Zhang Ziyi follows Jackie Chan, Tom Cruise in playing a character much younger than she is, but fans and critics are not impressed

Emma Thompson did it in Ang Lee's 1995 screen adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, as did Dustin Hoffman in the movie classic The Graduate in 1967. Actors taking on roles that are much younger than their real age - Thompson played a 19-year-old when she was 35 and Hoffman a college student at 30 - is nothing new.

But when Zhang Ziyi attempted such a feat recently, the Chinese superstar received a torrent of criticism from audience and critics alike.

Monarch Industry, a lavish 80-episode period drama that debuted on January 9 on Youku - a video hosting service in China - stars Zhang as Wang Xuan, the daughter of a prime minister who gives up her love interest to enter into a political marriage. Youku Tudou, which operates Youku, is owned by Alibaba, which also owns the South China Morning Post.

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Zhang - who was 38 when the series was filmed in 2018 - plays the character from her teenage years to middle age, but her portrayal of Wang as a 15-year-old in the first few episodes was panned for being unconvincing and embarrassing.

She is reported to be among the financiers of Monarch Industry, which cost 700 million yuan (US$108 million) to make.

One internet user wrote on Zhihu, China's Quora, that having the actress play a character much younger than her was distracting.

"If not for the casting of Zhang [as a teenager], the production team would not have rustled up a whole bunch of middle-aged actors to play her maidservants, friends and siblings. The visual disharmony the actress' age engenders made it difficult for the audience to pay attention to the plot," the post reads.

Zhang Ziyi plays a 15-year-old girl in the Chinese period drama series Monarch Industry. Photo: VCG via Getty Images alt=Zhang Ziyi plays a 15-year-old girl in the Chinese period drama series Monarch Industry. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

"Zhang's face is obviously not that of an innocent 15-year-old. In her first movie The Road Home (1999), she played a shy sweet girl convincingly, as her life then was like a blank sheet of paper. But now people can see after her many years in showbiz, the ups and downs [written] on her face," the user adds.

The backlash online prompted Zhang to write on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, that she knew very well that she was not a teenager any more. She said the producers of Monarch Industry should stop using her portrayal of a young Wang to market the show.

"Don't impose this label of a young girl on me. When I played Wang Xuan, I was 38 years old. I am turning 42 next month," Zhang wrote.

"These two numbers have nothing to do with being young. I know that with much clarity. When I got the script, I knew the character grew and evolved over time. I have tried my best to flesh out the role."

Zhou Xun was panned for playing a youthful royal consort in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, a period drama screened in 2018, at the age of 42. alt=Zhou Xun was panned for playing a youthful royal consort in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, a period drama screened in 2018, at the age of 42.

Zhang is not the first Chinese actress to be criticised for trying to look much younger on screen. Zhou Xun was panned for playing a youthful royal consort in another period drama that screened in 2018, Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, at the age of 42.

Monarch Industry was also criticised for its shallow characterisation, cliched plot and poor romantic chemistry between male and female protagonists.

Critics complained about the performances of other stars, including Angie Chiu Nga-chi who plays Wang Xuan's mother - her first major TV drama role in many years after retiring from show business two decades ago, Chiu was criticised for her exaggerated facial expressions and body movements when delivering dialogue.

Despite the negative reviews and rating of only 6.1 out of 10 on Douban, China's answer to Rotten Tomatoes, Monarch Industry is currently the most-viewed TV series in China, according to Maoyan, a website which rates the popularity of movies and TV series shown there.

Angie Chiu was criticised for her exaggerated facial expressions and body movements when delivering dialogue in Monarch Industry. alt=Angie Chiu was criticised for her exaggerated facial expressions and body movements when delivering dialogue in Monarch Industry.

Film writer for The Guardian Steve Rose said Western stars regularly play characters far younger than their real age.

"In Grease (1978) which is about high-schoolers, Olivia Newton-John was 29 and Stockard Channing was 33 [when shooting it]. No one seemed too bothered at the time," he wrote.

"Andrew Garfield was 27 when he played 15-year-old Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Sometimes there are good reasons for that, which is to help with continuity as the audience follow the characters into their older years."

Film professor Chris Berry, of King's College London, said it was a stretch for Zhang to play a 15-year-old.

"With [make-up], it's always possible [for an actor] to go older. But there's a limit to how much you can do with soft focus and so on to make being younger credible," he said.

Xie Fang tried to play herself as a girlish young woman in flashbacks in The Second Handshake (1980). alt=Xie Fang tried to play herself as a girlish young woman in flashbacks in The Second Handshake (1980).

"Xie Fang, the star of many pre-Cultural-Revolution hit movies, tried to play herself as a girlish young woman in the flashbacks in The Second Handshake (1980). The result was so ridiculous that it destroyed her career and she more or less went into retirement."

Berry says the real problem is the excessively high value placed on youthfulness, especially for women, in show business and the lack of good parts for mature women.

"Whether in the West or in China, mainstream culture loses interest in women if they do not look like they are in their twenties," he said.

"The same problem also affects male actors. Spare a thought for Tom Cruise and Jackie Chan as they desperately throw their arthritic limbs around in action films, pretending to be athletic young men. This also provokes plenty of ridicule."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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