Hey guys it's Anton. Some dramas cast the biggest and hottest stars currently in
the entertainment industry. These are your big blockbusters that you know will
tend to get the most attention and media coverage. And then there are those other
dramas that feature relative newcomers to the industry but just explode onto
the main screen with their memorable acting or stage presence. When an actor
or actress is brand new or unknown some people tend to dismiss the drama
completely because they don't think the show is going to be good. I'm the
complete opposite of course because, to me, I feel that if it's an actress first
big break they will tend to try their very best to prove that they can be
among the very best. All actors and actresses start from the very bottom and
that's the exact reason why I'm making this video today. I love seeing new faces
in the industry. This video will be devoted to seven dramas that helped
catapult their respective actors into the limelight. You'll want to watch this
video to the very end because some of these actors and the drama's that they
first gained attention in might surprise you. Before I go on though please
remember to hit that like button if you like content like this, and if you're new
to this channel do subscribe if you'd like to see more videos like this in the
future. Okay you guys let's begin. This is the Top 7 Chinese Dramas that help to
kick-start the careers of seven different actors and actresses. I want to
remind you guys that this list appears in no particular order so it's not a
ranked list. Anyways starting with the first. Number one, Xu Kai, The Story of
Yanzi Palace. When The Story of Yanxi Palace first premiered in 2018, Xu Kai
had already dabbled his feat in acting with a supporting role in the historical
costume drama Untouchable Lovers, which had started airing a few months prior.
This was the very first time that we ever saw him on the small screen but
even before that Xu Kai's very first acting experience in a drama was in the
now shelved but still extremely highly anticipated Zhao Ge, which was filmed all
the way back in 2017 and still has not yet been aired. Rumors are that it will
air sometime this year in 2020 though. Anyways Xu Kai's first biggest hit was
his appearance in the 2017 Qing era palace drama The Story of Yanzi Palace
which was a huge hit in China as well as with international audiences. It
skyrocketed Xu Kai's fame and eventually led to several
dramas featuring him as the main male lead. The Story of Yanxi Palace was a
whopping 70 episode series but it was the first drama that really sent Xu Kai's
name soaring into the spotlight. And although he couldn't appear for the
Yanxi Palace spin-off, Princess Adventures, currently airing on Netflix
right now by the way, I for one am glad that he was able to jump start his
career from this drama so that we are able to see his later works like last
year's The Legends which was absolutely fantastic.
Anyhow moving on. Number two, Chen Xing Xu, Goodbye My Princess. Goodbye My
Princess was 2019's dark horse drama, a series that nobody was really expecting
but turned out to be a solid drama. The series sent both the main leads into the
limelight with their fantastic acting navigating us through a rollercoaster of
emotions. Goodbye My Princess had a lot of highs and a lot of lows and Chen Xing
Xu's character was right there in the middle making us feel empathetic towards
his situation but at the same time making us hate his guts.
Before this drama we only really knew him from 2017 s The Legend of Condor
Heroes but by the time Goodbye My Princess started airing everyone was
looking to find out who Chen Xing Xu and the main female lead Peng Xiao Ren were.
I'll be honest with you guys I really did not find him very memorable in The
Legend of Condor Heroes but I found both him and Peng Xiao Ran completely
unforgettable in Goodbye My Princess. The series really captivated us with its
mercurial tone and very memorable visuals. I think that the Peng Xiao Ran
red dress even today is one of the most iconic elements from this drama, one that
is instantly recognizable and almost undoubtedly symbolic of Goodbye My
Princess. I still think of this series from time to time even to this very day.
This drama was definitively the drama that put Chen Xing Xu and Peng Xiao
Ran on the map, and you watch it you can really see why. Number 3, Zhao Li Ying, The
Legend of Lu Zhen. We go back in time to 2013 on this one and today in present
times with dramas like The Story of Ming Lan or The Legend of Chusen it's hard
to imagine Zhao Li Ying as anything but one of the biggest C-drama actresses in
the entertainment industry today. But all actors and actresses had to start
somewhere, and Zhao Yi Ling's story serves as a powerful
reminder to the rest of us that those in show business often have to grind and
work very hard to get to where they currently are at. Zhao Yi Ling had been in
many dramas since 2007 but I think that the very first time that I took notice
of her was back in 2013 when she exploded onto the scene with the
historical costume drama The Legend of Lu Zhen.
