Iâve been a âMo dao zu shiâ fan for a while now but only recently Iâve finished watching âThe Untamedâ. The show has brought me lots of fun and I genuinely enjoyed watching it. I tend to find the âasian style of actingâ more cringey at the times (like yk for example those Indian dramas...) but I was positively shocked with how good the acting is in âThe Untamedâ so Iâve decided to praise my favourites online.
Disclaimer: English is not my first language; Iâm not a professional nor do I have any experience with acting (except for middle school theatre club but yeah...); the ranking contains spoilers; this is only my opinion and Iâll be more than happy to see you sharing your rankings!
1. Jin Guangyao played by Zhu Zanjin
I think that many people would agree with this one. He made it hard for others to beat him when it comes to acting. Not only did he have a hard role but also he managed to make a support role into one of the most eye-catching characters. He made an incredible job with all the facial expressions. Especially I loved the moments when he acted angry/sad but then immediately turned back into smiling (off topic but he has a gorgeous smile). The smile itself was also very special, it showed how much his character was rather mysterious and suspicious than genuine and kind. Many times I caught myself taken aback by all the gestures and movements that reflected Jin Guangyaoâs personality perfectly. The last episodes when we got to know more about Mengyaoâs intrigues and his past were more than a pleasure to watch. Basically Zhu Zanjin carried the show even though the character he played wasnât the main one. (pls i canât shut up about how good Zanjinâs acting was)
2. Wei Wuxian played by Xiao Zhan
He wouldâve been on the first place if not for Zhu Zanjin. Of course he had been picked for a main role for a reason. He had lots of hard scenes to play. Some of them were more aggressive, some more moving, touching and some funny. He gave in all of those scenes his all and it shows. Although some of his scenes I found âcringeyâ he did an amazing job capturing Wei Wuxianâs personality, style of being and facial expressions. I fell in love with his mischievous smiles, smirks and chuckles. Just as perfectly as he gave away Wei Wuxianâs funny side he also acted just on the point in more serious moments. Iâm not the type to cry while watching movies, TV series or anime but some of the touching, moving moments made my vision go blur. The scene on Burial Mounds when he couldnât do anything when Wen Qing, Wen Ning and the rest of still alive Wen sect were giving themselves away to other cultivators made me cry a lilâ bit. Xiao managed to make all the scenes move me deeply. Sometimes I felt heartbroken, sometimes pissed off, sometimes I laughed so hard i couldnât catch a breath and sometimes his acting made me feel warm. Xiao Zhan really deserved the main role. Not only his amazing and helpful skills as an actor (like memorising his lines very fast) but also the fact that he managed to evoke so many emotions in me whitin those 50 episodes, are the cause why âThe Untamedâ is such a high quality TV series.
3. Xue Yang played by Wang Haoxuan
Wang Haoxuan played one of the darker characters and he did it perfectly. Xue Yang himself is also a very well-written character. After we get to know his backstory, even though we hate him for all the things heâs done we cannot decide whether to still despise him or pity him instead. Heâs just that type of a villain. But now, about the acting, thereâs the similar situation like with Jin Guangyao. I just fell in love with the facial expressions and body language. Xue Yangâs evil smirks, posture and gestures just scream âmenace behaviour!â. I totally fell in love with Haoxuanâs acting during the âblind girl arcâ, especially that one scene when Xue Yang cried after Xiao Xingchenâs death even though he was long-life enemies with Xingchen and Song Lan. It is quite common in many books, series, movies, etc. that villains are better written characters personality and backstory-wise than some of the main protagonists and âThe Untamedâ isnât an exception (maybe except for wei wuxian:]]).
4. Jiang Cheng played by Wang Zhuocheng
Even though I found Zhuochengâs acting rather awkward quite often I still placed him on the 4th place because he really deserves it. I think that Jiang Cheng is one of the hardest characters to play with all his strong facial expressions and bold, effective movements. Zhuocheng captured Wanyinâs temperament perfectly and countenance was mostly just on point although sometimes a little bit too much. Also Jiang Cheng had quite a lot emotional scenes with lots of crying involved and he did and amazing job going through them. For example one of my favourite scenes of all(!!) was this one when they were kind of held hostage by Jin Guangyao and Su She and they talked about Wei Wuxian giving his golden core to Jiang Cheng. I was entirely moved when Wuxian brushed away Jiang Chengâs tears.
Special mention: Lan Wangji played by Wang Yibo
Of course I wouldnât ignore Yiboâs acting, itâs just, I couldnât place him anywhere in this ranking since his acting is quite special. He had to play more of a gentle and peaceful character while others had a lot of strong facial expressions and sudden movements. Wang Yibo had a hard job since he had to act more with some subtle body language. Also he had a lot of fighting scenes which are really difficult to act since battling with a blade is not so common these days. He did an amazing job and in my opinion he just fits perfectly to the role of our beloved Lan Zhan.
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So there are the actors who really moved my soul and mind while I was watching âThe Untamedâ. Of course all the actors did a great job and I donât want to forget about my ladies Wen Qing and Jiang Yanli and also about other characters like Lan Xichen, Nie Huaisang, Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui or Jin Zixuan who also had their moments of glory. I would be able to talk about everyoneâs acting skills for hours and hours but the post would be just too long to go through it in one go. I really had a great time enjoying mdzs content and I hope you had too! :]]
