Who is Li Xian, rising star of China’s Go Go Squid! hit television show?
- Despite not being the show’s biggest name, 27-year-old Li was the one fans were screaming for after the TV series Go Go Squid! ended last week
- He broke into show business in 2011, but had garnered little public attention until his role as leader of a group of online video gamers in the series
Chinese actress Andy Yang Zi might be the more familiar face on big and small screens in China, but it was her Go Go Squid! co-star Li Xian – the male lead playing opposite her in this summer’s smash hit TV drama and a relative newcomer – who was the talk of the town after the show ended this week.
For proof, look no further than the celebration party held at The Peninsula Beijing hotel by Chinese streaming giant iQiyi to get a sense of the 27-year-old’s popularity.
Hundreds of screaming female fans gathered at the hotel to watch the final episode of the romcom together with the cast, with scores more outside eager to get an admission pass from scalpers. The event marked the conclusion of the 41-part series, which aired on Dragon TV, Zhejiang Satellite TV, iQiyi and Tencent TV.
Go Go Squid! came top of a poll conducted by The Beijing News on the most popular Chinese TV series of the summer, the results of which were published on July 31. It was followed by The Longest Day in Chang’an , a hugely popular TV show set during the Tang dynasty about two investigators who save the then imperial capital, Chang’an, from a major rebellion.
According to iQiyi, Go Go Squid! is its second most popular show after last year’s period drama and mega hit, Story of Yanxi Palace . Based on the novel Stewed Squid with Honey by Mo Bao Fei Bao, the television series centres on the blossoming relationship between the leader of a group of online video gamers, Han Shangyan (played by Li), and a cover singer of anime songs and genius IT programming student, Tong Nian (played by Yang).
While taking care of an internet cafe for her cousin, Tong runs into Han and it is love at first sight. The two overcome various obstacles to get married and attain career success.
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Fang Ying, vice-president of Huace/Croton Media, whose Gcoo Entertainment arm produced Go Go Squid!, said the series was conceived five years ago and took more than 20 weeks to shoot.
“When Li Xian first came on set for filming, he had hurt his back from a previous production,” Fang said. “We took him to see a doctor. He couldn’t walk properly [at the start of filming]. [However] he overcame the injury and spared no effort in coping with the filming schedule.”
A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, Li got into show business in 2011 when he starred in the Chinese film Feng Shui, released the following year. He went on to appear in several television dramas and films without garnering much public attention, until his melancholic Han in Go Go Squid! sent female fans wild.
Speaking at The Peninsula Beijing party, Li said he accepted the role of Han in Go Go Squid! without hesitation after reading the script.
“I even looked forward to the start of filming after knowing [Yang Zi will play] the female protagonist,” he said.
He will next appear in the film The Chinese Pilot, directed by Hong Kong’s Andrew Lau Wai-keung, which is based on a real-life mid-air crisis aboard a Sichuan Airlines flight.
