Nomination is original sin? Xiao Zhan was shortlisted as the Best Actor at the Asian Film Festival: A milestone in traffic breakthrough, or Waterloo in the industry standard

In-depth review of Hisono Film on May 14, 2026 (Editor 1326XJ01)
The moment the nominations for the Golden Haiyan Award for Best Actor at the 2026 Asian Art Film Festival were announced, the domestic entertainment public opinion field instantly split into two camps that could not talk to. On the one hand, there is an overwhelming number of fans who "deserve it", viewing Xiao Zhan's shortlisting of "Get Free and Strictly Made" as "a historic victory for traffic actors to finally break their prejudices"; on the other hand, there is a near-unanimous skepticism in the industry that believes that this is "a landmark event in which capital is coerced into professional reviews and the credibility of awards completely collapsed."
This national debate over a nomination has long gone beyond judging the acting skills of individual actors. It tears open the most hidden scars in the entertainment industry: when traffic can be exchanged for professional honors, when fan volume can influence the review standards, and when "hard work" can replace acting itself, what are we rewarding? What are you destroying again?
Breaking the circle or crossing the line: A crisis of trust in the industry triggered by a nomination
The core reason why Xiao Zhan's shortlisting caused such a violent shock is that it broke the "hidden rules" that have been in operation in the entertainment industry for many years.
As one of the most authoritative film awards in Asia, the Golden Haiyan Award is composed of 17 top people in the industry, including Oscar-winning director Ke Wensi, Vice Chairman of the China Film Association Yin Hong, and Film Actor Duan Yihong. It has always been known for its "emphasis on art and light traffic." All of the previous nominees for Best Actor are powerful actors who have been deeply involved in the film industry for more than ten years and have multiple classic roles.
Xiao Zhan's situation is completely different. He debuted as an idol. His previous acting experience was mainly concentrated in the field of TV dramas, with few film works. "Get Leisure and Strictly Made" is his first big-screen work as a male lead. In just 47 days after its release, it directly skipped the "Newcomer Award" track and competed with Jackie Chan, Zhang Songwen, Huang Xiaoming, and Zhu Yilong, who have been in the film industry for twenty or thirty years, to compete for the best actor.

This "leapfrog" nomination directly breaks through the psychological defense line of the industry. A senior filmmaker who declined to be named bluntly said in an interview: "This is not a personal denial of Xiao Zhan, but a challenge to the rules of the entire industry. If a popular actor who has only acted in one movie can stand on the same podium as those actors who have spent their whole lives polishing their acting skills, what is the point of our persistence for so many years?"
Data is more telling. According to incomplete statistics, in the past five years, a total of 12 streaming actors have tried to transform into film actors, of which only 3 have been nominated for professional film awards, and all are Newcomer Awards or Supporting Role Awards. Xiao Zhan is the first streaming actor to be directly shortlisted for Best Actor, and the first actor to be nominated for Best Actor at an Asian Film Festival in his first starring film.
What is more controversial is the artistic value of "De Xian Jing Zhi" itself. Although the film achieved a box office score of 412 million yuan, its score on professional film review websites was only 6.8 points, far lower than the nominees of "Old Gun"(8.3 points) and "Riverside's Mistake"(8.1 points). Many critics believe that the film is essentially a "commercial theme film with traffic support" with a patterned narrative, flat character creation, and serious lack of artistic exploration.

Acting battle: Is "physiological performance" a breakthrough or a carefully designed marketing scam?

