41-Year-Old Actor Ridiculed For Playing A High School Student

It isn’t uncommon for adult actors to play younger characters, but can an actor in his 40s pass for a teen?

Recently, photos of 41-year-old Chinese actor Zhang Han received scathing criticism from netizens, according to reports by Chinese media. Zhang is best known for his roles in Meteor Shower (2009) and Meteor Shower II (2010), where he played a wealthy student at a prestigious school. At the time, Zhang was 26 to 27 years old.

Now, 15 years later, Zhang is playing a student once again, but this time his casting hasn’t been well-received. In the photos, Zhang is wearing a high school uniform and studying for college entrance exams, indicating that his character is decades younger than his real age.

Netizens reportedly compared Zhang to a father who had dressed up in his son’s uniform, ridiculing the actor and questioning the casting team’s decision-making.

On June 12, Zhang responded to the criticism and clarified the situation. He apologized and revealed that the behind-the-scenes photos are from a flashback scene for his new movie. In other words, he won’t be playing a student for the entire film.