This was the type of character that today we know and love her for, the
strong independent and intelligent thinker. This drama is not as polished as
some of her more recent dramas today but it offers us a very interesting glimpse
into what Zhao Yi Ling was like back then and how she has evolved and refined herself
as an actress over the years. The Legend of Lu Zhen was the first drama that
brought her into media and viewer attention and I'm so glad that she was
able to break through in this role. Number four, Bai Lu, The Legends. Okay so Bai Lu
first appeared in a historical drama called The King Is Not Easy which could
be seen as her first breakthrough role. It's a good drama and you guys should
really check it out. But Bai Lu in The Legends was what really made her
noticeable to even international fans. Her demon look in The Legends alongside
Xu Kai was instantly noticeable, and the artistry with which the drama was filmed
can be described as cinematically meticulous. I just love the director's
vision for how this drama eventually became brought to life from its source
novel material, and the style with which it was presented. The Bai Lu / Xu Kai
chemistry was really off the charts in The Legends which was their first
collaboration as main leads but luckily not the last. Later dramas such as
Arsenal Military Academy have proven that these two can provide that unknown
x-factor that can really send sparks flying off the screen. The Legends was
the first series that made it all happen and that's why it's number four on this
list. Next up. Number five, Alan Yu, Go Princess Go. Alan Yu is the main male
lead in the currently airing Love Lasts Two Minds alongside Yukee Chen, but it was
not too long ago that Alan was starting out as a supporting actor. Even long
before his appearance in Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms as the
fourth brother, the first drama in which he started getting some attention in
was in 2015 with Go Princess Go. Now, this drama is undoubtedly low-budget, but
that's what makes it brilliant. It proves that a drama does not need a massive
budget in order to be entertaining. This was the first time I noticed Alan Yu
and I loved his character here. Alan started getting casted more into the
flower boy trope when he blew up in popularity with Ten Miles Of Peach
Blossoms two years after; but man, in Go Princess Go this was exactly the kind of
character I wish he would keep playing -- smart, cunning, and gets things done. His
chemistry with the main female lead was so funny, I really did not think I would
enjoy this drama because of the low budget, but in the end I walked away with
a few good laughs and more importantly a few new favorite actors. Number six. Xiao
Zhan, The Untamed. The Untamed needs no further explanation and I know I will
get flak from Wang Yibo fans for focusing more on Xiao Zhan but The
Untamed undoubtedly propelled both actors into the main stage. Within just a
few weeks of the airing of this drama Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan shot up to
become some of the most sought-after and most talked-about actors in the
Chinese entertainment industry. The chemistry between the two main leads
combined with the starkly different character foil between the pair led to a
massive following for the series. In fact, for me, The Untamed was good because of
these two actors. I simply can't imagine this drama being filmed with any other
leads. Xiao Zhan's characters, specifically, was quirky and eccentric; the kind that
becomes instantly memorable. Most of the time an actor will try to become the
character in his or her script and while that is acceptable and can still lead to
a great show what Xiao Zhan did was really made the character defined by him.
This doesn't happen very often but when it does it leads to spectacular result
what I can think of would be similar would be Johnny Depp from The Pirates of
the Caribbean series; similarly here, these two actors have taken their
characters and made them their own. There's simply no one else who could
play the same character and exude the same kind of energy or aura as the
original actor. There's really no surprise here why The Untamed propelled
Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan into the spotlight. Okay, moving on, and we get to
our final drama on the list. Number seven. Yang Mi, Palace: The Lock Heart Jade. Last
but not least let's talk about another behemoth name in C-drama
entertainment. Like Zhao Li Ying it's hard to imagine Yang Mi as anything but a top
drama actress, but she has been around in C-drama line for a long time and has
worked very hard for everything she has accomplished. She was in Chinese paladin
before but the very first time that I specifically remember her was in 2011 in
Palace: The Lock Heart Jade alongside Feng Shao Feng who also first gained my
attention from this drama. More recently people would remember William Feng from
The Story of Ming Lan alongside Zhao Li Ying but 9 years ago before these
powerhouse actors became household names, I remember him being paired with
Yang Mi and loving it. This drama was an excellent time-travel series back to the
Qing. And if you've seen the recent 2020 Dreaming Back To The Qing, this was much
better. People hated on Palace: The Lock Heart Jade when it first aired
because of the Boys Over Flowers slash Scarlet Heart time-travel crossover, but
I thought the mashup was pretty ingenious. This drama was definitely the
very first time that I really started noticing Yang Mi and Feng Shao Feng and I
feel really served as the catalyst that brought their fame to new levels. Palace
The Lock Heart Jade is an excellent reminder to all of us of Yang Mi's
journey to get to where she is today. And there you have it guys The Top 7 Chinese
dramas that helped to kick-start the careers of seven different actors and
actresses. I love seeing dramas that feature new
actors because you never know when a new face will suddenly become the next
hottest star. It's always so interesting to see familiar faces in their first
roles at supporting characters and to see their development and progression as
they rise to the top. Did you guys first notice these actors and actresses from
the same dramas too or did you start following them from somewhere different?
Let me know down in the comments section below. This video of course does not
include every single example and actually I had quite a few more that I
wanted to include so perhaps if you guys would like to hear more dramas that
helped to catapult their respective actors into the limelight we can turn
this video into a new series. Give me a like on this video and let me know down
below if you'd like to see a possible part 2. Anyways that's all I have for you
guys today thank you so much for joining me. Remember to subscribe to the channel
for more content like this in the future. My name is Anton, this is Asian Drama
News, I will see you guys in the next video. Bye!