Michelle Topham 
With the huge amount of promotional material we are suddenly getting for the upcoming Chinese cultivation drama The Immortal Ascension, it’s pretty obvious the drama itself is likely dropping in the next few weeks.
One of those promotional pieces that was released yesterday is a video featuring the C-drama’s star Yang Yang talking about playing protagonist Han Li.
Yang Yang begins the video by explaining Han Li’s personality “his greatest trait is how steady he is”, and how that shows in his patience and endurance.
He then goes on to say that means “he always thinks things through before acting. He knows himself well, so he plans carefully before making any move”.
As fans of the novel and donghua The Immortal Ascension is based on will know, this is something that is paramount to Han Li’s growth throughout his life.
Playing Han Li is a wonderful role for Yang Yang
For an actor, it must have been wonderful for Yang Yang to be able to play such a fascinating and complex character.
Especially because, as he says, Han Li goes through a huge growth arc during the drama.
First, as he realizes Physician Mo’s real goal is to possess his body and so, instead of panicking, he calmly goes about building up his strength while also lulling Mo into a false sense of security.
Then, as he joins the cultivation world but realizes he must be cautious in everything he does. So much so, even as someone is being kind to him, he is still cautious until he learns their true intentions.
This alone saves his life on more than one occasion.
The Immortal Ascension has already earned 3 million reservations on YOUKU
It also extends into Han Li keeping a low profile as he cultivates as, if you don’t tell everyone else how strong you are becoming, you are also not perceived as being a threat to them.
And then, of course, there is Han Li’s insistence on only acting when he is absolutely sure he will succeed.
All of this, and more, culminates in a character that must have been both fascinating, and challenging, to portray on so many different levels.
Yang Yang is perfect for the role of Han Li
While I have said right from learning that Yang Yang had been cast as Han Li in The Immortal Ascension, they could not have found an actor more perfect for the part, it seems head writer and chief producer Wang Yuren also agrees.
In the video, he comments how he thinks Yang Yang was born to play the part.
Official poster for The Immortal Ascension drops
Something I agree with as, from watching him in roles like Feng Lan Xi in Who Rules the World and Ye Xiu in The King’s Avatar, it is obvious to me Yang Yang has the emotional maturity and the sureness of his own personality to enable him to play such an iconic character.
Working with the donghua team
Interestingly, the live-action team also worked with the donghua team.
That meant, not only did the animation team give Yang Yang advice on how to play Hang Li, but it also made sure what they produced would also satisfy the fans of the massively successful Chinese animation (it’s been viewed over 3.2 billion times and counting!).
Then again, they would have to as, with A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality being so enormously popular, if the live-action team waivers too much from its original story, you can pretty much guarantee all hell will break lose.
Especially from Chinese fans, who revere both the A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality donghua, and Han Li himself.
Beautiful 3-day countdown poster out for The Immortal Ascension featuring Yang Yang as Hang Li
Watch Yang Yang talking about playing Han Li in the upcoming Chinese drama The Immortal Ascension in the video below.
Then keep checking back to us here at Baozi Buns, as an announcement about its premiere date on YOUKU is likely to drop in the next few days and, with how utterly superb The Immortal Ascension looks like it will be, you won’t want to miss it.
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