Crystal Liu Takes Over Zanilia Zhao in Her Upcoming Project

Surging on popularity following the successes of her dramas Meet Yourself <去有風的地方> and The Tale of Rose <玫瑰的故事>, actress Crystal Liu‘s (劉亦菲) appears to have a knack for picking out good scripts! Idle for two years since The Tale of Rose, Crystal’s next project is rumored to be costume drama Tearless Snow <咸雪>, with the female lead role she’s taking on originally meant for actress Zanilia Zhao (趙麗穎).

Crystal’s Knack for Pulling Off Hits

Wrapping up filming for The Return of the Condor Heroes <神雕俠侶> in 2006, Crystal turned her focus to the big screen and made a successful TV comeback in 2022 with the mega success of A Dream of Splendor <夢華錄>, following which the subsequent dramas she led continued resonating with viewers. Asked when she would be filming a new drama whenever she showed up during events, Crystal always gave the same reply that “I’m still reading the script”, adding that she would always prioritize the quality of the script, and does not restrict the kind of characters she takes on.

Adapted from Chinese novel of the same name, Tearless Snow tells of a lady salt merchant Su Qingyao who returns to the city as a wealthy widow, and is tasked to secretly investigate the imperial patrol envoy Shen Yibao.

Story Won Her Over

While Tearless Snow‘s had originally cast Zanilia Zhao as its female lead, the actress had turned it down as her recent focus was on the big screen. After starring in the production The Legend of Shen Li <與鳳行> last year – partly to fulfill fans’ dreams of seeing her pairing up with actor Lin Gengxin (林更新) again after Princess Agents <楚喬傳>, she has decided not to take on costume dramas, while Crystal was the production’s best alternative cast, being the only post-85 actress who commanded the same weight.

On the other hand, Crystal was initially not as interested in Tearless Snow, as A Dream of Splendor was in the same category, but the female-centric plotline, along with the promising cast and crew eventually won her over. The series is helmed by The Long Season <漫長的季節> director Xin Shuang (辛爽), co-starring either As Beautiful As You‘s <你比星光美麗> Xu Kai (許凱), Joy of Life‘s <慶餘年> Zhang Ruoyun (張若昀) or The Story of Minglan‘s <知否？知否？應是綠肥紅瘦> Zhu Yilong (朱一龍) as male lead.