Charmaine Sheh to Star in “Yanxi Strategy”, First Period Drama in 5 Years
After going through a neck injury a few years back, Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼) avoided doing acting projects that required her to use a headdress. As a result, Charmaine had to turn down many offers for historical period dramas—her last period drama was The Legend of Kublai Khan <打仗天才忽必烈>, shot in 2012.
This weekend, Chinese producer Yu Zheng (于正) released some character stills from his latest Qing Dynasty drama effort Yanxi Strategy <延禧攻略>, which centers on the love story between the Qianlong Emperor and Consort Ling. Chinese actress Wu Jinyan (吴谨言) will star as Consort Ling, with Nie Yuan (聂远) as the Qianlong Emperor. Charmaine stars as Consort Xian, Qianlong’s wife before he became emperor.
Many fans have expressed their surprise at the casting announcement, commenting their shock at seeing a relatively unknown actress leading over Charmaine, who plays only second fiddle to the main storyline.
Nonetheless, fans are quite eager to see Charmaine don the Manchurian dress again. Though Yu Zheng’s productions are usually met with criticism, many are putting the show on their radar thanks to Charmaine’s casting.
“For [Charmaine] I will break the rules and watch a Yu Zheng drama,” one netizen said. “I guess he won now that he actually invited Charmaine Sheh,” said another.
Yanxi Strategy began production in May and is slated for 50 episodes.
Source: HK01
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Is it just me?! Am i going crazy? Charmaine’s teeth these days really bother me. It looks so out of place, like her lips aren’t big enough to envelop her pearly whites.
I’ve seen that picture around, but didn’t know it was for a Mr Yu drama. That man is so detestable but some of his dramas are really addictive (not saying they’re works of art, far from it actually). Unfortunately I’m not surprised that Charmaine is cast as a supporting actress (her dramas aren’t massive hits). And YZ does seem to like using HK actors in some major but supporting roles. I just hope he’ll utilise her properly in this drama. And gods above, for the love of Charmaine I do hope this drama turns out to be a hit.