Ancient puppet theater, as a star-making tool, has "incubated" many top stars, such as Xiao Zhan, Wang Yibo, Gong Jun, etc.
Although ancient puppet dramas have declined in recent years, the list of male actors who are "to be released" still comes from this.
The word "to be exploded" first originated in 2022. At that time, Douban netizens selected Zhang Wanyi, Deng Wei, Chen Zheyuan, and Zhang Linghe as the "four major domestic entertainment talents to be exploded", believing that the number of their works to be broadcast was in line with The magnitude should not be underestimated. In the future, his status is expected to rise and his popularity will increase.
In essence, the word "to be exploded" is actually a product of the utilitarian rice circle culture. The selection logic is very similar to the idol talent show in the early years: the audience is willing to "buy stocks" (bet) on their favorite actors and bet that they will be successful. However, some viewers are disgusted with this approach and refuse to let the fandom culture bind artists.
Coincidentally, this summer season has become a node for the collective efforts of young actors. Ancient puppet dramas such as "Mo Yu Yun Jian", "Hua Hua Nian" and "Sauve Acacia 2" have been aired one after another. Among them, there are Zhang Wanyi, Deng Wei, Zhang Linghe and other older generation celebrities are waiting to be popular, as well as rising stars such as Wang Xingyue and Wang Hongyi. Because of this, through them and their works, we may be able to better understand the explosive ecology of male celebrities.
In this summer season, the popularity and reputation of "In the Clouds" are among the best, and Wang Xingyue, who plays the leading actor Xiao Heng, has also greatly increased his popularity. In the play, his solo cut with a jade pendant in his mouth on the battlefield has become a hot spot on multiple social platforms.
It is worth noting that Wang Xingyue, who was born in 2002, is only 22 years old this year. Although he is still young, he has been highly praised by Yu Zheng and has now opened up a "wife-stealing" track in the field of ancient puppets: in "The Weekly Life", he played the second male lead Liu Zixing, an extremely paranoid character. After getting the heroine, he forced her to jump off the tower to die for her love; in "The Secret Fragrance Comes", he played Zhong Xiwu, who has been silently guarding his sister-in-law; in "Ning'an Like a Dream", he played Zhang Zhe, who was the heroine's lover Bai Yueguang has always wanted to "seize other people's wives", but could not cross the ethical line. Until he succeeded in "stealing a wife" in "Mo Yu Yun Jian", netizens laughed and said that he was "gradually proficient in the business of seizing a wife, and finally waited for the dawn of victory."
Wang Xing has a stable career in acting, and his acting skills are not to be missed. When he encounters a hit drama, he reaps the dividends.
From "to be exploded" to "big explosion", it seems that it is just a short distance away, but in fact it is thousands of miles away. The right time, right place and right people are indispensable. As the fandom joked, "One word is ready to explode, and a lifetime is waiting to explode." Because to measure whether a star has truly ascended, we must not only look at the current traffic and discussion of the drama he stars in, but also refer to the matching of his subsequent resources. .
Last year's hit "Sauvignon Blanc", the story mainly revolves around the love-hate entanglement of "one woman and four men", and was dubbed by netizens as an "otome game" (a love simulation game targeting women).
Among the four actors, Deng Wei, who plays the second male lead Tu Shanjing, has risen the fastest: he has attracted millions of fans on Weibo, successfully promoted to a traffic niche, and won the script of the IP drama "Tree in Sendai", where he will play his first role. Male protagonist. In terms of business endorsements, he has also achieved a jump from zero to many, and has won endorsements from multiple first-tier brands.
However, Deng Wei's inventory is not much, and the film "When the Clouds Rise" (which has been renamed "The Clouds") has not been aired yet. He has rarely done public activities since last year and has been preparing new works, which has led to exposure The amount cannot be sustained, and the heat seems to be weak.
Zhang Wanyi, who became popular through the drama "The Age of Awakening", was regarded by many as not wanting to make progress when he first entered the field of ancient puppets. But from the perspective of stardom, although the main drama is good, it does not attract fans and has low traffic. It cannot quickly increase its commercial value, let alone obtain the "premium" of stars.
I don’t know if it is based on this consideration, but Zhang Wanyi’s current strategy is to have both serious dramas and idol dramas. Last year, one month after the premiere of "Sauvignon Blanc", "Glory of Our Fathers" starring him was broadcast, followed by "Extraordinary Doctor" and "I Know I Love You" starring him.
