Zhang Wan Yi Cast as General Huo Qu Bing in Upcoming Big Budget C-drama Han Dynasty Epic with Deng Chao and Jiang Shu Ying

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• He is steadily climbing thru his career. He may not visually look as high as some idols but he win with his temperament and steady acting skills. I am not a fan of Zhang Wangyi, only watch one of his drama, but I can see his journey..

  • I honestly don't think he has the acting skills though. I keep seeing marketing about how he's more suitable for serious dramas instead of idol dramas, yet he failed miserably in both.

    • Oh.. I dont watch his show but have read quite good comments. But his does seem to be doing better as we speak. Likely his viewers do like him... he is not a actor I warm to.

    • Probably only his fans.

  • He is a steady actor who can act both in idol type shows and more serious type shows. Brings something new to the plate for each character he creates. Intro AYTO to my friend and she is so impress with his acting and will ask me if I watch his new show whenever we met. We discussed the online negative comments about him and agree that his micro expressions can be sometimes quite subtle or for high resolution viewing.

• he needs a change of style in historical dramas. otherwise it is a copy paste and we cant differentiate his characters across dramas

  • I agree that he needs a style change for costume dramas.

  • He's too stiff. I don't consider him a great actor. Nothing wrong with his off line personality and looks but not a fan

• These are just casting rumors, and this drama has been in the "casting" phase for years with gazillion casting rumors. Also, the male leads for both parts of Da Han Fu are definitely going to be the emperors, not Huo Qubing.

  • That is very true...cast rumours are just so common..

• Does he have the physique to be a general? He's not built or tall. He doesn't have the temperment to be hot headed either. His fans say he is imposing for an emperor. I can't get his acting because of his eyes and plastic smile.

  • How tall do you think generals were in the Han Dynasty??? He looks great in armor.

    • It's proportional. Great generals should look bigger than the people around them. Does he look bigger than the other actors? If he went back in time, he might be as tall, but certainly too skinny. And not enough scruff. But he lives in the now where his height and build are below average compared to other actors.

      Just my personal preference. He would be more convincing in scheming, non-physical roles.

    • Agree that he looks great in armor. Love the fighting scenes in his shows, and he looks great ridding a horse too.

  • Someone should have told Napoleon and Attila the Hun that they weren't great generals since they weren't proportionally taller than the people around them.

    If it is proportional, then it doesn't matter how tall ZWY is. All that matters is that he's taller than then the extras and other actors around him, or shot that way. FYI, Zhang Wang Yi is above average in height at 5'10". Too skinny? Like almost all the Asian actors. Andy Lau, Tony Leung, & Jet Li, who are all shorter than ZWY and are slender, did great playing historical Chinese generals. On a strictly physical level, ZWY would do fine.

    Acting wise, others may disagree, but I think he's a solid choice. He has gravitas and can project intelligence and ruthlessness.

    • He looks nothing like Napoleon or Atila the Hun, and that's a compliment. 5'10 (with shoes) is not above average for a Chinese lead actor. Do you really want to compare him to 2 generations ago of acting legends? Tony Leung and Jet Li were short. Andy Lau was average. Jet Li and Andy Lau had muscle and weren't considered skinny. Tony Leung is known for his quiet complex, nuanced acting and soulful expressive eyes. Andy Lau for his discipline, diverse talent, good looks and charisma. At 50 years old, he still had 6 pack abs, showing them off on concert tours. Jet Li, his graceful and powerful martial arts. What aspect does Zhang Wan Yi share with them besides being short?

      Let's start with his contemporaries. Off the top of my head, Chen Xing Xu, Bai Jing Ting, and Zheng Ye Cheng are all taller and more fit than him. Any of these guys would look more like a general if they stood side by side with Zhang Wan Yi.

      Acting is personal preference. He doesn't connect with me. He is not wood, but he feels like pretentious wood. I do agree that he can look smart and ruthless, but he gives off a sinister vibe. He is better as an antagonist for me. Simply a difference of opinion, sincerely glad his acting works for you.

    • I didn't say ZWY LOOKED like Napoleon or Attila the Hun. I just pointed out that height has nothing to do with being a great general. Oh, now you're claiming a general's height isn't proportional to people around them, but to Chinese actors, excuse me, modern Chinese actors .... for a HAN DYNASTY general? Why can't we compare HEIGHTS of actors, since that's your issue? All the actors named are slender.

      Zheng ye Cheng is ONE inch taller than ZWY. I disagree about Bai Ting Jing -- but I've never seen him in armor or as a soldier in a drama. If you want to slam ZWY for his acting, that's a difference of opinion. But generals don't have a height standard.

  • His smile is what bothers me when watching his dramas. A bit too fake and always trying to look polished. I'd like to see him in a totally different persona, hair style, and really let go of trying to look handsome on screen all the time. His acting is okay but not sure if he has the charisma.

• I kinda agree with all the criticism of ZWY as the ML. He impressed me in Lost You Forever but that's it. I found him easily get tired of thanks to his limited visual range and repeatedly same aura across different dramas.

  As I keep finding appealing young actors in the Kdrama casting pool, I wonder why it's so hard to find comparable acting talent in the Cdrama counterpart. Man, you've officially claimed total population of 1.4 billion ! But Cdrama has such a limited pool for casting and keeps recycling same boring actors as main leads! look at how laughable C actors' make-believe acting in general compared with Kdrama. LOL.

• ZWY impressed me in Lost You Forever part one. I was pleasantly surprised with his comedic acting in Are You The One and go on to watch the next one and the next haha. I find that while the styling is similar for the role, he infused a different aura to each one according to the character even in similar scenarios. There are always scenes where he stand out from his portrayal that elevate my enjoyment of the show.

  I find that he has been over exposed and whether intentionally or by chance, broadcasting four similar genre of his shows in less than a year did affect perception of people who did not watch his shows closely, look at short clips and screen caps. After following his shows and comments, I realised for some reason, there are alot of black marketing on him. Each time his show came out, there will be tons of negative comments repeating similar key words. I have done search engine optimisation before, so the signs are quite obvious.

  Similarly, there will be casting rumours followed by news that he lost the role, which seems to be a common tactic to bring down one actor/actress and elevate another. The same thing happens after the airing of Are You The One last year. So while I hope to see him act in a good quality show with good script and directing, I will take this with a pitch of salt.

  • Yes, thought he is very good in Lost You Forever and then watch his other dramas. I find all the characters unique because of the way he portray them. Even the way the characters walk is different. Hope he will get a good role soon.

• ZWY has the same problem as Cheng Yi. No matter how their agency/capital burn money for them they cannot just breakthrough and get famous . It seems fame will always be elusive in their entire career. I know this comment will ruffle someone’s feathers but pls be assured that this has no ill intention and I am just repeating the common observation from cdrama watchers. It is also commonly mentioned by drama watchers that ZWY and CY appearance are considered inferior in c-ent standards and with their hit or miss acting skills, they can never deliver consistent good performances. Both have poor diction and poor dialogue delivery that they never bothered to improve until now. Both can deliver decent crying scenes but not all the time. Also, it’s really hard for viewers to differentiate their roles one from the other is probably their biggest flow.

  • *flaw 🤭

  • So much agreed! Well said.

• Saw him in The Bond. Not impressed by his acting. But usually I don't enjoy acting by Chinese actors/actresses that are popular on social media and apparently he's one of them. So many good acting comes from unpopular names.

• On Weibo today Leo Wu will play the general who died at the age of 23 on pest