Are Chang Chen and Ni Ni Too Old to Lead“Love and Destiny”?
Viewers feel that the two stars are not suitable to lead the idol drama.
42-year-old Taiwanese actor Chang Chen (張震) and 30-year-old Chinese actress Ni Ni (倪妮) are both big-name film stars. The duo can currently be seen in romantic fantasy drama Love and Destiny <宸汐緣>, but were criticized by viewers for looking out of place due to their age.
Netizens commented that the headpiece Chang Chen wore was odd-looking and made the originally handsome actor look awkward onscreen. Also not spared, Ni Ni was criticized for lacking the youthfulness her role demanded and that her facial shape did not sit well in the period setting of the drama.
Unimpressed by the lead stars’ performance, netizens pointed that their combined age was already over 70 years old. As the two lacked experience in filming idol dramas, viewers also found the plot less than touching despite the big budget behind the production. Some expressed their opinions that even if Chang Chen, the father of a four-year-old daughter wanted to switch to television dramas, he should be more selective about his work and not take on these idol dramas, and hoped that the actor can find a right positioning soon.
“Love and Destiny” Trailer
https://youtu.be/tegjnLYrURk
Source: On.cc
This article is written by JoyceK for JayneStars.com.
The guy does seem to be quite aged but depends on the age of his role. Nini is still pretty hot and a 30 yo mean can easily be mistaken as early 20s these days
Didn’t watch the drama so commenting based on the photos and trailer.
Yang Mi have been taking those young roles and participating in idol drama so don’t see why Nini cannot.
As for Zhang Zhen, appearance wise, he doesn’t fit this role. I thought he is supposed to be some deity but he looks like a regular ageing human with an unsuitable hairpiece.
Those complaining that Nini’s facial shape doesn’t suit the period of the drama should realize not all women in ancient China had v-shape chins
@msxie0714
I seriously never heard anybody saying they don’t like women because of their chins. I think some very dumb actresses spread a news pple hating on her because she ain’t have no V-shape chin. That is so ridiculously untrue because lots of most popular actresses don’t even have V-shape chins. Here are some examples, these actresses might have a longer face vs wider face but their chins are not even in V-shape: Ariel Lin, Vicki Zhao, Liu Yifei, Cecilia Liu, Liu Tao, Ruby Lin, etc.
@yoyo
Beauty standards in Korea and China deem the v-shape chin, tall nose bridge and big eyes as perfection. Unfortunately, many women and actresses feel pressured to conform with help from plastic surgeons. The actresses you mention are secure enough to retain their individuality and original beauty, while others are Fan Bingbing clones.
Call me shallow but none of the 5 top-billed cast are great looking. Chang Chen looks way older than his 42 years, Ni Ni reminds me of a bare-faced Joey Yung and the other 3 supporting cast just don’t look appealing. The sets are great though and had me reminiscing about Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. I might just give this a chance because of its connection to the original drama.
I personally think they are both great leads so far (I’m at episode 22 currently). Chang Chen won’t be able to compare to Mark as it is two different timelines so while I adore Mark’s performance in 10MOPB, Chang Chen is also slowly winning me over with the portrayal of his character thus far – yes his looks are not exactly made for ethereal drama’s like this, but he brings a very aloof and rugged aspect to his character. As for Ni Ni, apart from the terrible voiceover (her real voice is huskier), I adore her micro-expressions which brings a mischievousness and sassy quality to her character that’s not as garish as her on-set father (Le Bo). Unpopular opinion.. but I really did not like Yang Mi’s acting in 10MOPB, she was incredibly beautiful but sometimes I couldn’t feel the intense moments of her character’s sorrow, grief etc, but I’m getting that so far with Ni Ni. 10MOPB is still high on my list because Mark carried it through, given that there’s still plenty more episodes of L&D, I have high expectations still and expect to see more character development from both Chang Chen (breaking out of the cold shell) and NiNi (character maturity).
@lemonjade Agree with you on Yang Mi’s portrayal in 10 Miles, she just a consistent laid back Bai Qian in the drama. Anger or sadness were lacking in the later part of the story. I thought she was good in the drama with Ruby Lin long time ago but her acting remained stagnant and superficial after that.
@lemonjade I’m with you on Chang Chen, even though I’m only at ep 7, I like him. He is not mean to be dashingly handsome, he’s god of war, not god of beauty lol. I like both leads so far, too, they acted their role well and do feel their chemistry. I also agree that 10 miles is high on my list too because mark indeed made that series. While I like YM enough, I agree that her performance in that drama is pretty flat.
Atm I’m not watching L&D as I have a lot of other shows to binge and I don’t want to wait for it, and cdrama with 60eps means there will be drags lol. My current watch is hotel del Luna (excellent series so far, totally recommended) and the magicians (binge on prime lol!)
I’m surprised this was written, shot and broadcast before Pillow book, which was announced way before Love and Destiny.
I guess they wanted to put this out while the hype for Pillow book is still present.
Just started watching but I noticed that other than the main leads, everyone else is pretty plain looking. Scenery and CGI have improved by loads though!