Wang Yibo Was Cast for “Luoyang” Before “The Untamed, ” Says Producer Xu Kang

You may have wondered why Wang Yibo was cast to play the scholarly Baili Hongyi in the historical thriller Luoyang 风起洛阳. After all, we’ve been so used to seeing him kicking the butts of his opponents that playing the bookish Baili Hongyi was quite a turnaround for him. Contrary to what you may have expected, Wang Yibo who currently stars as one third of Luoyang’s investigative trio, was actually considered for the role long before The Untamed even became such a huge hit. That means he was actually handpicked for the role before he even became a household name in the industry.

According to series executive producer Xu Kang, when it finally came to nailing down the actors for the series, the team made their choice based on the actors’ suitability for the role. For Yibo in particular, Xu Kang said that they never counted on his popularity and the viewership he’d bring in as the reason for selecting him. “The first time the production team approached Du Hua (Wang Yibo’s manager and the CEO of Yehua Entertainment), it was two or three months before The Untamed hit the air and not after he became super famous. On the contrary, it would be more difficult to cast him after he became so popular. Seen from the perspective of the platform, of course we hope the actors are popular and bring a relatively high degree of commercial value as a basic guarantee”.

Moreover, Xu Kang adds that although “Yibo usually doesn’t talk a lot and does not actively strike up a conversation, he is in fact full of fire. That’s why he likes skateboarding and extreme sports.  His day-to-day intensity at work is so high we were quite worried at first. In that period, his popularity had already shot up. Sometimes, after he wraps up filming for the day, he stays up late until two or three in the morning working on other projects. Then he gets up again to start work at six the next day. He never complained though. He would also make sure to take down notes every time and oft takes the initiative to have a little chat with the director, ‘I think this way would be better’. If he sees that there’s something off about a line, he will talk to the screenwriter and director that same evening to come up with a better way. This will make the next day’s filming go without a hitch. He really is very attentive.”

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