really doesn’t gaf, but I don’t feel her character enabled her to give as much nuance as she could. Something’s missing, but dunno what. Maybe a characterization issue.
Li Meng has always been talented and had some great roles in the past… the issue with her is her working attitude. And yes, this is a known thing among the industry and general public. She was fired from one production after half of the episodes were filmed (she was the female lead too, mind you) because of unreasonable requests like adding scenes or changing lines etc. Her most famous incident is the apple incident…. A scene called for her to say her lines while skinning an apple. She delivered the scene marvelously but a retake was needed because they had to switch camera angles. When she was handed a new apple, she said it didn’t look the same as the previous one and forcefully requested the prop director find the exact same apple for her. Dude has to run several places looking for the “perfect apple” for her. So her lack of roles was because she was blacklisted for her attitude, not that her talent wasn’t appreciated in the past. Hopefully she has changed though.
She is undeniably talented, but her attitude and demeanor are her downfalls. She has gained a reputation for being very unprofessional on set. Her consistent lateness and self-centered behavior led to her being fired by one director and disliked by several co-actresses. Having a good attitude and professionalism at work is crucial for gaining respect, support, and success. While she possesses talent, it doesn’t justify her behaving however she wants.
Wow. No wonder if this isn’t a rumor but true. But may I ask if the same applies to Alen Fang’s case? Does Alen Fang have the same attitude issue to lack leading roles?
Where did you get the news like this about LM? Do you have connections to the C-ent insiders. Chinese social media is full of unproven rumors. How do you know the attitude story is true or not?
@Somebody In 2009, Li Meng, who had just turned 18, was selected to play the role of Bai Ling in the movie “White Deer Plain” for her outstanding acting talent. It is rumored that during the filming process, Li Meng clashed with the director, which eventually led to her being replaced.
https://i.inf.news/p/FzbyY1T0U3dL12NRNUcJBTZwd2NSJzQHZ2YIZnTsV3XThTLf5UbMdWUV1kQORlNVlXVRNFa0tmWBpFUiF3U0ATUClTdix2Uzh1Ts10M3sUTQBDT4l1ZYdURuJzd
The rumor kick off again when Li Meng participated in a variety show and the famous director Zhang Jizhong criticized her on the spot, saying, “This person is difficult to deal with. No matter how good her acting skills are, I will not use her.”
https://i.inf.news/p/FTUzsGWMNVdmBDVINEd4MkMCF0SZxEO2FnNuxURyVjTVd2UygVat80YFhVbnVEU2hkVn5WYF9lb5gVWlFjUpFlNHZXLxNjN0EXeYt2YRdGUGd3SJdDMfVjcK52d
It was also rumored when filming “The Bad Kids”, Li Meng was peeling an apple while speaking the lines, the director suggested changing the camera position and filming again. Since the previous apple had been peeled, the team handed another apple to Li Meng. Li Meng was instantly unhappy and insisted on finding an apple that was exactly the same as the previous one.
@Somebody There are no rumors about Fang Yilun himself, but it has been rumored that his agency (Tongle Entertainment) did not accept roles that would have made him popular such as Wen Kexing in Word Of Honor. LOL. If true, it’s a shame because I’m imagining how great the character would have been if he had played it. Gong Jun is a weak actor.
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful post with us.