Historical drama Jun Jiu Ling 君九龄 has drawn some discussion for its casting of what Netizens refer to as its “ugly male protagonist”. A bit harsh to be honest, but instead of talking about whether the story is good and if the drama’s plot is worth watching, what has viewers talking about the show is their dissatisfaction at the male lead’s appearance. Jun Jiu Ling producer Yan Dandan recently touched upon the subject, saying she had no hesitations about casting Jin Han. It can be remembered that Jin Han first drew attention as the villain in Princess Agents before moving on to leading man roles.
Casting Jin Han is Very Suitable
In Jun Jiu Ling, he plays the military commander Zhu Zan and Peng Xiaoran’s romantic interest. Whilst Jin Han might not be the typical “handsome” face you see in dramas, many viewers have already said that it was his personality and charisma that caught their attention. Yet, there are still those who feel that his aesthetics is not suitable for a historical drama. To this, Yan Dandan explained the reason behind their choice to cast him.
“It’s because Jin Han has played similar roles in his previous works. Even though he doesn’t have what we’d consider the typical “good- looking hero” sort of aesthetics – pale, tender, thin eyebrows and big eyes, this kind of male image, his image is indeed very suitable for the character of a masculine general so we cast him.”
Talking about the casting standard for costume dramas, Yan Dandan believes that “the reason why actors are actors is because of their ability to play any role. Playing a character in a costume drama should be no different from what we are now such as urban dramas. In fact, what determines the choice is whether the actor can adapt and fit in rather than saying the actor can only play ancient costume drama roles and not suspense ones. I believe we shouldn’t classify actors based on genre, but how flexible he is.”
Have you watched Jun Jiu Ling already? If so, what are your thoughts about the show?
Source: 1
Yooi
I’ve watched it and i had no prob with all the actors except for the ex hubby. His acting wasnt the best but he was better than some other leads in other dramas.
I like this drama and plan to re-watch it later.
I am not a fan of pretty boy, so i prefer Jin Han. His acting and chemistry with the FL was pretty good.
Melissa Medina
I think Jin han was perfect for this. He played the role perfect. They had great chemistry. He is a man’s man. His looks are gorgeous
Soupsoua
He was perfect for this role! I actually loved that he wasn’t the typical pretty boy. To me, he was still super handsome… and love his acting. The scene where he cried in front of the grave was so heart breaking. 🙁 I can’t wait to see more of his shows going forward! I’m so happy the director gave him a chance.
Katie
Shame I really liked the main lead he was different he is handsome not sure if the people blind. True the ex fiance wouldn’t call him husband he was good and being crazy but not scary enough you be afraid which is why he seemed kinda flat.
carmen
el es mejor actor que mucho, que solo son cara bonita pero son pesimo en la actuacion.
VicoSDL
Ugly ?! Seriously ?!
Moreover, an actor’s appearance is far from being the most important asset, being handsome is useless if he can’t act, and how many actors who are not that handsome end up overflowing with charisma because their acting is awesome !
(ex : Chen Xing Xu is not that good-looking but his acting makes him so hot)
Katie
Haha I keep thinking of that actor Alan Yu a robot. Not enough expression on. His face sounds monotone. I try watching his shows but it’s hard to watch his acting
XZF
@ Katie
For some reason I can’t watch him also.
HL
I am watching the drama now… I really feel Jin Han is not bad in the drama.. Enjoying watching the lead couple chemistry…
Anonymous
I think people have more issues with him or personality than his looks.
Anonymous
He was quite suitable for the drama. His acting in that role was convincing enough and quite good too. C-netizens are dissatisfied with everything these days, it seems. Wasn’t there a campaign against “pretty boys” a few weeks ago? Now they cast a man who looks masculine and can act, and they are still complaining. Never satisfied. SMH.
Guest
The campaign came from the government or something. It had nothing to do with the average C-netizen who watches dramas and wants to see handsome men on screen.
This doesn’t mean I agree with their criticism. I dislike how some viewers care too much about appearance when skills should be the most important thing for an actor.
Anon
That “campaign” was from the authorities, not the netizens. It was precisely to counter this kind of irrational obsesiveness with pretty boy looks from the netizens. In fact, I think this move is quite freeing for many celebrities as they now no longer have to cultivate a certain kind of image just to please the netizens.
Katie
Yeah I felt he was masculine loved every minute of the show.
c
I have more problem with his costumes; In the novel, his character was this rough-and-tumble, military-background kind of guy, but his costumes did not reflect this at all and, at times, ridiculous (e.g. look up the fight scene between zhuzhan and lu yunqi where zhuzhan wore a cape…. — you could tell the actor was fighting not with just his opponent, but with the cape as well!)
