The Aging Process of Lu Yi in Su Dongpo + Bazaar Photoshoot with his Daughter

- May 14, 2012

Middle Photo: Director Wang Wenjie giving feedback on Su Dongpo's old age makeup

When I watch a biographical drama, I think it's fun to see how the main character ages over the course of his/her entire life. In most dramas, the time jump, if any, only spans two different time periods and usually involves no more than 10 years. So we usually get to see the styling of the character for only two different stages. Since Su Dongpo is a bio-epic, we'll get to see the gradual transformation of the character over a period of 40 years. The actor, Lu Yi, who plays Su Dongpo, was only 31 years old at the time of shooting (he's currently 36 years old), but his character will be 66 years old by the end of this drama.

For some odd reasons, I really like to watch how a young guy is transformed to look like a wise old man in TV series, but not vice versa. Perhaps this is due to the fact that in most dramas, I have not seen a convincing case where the make-up artist was able to transform a 40 year something man into a 20 year old lad (unless he's CGIs or something). It is much easier to transform an young man into an old man. However, some people complain why doesn't a 60 year old something Su Shi with head full of white hair not have any wrinkles?! ROFL

YOUTH

Late teens to early 20s

Late 20s to early 30s

MIDDLE AGE

Late 30s to 40s

OLD AGE

Late 50s-early 60s

SENIOR CITIZEN

Mid-60s

For those of you unfamiliar with Lu Yi, he's actually one of the first "idol" actors in mainland China and from the same generation of renown actors/actresses as Vicki Zhao, Huang Xiaoming, Zhou Xun, and Chen Kun. He was extremely popular in the late 1990s and 2000s, but have been somewhat less active in recent years and concentrated more on his family life. I'm not a big fan of Lu Yi's acting, but I think he looks really good in ancient Chinese costumes with the scholarly facial hair. If I have to name one thing I really admire about Lu Yi is his extremely good public image and low-key profile. It's pretty rare nowadays for any famous actors/actresses not not to have any romantic rumors or scandalous headlines. At the height of his popularity, he announced to the media that he already has a stable girlfriend whom he met when they both went to Shanghai Theater Academy. They dated for 10 years before finally tying the knot in 2006. His wife currently focuses on motherhood and has already retired from the entertainment industry. I think it's pretty amazing that throughout his career, he has never been linked to another woman nor involved in any scandalous rumors.

This China's Bazaar Magazine photoshoot that Lu Yi took with his wife, Bao Lei, and daughter, Beibei (baby name meaning "Precious") is actually quite dated. I remember first seeing these series of photos when it was first released in 2009. His baby daughter is no longer a "baby" anymore. She's such a cutie, but I can't tell if she looks like her daddy or mommy!