In recent years, Chinese actor Hu Yitian has gained popularity for his role as “Jiang Chen” in the TV series “A Love So Beautiful”. However, since wrapping up his last project “Xihua Zhi” on August 27, 2023, it has been 673 days since he set foot on a filming set, sparking discussions and landing him on the hot search list.
Hu Yitian, 31, used to be as popular as actor Zhang Yunlong in his early years, appearing in at least three dramas a year. But at the beginning of this year, Hu Yitian revealed that he had been out of work for over a year and had to rely on live streaming to pay off his mortgage. The fact that a former leading male actor like him is facing such difficulties has surprised many. On June 30, “Hu Yitian Hasn’t Worked for 673 Days” trended on Weibo.
According to Chinese media reports, there are over 1.28 million actors working in the industry, with 300,000 of them currently unemployed in Beijing alone.
Starting off the year 2025, the Chinese film and television industry encountered a setback as 11 out of 25 new dramas that were set to start production were swiftly rejected by platforms. A producer vented about the situation, stating, “Signing contracts now is like playing the stock market. Before production begins, bets must be placed on viewership ratings. If the Key Performance Indicators are not met, contracts are torn up.”
In a bizarre turn of events, an investor in a period drama decided to cut losses by turning the original script into short video episodes, which were then aired on TikTok in 100 parts. Netizens criticized this move, saying, “In this day and age, even actors have become ‘fast-moving consumer goods’!”
Data analysis focusing on film and TV observations, artist statistics, and tracking by “Datavine” revealed a 45% year-on-year decrease in the number of registered dramas in Q1 2025. An anonymous purchasing director from a platform disclosed, “We would rather buy 10 short dramas than take a risk on one long drama.”
In April 2025, Chinese streaming platforms Youku and iQiyi announced that all online dramas would be condensed to only 12 episodes moving forward. A top screenwriter lamented, “A 30-episode drama being cut down to 12 episodes results in a plot more fragmented than an American series.” What’s more, actors’ salaries have been drastically reduced, with a top star disclosing, “Filming now feels like charity work. After taxes, we receive less than 20% of the original amount.”
Moreover, the rule “no viewership, no payment” has become standard practice. To cut costs, platforms now require production companies to meet new member acquisition Key Performance Indicators before payment is made. A production team, preferring to remain anonymous, complained, “We spent 50 million yuan filming a drama, but the platform said the ‘membership growth didn’t meet expectations,’ delaying our final payment for two years.” Additionally, production companies are forced to sign a “betting agreement,” where for every 0.1% drop in viewership below the target, 10% of the actors’ salaries are deducted.
Hu Yitian’s situation, where he found himself unemployed after completing “Xihua Zhi,” is not isolated. Background actors in Hengdian have seen their daily wages plummet to 80 yuan, with a talent agency owner lamenting, “Finding roles now is even harder than getting tickets during the Spring Festival rush!” More distressingly, rookie actors are “downgrading” for survival: the Beijing Film Academy beauty queen turned into a bargain-hunting blogger, a brilliant actor from the Central Academy of Drama reduced to a livestream backdrop, and even actors like Wang Xing being kidnapped during filming in Myanmar for a scam, leading to third-tier actors becoming delivery drivers, facing online harassment when recognized while making deliveries. Graduates with performing arts degrees are now selling sausages on street stalls, with signs that read, “Earning more money than acting.”
Apart from the struggles of young actors, middle-aged actors are also facing challenges. For instance, 41-year-old Chinese actor Yu Qingbin, who purchased an 80-square-meter limited housing unit in Beijing’s southern Sixth Ring Road in 2020, with a monthly mortgage payment exceeding 10,000 yuan. The property came with a restriction not to sell within five years, leaving him no choice but to continuously repay the mortgage. Eventually, due to unemployment, Yu Qingbin depleted his savings, faced debt collectors from the bank, and at one point could not even withdraw a thousand yuan. In March 2025, he registered as a food delivery rider, working 10.2 hours a day, earning around 200 yuan per day. After deducting expenses for renting a vehicle and meals, he was left with less than a hundred yuan.
Yu Qingbin’s decision to take on a delivery job to gain exposure and become famous, provoking discussions about whether actors are resorting to such measures, Yu Qingbin acknowledged the need for attention and opportunities to act, even openly sharing videos in the hope of recommendations for acting roles.