However, as far as the works to be aired are concerned, the number of dramas starring Zhang Wanyi is still decreasing, and they are replaced by two ancient puppets in collaboration with Flow Flower - "Splendid Peace" starring partner Ren Min and "Liuzhou" starring partner Wang Churan remember".
Tan Kenci, who played Xiang Liu in "Saucer Love", has good acting skills, but he was too old when he debuted and is no longer on the list of "to be exploded"; Chishui Fengtong, who has the smallest proportion of scenes, was played by a person born in 1999 Wang Hongyi, this character has obviously grown up in "Sauvignon Blanc 2". He no longer presents himself as a "sunny and cheerful big boy", but has a tragic undertone. In addition, in the TV series "Jin Yong's Martial Arts World", although the character Yang Kang played by Wang Hongyi is not good, the character is out of the circle and it is an effective performance.
Among the many celebrities waiting to be popular, Zhang Linghe is the one with the most stocks bought and the most “stock” to be broadcast. When he won the IP of "Tianguan Blessing", some people were optimistic about him, but the plan did not change. He was first known by the audience as the immortal king Chang Heng in the 2022 hit drama "Canglan Jue". In 2023, he also starred in "Yun Zhi Yu", "Tiger Crane Demon Master Record" and "Ning". An Rumeng", but it did not bring him much character bonus.
Especially the failure of "Ning'an Like a Dream" magnified his shortcomings in acting. From Xie Wei ("Ning'an is Like a Dream") to Pei Wenxuan ("The Years of Life"), the characters he plays are often more upright and less layered. When performing emotional fluctuations, there will also be problems with out-of-control expression management. The character's grasp is a bit lacking. Of course, this is not Zhang Linghe’s problem alone, but a common problem among ancient puppet actors and celebrities waiting to be famous.
It is undeniable that as an assembly-line idol drama, Ancient Puppets itself cannot provide actors with much performance space. As actor Liu Yuning said: "(Ancient puppets) mainly rely on appearance and personality. It is difficult to see the upper limit of an actor."
Chen Zheyuan is the only one among the "four major domestic entertainment talents waiting to explode" who has no works in the summer season. The "players" who started broadcasting. Previously, most of his starring works were broadcast on iQiyi, and he was nicknamed the "Peach Prince" by netizens. Due to his strong sense of youth and his high adaptability to idol dramas, he has also received many opportunities to star in ancient and modern puppets.
Although his role in the popular drama "Secretly Can't Hide" last year was somewhat controversial, he still achieved effective "drainage" after the drama was broadcast. Not only did Weibo gain more than 300,000 followers in a week, but also in the drama The lines also became a viral meme.
In addition, Chen Zheyuan’s partners are also high-profile traffic stars such as Zhao Lusi and Ju Jingyi. Effective popularity gains can also be obtained by speculating on CP. However, his ability to carry dramas has always been questioned. In January this year, "Sword and Sword IV" starring him was launched to the expectations of game fans, but the results were tepid, with a Douban score of only 4.4.
The reason why celebrities who are about to be popular year after year are waiting to be popular, but they are not popular every year. The problem may lie in their appearance, acting skills or resources. There are also some up-and-coming celebrities who can rise to become "small explosions", but even if they want to become "small explosions", they still need to accumulate a considerable amount of marketing and resources. What’s more realistic is that the vast majority of emerging coffee brands don’t have much high-quality inventory. After all, in the current cold winter of film and television, dramas may not be released as soon as they are finished filming, so how can we catch up with the right time, place and people to catch up with the popular drama?
In the eyes of fans, today's "to be exploded" has become a derogatory term, which means that it is always short of success. And most artists are okay with this. When Chen Zheyuan was asked about the "popular celebrity", he responded: "This kind of discussion should be treated as a topic for everyone's entertainment after dinner. I will go all out for every drama. I hope to be liked. I don't want to be labeled. Or the concept bothers and consumes oneself. "
At a time when people who are "ready to explode" are constantly emerging and changing, if you want to truly stand out, it is obviously not enough to just bear the false name of "ready to explode". You must also constantly improve your acting skills and improve them. Be yourself, increase your personal charm, and go with the flow, grasp a good script and a good role... Don't run away for half your life, and you will still be "ready to explode" when you return!
Gang Zan'er
Editor Chai Yingrui
