Richard Li Fei 李菲 has seen a surge in popularity from the short drama “A Tale of Love and Loyalty.” In a Tencent interview, Li Fei, when asked about what has changed in his life since the success of the drama, answered, “more work commitments, becoming a bit busier, and his schedule and other work becoming more visible.” He said he’s happy that more people are showing interest in him though the 27-year-old actor admits, “I still need some time to get used to it.” After all, he also has fans following him at the airport nowadays.
Before He Became an Actor
Richard Li pursued a degree in civil engineering during his college years. Prior to gracing the screen, he explored diverse avenues, ranging from being an entrepreneur to a fitness coach and fitness influencer. He made his acting debut at the age of 24 in the 2020 short drama “The Crush,” marking the beginning of his niche in the realm of Chinese short-length dramas.
Renowned for his muscular physique but baby face, Richard Li shares that he used to be a lot bigger. He dedicated about seven to eight years to achieve his broad shoulders and chest. However, the demands of historical dramas, with their multiple layers of costumes, posed a challenge. Furthermore, his physique just didn’t match the role, which is why over the past three years, he said he’s probably lost about 10+ jin. Unlike most who need to work out, he’s quite the opposite as he needs to tone down his workout routine.
Richard Li on Dramas with Bad Endings (BE)
Although he has primarily focused on short dramas, Richard Li is definitely among the handsome historical leads in C-dramaland. His recent role in “A Tale of Love and Loyalty” portrayed a story gripping with angst, where the Prince of Nanchuan is implored to come to the aid of his former lover, her emperor husband and child. Given his roles, the actor’s earned titles like the “god of forced romances” and “actor of dramas with BE (meaning sad endings).” Richard Li mentioned a personal preference for stories with sad endings, but clarified that he doesn’t actively seek them out; however, many offers he receives happen to be for such roles after he starred in one or two.
Discussing his acting methods, he mentioned practicing in front of the mirror, albeit humorously noting moments where he finds himself being “greasy”. Nonetheless, it’s evident he really put in the effort to hone his craft as he would literally analyze kissing scenes in idol dramas like it’s homework or learn about techniques like wirework for his action sequences.
Looking ahead, it seems we have another fanboy of actress Liu Yifei. He chose her as the actress he admires and looks forward to working the most. Furthermore, he hopes to have the chance to star in mainstream dramas in the future.
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avarachika
Oh my! First time seeing an international article on this actor. I seriously am a big fan of his. He used to be bigger and I realized that his physique got smaller so this was the reason why. It makes sense as he does a lot of historical dramas and looks handsome in historical stands. He definitely needs to get mainstreamed soon!
Lisa
I just started my foray into the short dramas. Honestly, they’re not terrible. I think there’s a lack of world building since it’s so short, you just have to take it for what it is. But with lowered expectations, these dramas are actually quite enjoyable. The sad part is some of these actors/actresses in short dramas are actually better than the popular ones in mainstream dramas lol. I quite like him and hope he gets more opportunities!