3 Chinese Actors Whose Fame Was Held Back by Their Agencies
While some Chinese actors easily found fame and success shortly after their debut, others take years to do so. After all, a handsome face does not necessarily guarantee instant stardom. Even a memorable role does not sustain popularity if the actor’s career is mismanaged by his agency.
Here are three actors with strong acting skills, but suffered career delays due to their incompetent agencies.
Zhang Zhehan
Soaring in popularity after BL drama Word of Honor <山河令> became an unexpected hit, Zhang Zhehan‘s (張哲瀚) commercial value is risking quickly. Before this success, Zhehan was signed under producer Yu Zheng (于正) and had struggled to make it big for six years. Despite opportunities to star in notable works such as The Romance of the Condor Heroes <神鵰俠侶>, Nirvana in Fire <琅琊榜>, and Love Yunge from the Desert <雲中歌>, he had only played supporting characters and did not attract much attention.
It was not until the actor later signed with Vicky Zhao Wei’s (赵薇) studio that his career started picking up with the Legend of Yunxi <芸汐傳>.
Luo Yunxi
Talented in both music and dance, Leo Luo Yunxi (羅雲熙) debuted in a boy band before changing routes to become an actor. Although he gained considerable recognition through his performance in My Sunshine <何以笙簫默>, he later became embroiled in a two-year lawsuit regarding his contract. Losing multiple opportunities, Yunxi’s acting career was on a standstill.
Fortunately, starring in Ashes in Love <香蜜沉沉烬如霜> in 2018 gained him immense popularity, which successfully propelled him back in the game.
Zhu Yilong
Breaking out from The Guardian <镇魂>, Zhu Yilong (朱一龍) is also a late bloomer, as it took him 10 years to reach his current status. He is reportedly stuck in a 35-year contract with his agency. While the credibility of the rumor is not high, his agency has been useless in supporting his career. Allegedly, they would accept random dramas without review and are still continuing to exploit Yilong even after his success.
Source: Beauty 321
This article is written by Minna for JayneStars.com.
There really should be better laws in place to protect artists.. there are some with ridiculous terms that takes advantages of the new sign ups. Even Sean Xiao is going thru the same problems with his agency.
@hohliu I know right, this is ridiculous. There should be laws in place to safeguard these artists. It is so bad that this one artist has an agent who controls his phone, computer and all his social media accounts. Knows every password, decides what he eats, how much, what he wears, who are his friends, and goes everywhere he goes, I mean everywhere. This agent even keeps him away from the person he fell in love with. All this agent has done is make money off him. His career has gone nowhere since he made one big drama, and given his acting ability, and his dangerously handsome face and chiseled body, you would think he would be in high demand. All she does is control him and make money off him. They don’t care about the artists, just controlling them and filling their pockets off these artist.
@renren
Are you really talking about Xiao Zhan here? I know it’s bad for Xiao Zhan, but I didn’t know it’s that bad. “…an agent who controls his phone, computer and all his social media accounts. Knows every password, decides what he eats, how much, what he wears, who are his friends, and goes everywhere he goes, I mean everywhere…” The 1st time I saw her during their competition I knew she was not a nice lady. I heard that Xiao tried to get out of that contract, but he wasn’t able to do it. Yes. There should be a law to protect these artists from these monster agencies.
@dramas4me actually I just used his situation to highlight the plight of these agents, managers who control and stall the careers of these actors and artists in general. The one I am talking about is from Taiwan, but abuse and mental cruelty is very prevalent all over Asaia, but Mainland China takes the cake. There should be union or human rights tribunal to represent these artists.
@renren Many are like that…Very unfortunate. It is a very hash enviroment… China should has a long way to go with equality and human rights issues.
@hohliu But is Xiao Zhan still with the agency? But I find his earnings not at par with his popularity due to his controversy, unlike Yibo
@hayden Yes, he is trying to get out of it but his agency who looks down on him for years would not let go…Honestly, I feel more should be done that protects artiste and their rights.