9 Chinese pop stars who became successful C-drama actors

Xiao Zhan may be known now as one of the defining faces of modern C-drama, but his former claim to fame was as a member of the idol group X Nine. Back then, his appeal initially rested on charisma, visuals and a naturally warm public persona.

His acting career might have remained confined to the usual idol-drama circuit if not for The Untamed (2019), which fundamentally altered how the industry viewed him. As Wei Wuxian, Xiao had to navigate comedy, grief, rebellion, tenderness and moral ambiguity. Often within the same episode, we might add. The role demanded a kind of tonal adaptability that most idol actors are rarely allowed to showcase. This led him to develop a performance that felt emotionally expansive rather than merely charismatic.

In the years since, Xiao has deliberately moved toward more serious work, using dramas like Ace Troops (2021) and The Youth Memories (2023) to prove that he could sustain narratives beyond fandom hype alone. Now he remains one of the most sought-after C-drama actors.

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For Wang Yibo, the transition from idol to actor has always been built on contrast. As a member of the Korean-Chinese boy group Uniq, he was known for his kinetic energy as a dancer and performer. He highlighted his sharp physicality in everything from music videos to variety shows.

When he began acting, however, he moved in the opposite direction: stripping away movement rather than underscoring it. His breakout role in The Untamed (2019) as Lan Wangji relied almost entirely on subtle expressions, body language and controlled silence. Where many idol actors fall back on pizzazz, Wang leaned into minimalism, trusting the audience to read meaning into the smallest shifts in posture or gaze. That approach helped him avoid the “idol actor” stigma early on. Since then, he has increasingly gravitated toward more serious and restrained roles, building a screen persona defined less by emotional display than by precision. 

Fan Chengcheng arrived with all the ingredients of modern idol fame: reality-show visibility, an instantly recognisable surname (his sister is acclaimed actress Fan Bingbing) and the devoted fanbase that came with debuting through Idol Producer and joining Nine Percent.

For a time, he seemed destined to remain within the familiar orbit of variety shows and carefully managed celebrity. Instead, Fan’s acting choices have become steadily more grounded. In dramas like Once and Forever (2023), where he played the charming but emotionally immature Yang Cheng, he showed an ability to make privileged, flawed characters feel unexpectedly human. He continued that softer, more introspective approach in Stories of Youth and Love (2024), where his performance leaned into nostalgia, uncertainty and the emotional awkwardness of growing up. Even earlier fantasy-led projects like The World of Fantasy (2021) revealed an actor more interested in vulnerability than swagger. What makes Fan’s transition inspiring is that he has not tried to outrun his boyishness; he has learned how to use it. 

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Esther Yu entered the industry with the kind of bright, hyper-visible personality that can be both an asset and a trap. As a member of THE9, she was pretty well-known. Her persona was playful, outspoken and almost impossible to ignore. The risk, of course, was that audiences would mistake charisma for limitation and assume she could only play versions of herself. Instead, Yu has built one of the most commercially successful acting careers among her idol peers.

In dramas like Love Between Fairy and Devil (2022) and My Journey to You (2023), she has shown a surprising ability to balance sweetness with emotional intelligence, turning what initially looked like “cute girl” casting into something far more dimensional. Her greatest strength is not reinvention so much as calibration: she understands exactly how much of her own charm to bring to a role, and when to let the character take over.

Ju Jingyi may have entered the public imagination through SNH48, but her acting career has been defined by her ability to turn visual perfection into something more strategic. Early on, much of the conversation around Ju focused on her appearance, elegance and the almost doll-like image that made her such a natural fit for period dramas. Over time, however, she has learned how to use that image rather than be confined by it. In projects like The Legend of Yunxi (2018) and In Blossom (2024), she has cultivated a performance style built on poise, discipline and consistency. Ju may not be the most experimental actress of her generation, but she understands star power better than almost anyone: how to command the frame, how to sustain audience fantasy and how to make glamour feel like part of the storytelling rather than a distraction from it.

Jackson Yee represents perhaps the most dramatic reinvention of the idol-to-actor pipeline. After all, he largely bypassed the familiar path of television stardom altogether.

As a member of TFBoys, he already possessed the kind of enormous youth fanbase most performers spend years chasing. But rather than translate that popularity into glossy romance dramas or conventional leading-man roles, he pivoted toward prestige cinema. His breakthrough in Better Days (2019) announced him as something far more serious: an actor capable of carrying emotional devastation with startling restraint. Playing a troubled teenager drawn into a violent bond with a bullied classmate, Yee brought a rawness and realism that felt worlds away from idol polish. He followed that with acclaimed performances in films like A Little Red Flower (2020) and Full River Red (2023), steadily building a résumé defined less by commercial visibility than by artistic credibility.

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As a member of Exo, Lay Zhang entered acting with an enormous advantage. He already had global recognition, adoring fans and an appeal honed through years of performing on stage. His challenge was never about visibility; it was proving he could be more than a crossover celebrity.

Early projects like The Mystic Nine (2016) leaned heavily on his natural magnetism, allowing his screen presence to do much of the work. But over time, Zhang’s acting choices became noticeably more disciplined. In dramas like Crime Crackdown (2021), he shifted toward more grounded, ensemble-driven performances, showing a greater willingness to disappear into a role rather than dominate it.

What distinguishes Zhang is not a single transformative breakout, but persistence. He has continued to test himself with projects that require emotional nuance, narrative restraint and a collaborative energy that differs sharply from the spotlight-first demands of pop stardom.

Among the members of TFBoys who have joined the ranks of C-drama actors, Roy Wang has taken perhaps the most understated route into acting. While his music career gave him immediate fame and a massive following, he has resisted the pressure to become an overnight leading man. Instead, his acting choices have been selective and measured, favouring gradual growth over constant visibility. In projects like The Great Lord (2020), Wang has gravitated toward fantasy and coming-of-age narratives, but his performances are often defined by introspection rather than spectacle. Even within larger-than-life worlds, he tends to play characters with an inwardness that feels more naturalistic than performative. There is a sense that Wang is less interested in capitalising on celebrity than in slowly building credibility, allowing his acting identity to emerge at its own pace. 

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