Liu Yuning delivered back-to-back hit dramas in 2025, cementing his rise to the top as a sought after leading man in Chinese entertainment. However, there have been recent rumors that after his success in dramas, he would only accept “first-billing” roles, and that no popular female actresses were willing to take second billing opposite him. He’s spent over a year without a new acting project. In response, Liu Yuning publicly shut down the speculation. He said, “If I truly cared about empty titles, I wouldn’t have made it to where I am today.”
Liu Yuning Rejects Obsession Over Billing Order
The ranking of actors’ names in film and drama credits, are often used as a measure of an actor’s status. Liu Yuning personally set the record straight when it comes to how he feels about billing order. For him, he doesn’t care about billing at all. “Even if I’m billed fifth, whatever belongs to me can’t be taken away. And if something isn’t meant for me, I can’t hold onto it even with first billing.”
He said he would confidently tell himself as a means of encouragement: “I might talk to myself in the mirror and hype myself up. I’ll say, ‘Liu Yuning, your value doesn’t need to be proven by billing.’” He admitted, “Of course, some people might think it sounds a bit pretentious, doesn’t matter.” It’s his mindset. Bringing his usual humor, he said, “I don’t have much value, but I want to tell myself, my value doesn’t need to be validated by billing order.”
Breaking Milestone Indices in Three Major Platforms
Honestly, I couldn’t agree more. Seeing actors or their fans constantly fighting over billing is something I’ve never been able to understand. And with his mindset, it’s pretty clear Liu Yuning’s star has been shining brightly, from influencer to singer to actor. Even as a second-billed lead, his dramas A Journey to Love, The Prisoner of Beauty, and A Dream Within a Dream, have all surpassed 10,000 heat index records (30K for Tencent), making him the first male lead in the Chinese entertainment industry to achieve “three platforms breaking 10k.” Good for him.
As for his break from acting, it looks like Liu Yuning’s simply shifted back toward being a singer. He’s been holding concerts, releasing songs, and participating in music variety shows.
Source: 1
Dee
Did he not have two dramas or three this year ?
XZF
@ Dee
I think they are talking about filming new projects – not the one already released.
Dee
I mean he can take a break that was a lot of project back to back