Sorry Disney fans, but the “Mulan” live-action adaptation won’t feature fan-favourite character Li Shang. Fret not though, Yoson An (安柚鑫) has been cast to play Mulan’s new love interest.
He will be taking on the role of Chen Honghui, starring opposite Liu Yifei (Crystal Liu), who plays the titular heroine Hua Mulan. Since this Asian actor is still relatively unknown to the entertainment industry, we thought it’d be interesting to introduce him with these fun facts:
1. Yoson An is a Chinese-born and New Zealand-raised actor and filmmaker.
2. He’ll be turning 26 years old this year. His birthday falls on 23rd June (next Saturday), which makes him a Cancerian.
3. The role of Chen Honghui is his biggest one so far. The casting call for the character reads:
“In his 20s, must be able to speak fluent English and Mandarin Chinese; strapping, cocky, and handsome. Honghui is another recruit who joins Commander Tung’s unit, and he’s determined to be the best soldier in human history. Full of himself, with a mean, bullying streak to him, he quickly realise that Mulan is his chief rival, but doesn’t know she’s a woman. Honghui becomes increasingly peeved by Mulan’s ability to match or out-manoeuvre. After learning Mulan is a woman, his intense feelings of rivalry turn into love.”
4. He was previously in the casting department as an assistant during the production of 2016’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny”.
5. In addition to having credits in the HBO Asia series “Grace” and the new thriller “The Meg”, Yoson will also be appearing in the “Mortal Engines” movie, this coming December.
6. According to his IMDb, the actor is a skilled martial artist. He holds a black belt in karate, and is also strong in kick boxing, ninjutsu, power lifting and Olympic weight lifting.
7. During his free time, Yoson enjoys kayaking and rock climbing.
8. He is an avid book reader. Or at least he used to be. Some of the popular titles on his Instagram feed include “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn and “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking.
9. The rising star also has a fascination with crystals and cleansing stones. They are usually used during meditation.
10. Besides winning our hearts as an animal lover, Yoson can also perform magic tricks. Maybe he’s a wizard from Hogwarts?
Good luck on your role, Yoson! We’re rooting for you 😉
Sources: SCMP, Yoson’s Instagram/ Featured image: Google Images.
