Is age really just a number? It may be so for 71-year-old actress Liu Xiaoqing 刘晓庆 as she takes on the challenge of portraying a female bandit, presumably in her 20s, for Ice Sniper 2 冰雪狙击2, a Chinese war film about a platoon leader joining hands with Dan Niang, the formidable female leader of a group of bandits.
While the role may just be a way of showcasing the actress’s versatility, many were not impressed. One netizen wrote, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t see Liu Xiaoqing as a young woman. It’s too unrealistic.” In the past, Liu Xiaoqing confidently addressed the roles she takes on when she said: “I don’t think I have many roles that I can’t do. Whether it’s old or young, positive or negative, beautiful or ugly, I can play them.”
Before her tax evasion scandal, Liu Xiaoqing was a top actress at the peak of her career. She is also no stranger to playing roles younger than her real age. She is the titular heroine in 1995’s Wu Zetian, which tells the story of the first and only female emperor in Chinese history. Her casting was met with controversy at the time because she was 40 years old playing a young Wu Zetian. The show went on to become a success.
This time around, some feel that her actual age may really be too old to pull off a younger role. Other say age is hardly important in a war movie about a tough as nails female bandit. However, some poke fun at how her husband and even her father in the movie who’s in his 50s are much younger than the veteran actress.
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