Lin Gengxin

Lin Gengxin, billed in English as Kenny Lin, became a name in 2011 with Scarlet Heart, the time-travel palace drama that made his career. He played a prince, and the show did what a first hit is supposed to do: it made him castable in period costume for the next decade.

The film work that followed is mostly large-scale historical spectacle. He was Shatuo Zhong in Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon in 2013 and returned to the same character five years later in Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings, which is unusual continuity for a Chinese franchise. Around those sit a Hollywood co-production, The Great Wall, where he played Commander Chen; the war picture The Taking of Tiger Mountain; the swordplay film Sword Master; and the Monkey King in Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, comfortably the strangest thing on his list.

What he does well is the second lead. Give him a part that has to stay watchful next to a louder star, a rival, a lieutenant, a man deciding whether to trust the hero, and he holds the frame without pulling at it. Handed the centre of a contemporary romance he is pleasant rather than magnetic, and the difference is visible.

The television work continues at pace, from Princess Agents through The Legend of ShenLi and The Tale of Rose, and the credit list is padded, as most mainland careers are, with variety and travel shows.