Chinese actress Zhao Lusi recently announced that she is branching out to work as a producer and her first drama, Sonder我就不是NPC, has begun filming on August 22, 2026. The 27-year-old star also invited her own father, who goes by Zhao Ge and is thought to be in his fifties, to act in the drama for the first time. His first look as a general quickly caught the attention of netizens, with some saying there’s some resemblance to actor Huang Xiaoming.
Zhao Lusi’s father, affectionately known as “Zhao Ge,” has found some success on social media through shorts. His account describes him as “one of Zhao Lusi’s founders” and a “post-70s uncle starting from scratch in self-media.” Zhao Ge revealed that he began losing weight and getting into shape well before filming for his new role. He also paid close attention to his skincare and overall appearance, showing how seriously he took his daughter’s project. His efforts have since earned praise from netizens, with some saying that his appearance was “not at all inferior to professional actors.
Shrugging off rumors about Zhao Lusi facing setbacks with her own drama and speculation that she had “no work to film.” Instead, she has expanded her work behind the scenes by taking on producing duties. Sonder 我就不是NPC centers on female empowerment and rewriting one’s destiny. Although Zhao Lusi is not in the cast, she has brought her father into the project and also invited her close friend Wei Xiao to star, with the latter sharing that actors receive no base salaries and instead share in the project’s final profits, meaning their earnings depend entirely on the quality of their work and audience reception.
Xoxo
Her dad is incredibly good looking. Great genes! Hope this work is successful. Lusi has a good eye for projects, so I hope this will market well, at the same time I’m dreading that this becomes a future template of how work is produced as it can easily lead to exploitation.
Kai
I really doubt the “Lusi has a good eye for projects” line. She was under an agency and the agency chose the projects for her. Fans are so irrational. When a drama is a great success, they praised their idol for choosing a good project. When it’s a flop, everyone blames the agency for making their idol work on such a bad drama and not taking good care of their idol.
I’m sure her first production would be a great success no matter how bad the screen play or the acting or the overall production is. Just because it’s associated with Zhao Lusi, her fans will ooze effusive praise over it. Hope she has a good director. Much will hang on this person. She is just financing it.
Swirls
Maybe this is because of Love’s Ambition? Her agency reportedly did not want her to take the project but Lusi took it because something resonated in the script plus she knew the director. And the ratings did very well upon release. So I think that’s the source of the “good eye for projects” bit.
HL
I remember Zheng Shuang also brought her dad into industry… They must have good relationship.
Coralie
how about just paying all employees on the project the same way? arguably most drama projects are dependent on 3 important factors: direction, actors and script.
with these three in top shape, and able to communicate with each other, there’s no reason why a drama won’t be successful.
i guess it makes sense for actors since they’re typically the most expensive cost to a drama, but the success lies on all 3