Anon
Truthfully, all actors have their range and limits. Some have better aura in costume and some don’t fit. Some are very suitable and used to idol dramas while some can’t pull off these shallow roles and are more suitable for more in-depth characters. Casting based on suitability and not just “acting skills” can turn a terrible plot into a masterpiece. No matter how much these directors try to ignore this the repercussions have and will always be the same, you can think of all the potential masterpieces in the past few years ruined by casting.
avarachika
He was fine. Story was interesting too because you got a strong female lead and male lead. He’s not your typical handsome male lead, but he wasn’t too ugly to look at too lol. His character and acting makes up for it.
XZF
He is not the typical looking Chinese actor/male lead. I watched the JJL and I like it. His acting was good. It’s so mean to say that he is ugly. I watched three of his dramas as one bad guy and two as good guy (Our Glamorous Time and Jun Jiu Ling ) and I still can’t shake off his bad guy image from Princess Agents.
Joni
I have watched it a month ago and quite enjoyed it. I have no problems with JH’s looks. In real life, everyone looks different. I think that the main cast all did pretty well. Each of the 4 men chasing after the FL has distinct personalities of their own and overall, I think all of them delivered their characters on point. I particularly like that obsessive, deranged Lu, haha. His death scene is the only touching spot for me.
laihonn
Looking at the picture, I would say it’s the styling of his hair that made him look really mean. He has a face that’s male equivalent to “resting bitch face” and it didn’t help that the styling of the character hair is really pulled up. He looks fine in his other historical dramas.
I didn’t watch the series but I did know about people complaining about how he looks evil and not good looking, then again c-nets did kind of complained a lot of “ugly” historical actors recently. Sometime, I think people should just ignore them because they also complained when a series just have pretty actor/ actress and no plot or storyline. LOL You can’t win with the c-nets.
The female lead in one of my favorite series suffered a poor planning with wardrobe but it didn’t distract me from enjoying her acting. They gave more screen time for when they dressed her horribly but less screen time when they dressed her up nicely.
Rita
Eu amei o drama e eu nao olho beleza dos atores e sim a capacidade deles a quimica do casal foi perfeita e sim ele atua muito bem neste estilo de drama parabens a todos pois o drama e muito bom. .
Miscast
He really is miscast. His acting makes me cringe, and before this drama I never thought he was bad actor. But he really can’t act as a goofy funny guy, it simply does not suits him. He doesn’t have any chemistry with the main lady, their looks also don’t match, they don’t look like a beautiful couple when they are together. I dropped the show because of him, I just couldn’t stand it when he tried to make funny expressions.
Y
You probably haven’t seen bts for any of his series. I find his acting in here ok because I can’t get out the image of him being a goof ball out if my head. But he is super charming! That the only reason why I kept watching!
Ines
Pretty boys are aesthetically pleasing … Jin Han looks the epitome of Chinese male.
Arlene
Kim Jin Han is one of the best actor in china.and i love how the way he act in every role he has.his acting is too natural.being a villain in princess agents makes me mad at him but watching some of his dramas makes me feel in loved with him🙂
Yei D Boayue
OMG! Are people serious? Jin Han is a handsome young man with exceptional talents. I’ve seen everything he’s been and I find him good and talented. Hopefully, these folks are looking for talent and romance. Can’t wait for his other projects to air. My deepest dream, Rose and gun, thunder chaser, etc.
Endang
I like the male lead, he is just great, have great chemistry with the female lead, he is handsome, nice body ^^ (not the typical skinny male lead),
Jhayrine
Jin Han is one of my favorite actor since i watched him in Our Glamorous Time, and for me its really fit to him the role and also his acting is good,.seriously ugly????…may be you are blind to say that because for me his very handsome..
Mimi
Oh my, Jin Han is manly man hot. He have nice physique. His acting is on point. Can’t wait for his next drama 🙂
wuulong
I don’t think Jin Han is handsome, but neither is he ugly. He’s definitely more masculine than the majority of Chinese actors in lead roles recently. And 100% agree on the comments about Alan Yu. He looks and acts like a BLIND robot to me somehow! He was like that even on the variety show Shine! Super Brothers. LOL.
I had trouble watching Jin Han in JJL because they had established his character as very handsome and swoony. But he was more goofy than charming IMO. His styling didn’t help either. The scene where he was supposed to be cool jumping from second floor pretending to save the FL had me cringing and laughing at the same time.
It also didn’t help that I like the 2nd ML actor Wang Youshuo more and felt he had more chemistry and made a better OTP with the FL.
Judit
Jean Paul Belmondo, Robert de Niro never were handsome either, but both of them were great and very poular actors, Jin Han also a great actor for me.
Phoenyx
What the heck is wrong with some people these days? How can people say that Jin Han is ugly? He looks pretty good and most importantly, his acting is good. The beauty bar has been set so high, it’s ridiculous!