The core of the controversy will ultimately return to Xiao Zhan's performance itself in "Have Leisure and Strictly Made".
Supporters believe that Xiao Zhan's performance in the film is "subversive." In order to play the role of low-level fitter Mo Dexian, he shaved his head, lost 15 kilograms, tanned three color number, deliberately practiced his stooped posture, entered the factory two months in advance to experience life, and learned the basic skills of fitter. In the film, the footage of him tearing barbed wire with his bare hands, causing blood from his palms, and crawling in the ruins and getting his knees scratched by gravel were all taken in real life without using a double.
Especially in the scene of "The flagpole quieting", Xiao Zhan's role as Mo Dexian, after witnessing the sacrifice of his comrades, his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, sweat and tears intertwined, and his lips trembled without saying a word. He was praised by fans and some media."The ceiling of physiological acting skills." Director Kong Sheng also publicly stated: "Xiao Zhan's performance exceeded my expectations. He was not playing Mo Dexian, he was just Mo Dexian."
But the voices of the skeptics are equally sharp and direct to the nature of the problem. "Hard work is the basic professionalism of an actor, not a bonus point for acting." Famous film critic Li Xingwen wrote in his column,"Changing appearance and experiencing life for the role is something every qualified actor should do. If you take these as evidence of good acting skills, then the threshold for internal entertainment is too low."
At the professional performance level, skeptics believe that Xiao Zhan's performance has obvious shortcomings. The first is the "excessive sense of design" and the lack of slack. Every expression and every action he made seemed to have been carefully rehearsed. For example, his pupils were scattered in fear, his masseter muscles twitched in anger, and his eyes became red when he was sad. They all seemed too deliberate and lacked the "natural" feeling of a powerful actor.
The second is the singleness of emotional expression. The character of Mo Dexian has undergone a complete transformation from cowardice to awakening to sacrifice, but Xiao Zhan's performance does not show this sense of hierarchy well. When he is weak, he only hides his eyes, when he is angry, he only cries, and when he is sad, he only tears. The inner world of the characters is not fully explored.
Compared with the performances of the same nominees, the gap is even more obvious. The retired policeman played by Zhang Songwen in "Old Gun" can convey complex emotions with just one look; Huang Xiaoming's mentally retarded father played by "Sunshine Club" uses subtle body language to create a vivid character; Zhu Yilong plays Ma Zhe, a criminal police officer in "Mistakes by the Riverside", vividly interprets the character's confusion and collapse.
"Xiao Zhan's performance is essentially an extension of 'idol performance'." A professor in the Department of Performing Arts at the Beijing Film Academy said,"He works very hard and has talent, but he has not really grasped the essence of film performance. Film performances pay attention to 'blank space' and 'silence is better than sound', rather than writing all emotions on your face."

The abnormal symbiosis of traffic and awards: Who is kidnapping our aesthetics?
The controversy caused by Xiao Zhan's nomination has never been an isolated incident, but the inevitable result of the long-term "traffic first" logic of domestic entertainment.
In recent years, in order to maximize profits, capital has regarded traffic actors as "money printing machines" and has spared no effort to pave the way for them. They tailor-made scripts for traffic actors, invited top production teams to escort them, invested huge amounts of money in marketing promotion, and even used various means to win awards for them.
In order to attract attention, professional awards have also begun to compromise with traffic. After all, the ratings and topic popularity of an awards ceremony with popular actors are unmatched by pure power awards ceremonies. According to statistics, at the 2025 Golden Rooster Awards Ceremony, due to the attendance of a top-notch actor, the ratings increased by 37% year-on-year, and the number of Weibo topic readings exceeded 10 billion.
This abnormal symbiosis of "traffic and awards" is forming a vicious cycle. On the one hand, traffic actors do not need to hone their acting skills. As long as they have fans and traffic, they can get good resources and professional honors; on the other hand, powerful actors lack traffic and have difficulty getting the opportunity to star. Even if their acting skills are good, it is also difficult to be recognized by mainstream awards.
What is even more terrifying is that the invasion of fan culture is destroying the normal literary and artistic criticism environment. Whenever the work of a popular actor is questioned, fans will launch large-scale reviews, scoring, and human flesh searches, turning normal academic discussions into a "fan and gang war." Over time, no one dared to publicly criticize the works of popular actors, and the entire industry fell into a collective silence like "Emperor's New Clothes".
After Xiao Zhan's nomination, this phenomenon occurred again. Any voice who questions Xiao Zhan's acting skills will be labeled as a "black guy" and "sour chicken" by fans, and even personally attacked. A film critic published an article criticizing Xiao Zhan's performance. His Weibo account was banned by fans and his personal information was also leaked.
"Literary criticism is dead now." A senior media person said helplessly,"You can't say that the flow actors are bad, and you will be besieged by fans if you say it. In the long run, our film industry will only get worse and worse because no one dares to tell the truth and no one dares to point out problems."

Traffic is not the original sin, but strength is confidence
We have never opposed the transformation of traffic actors, nor do we deny that there are people with potential and are willing to work hard among traffic actors. In fact, many outstanding actors have transformed from idols, such as Andy Lau, Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung, etc. The reason why they were able to succeed is that they let go of the burden of idols, spent ten or even twenty years polishing their acting skills, and finally proved themselves with their works.
Xiao Zhan's problem is not that he is a flow actor, but that the honors he has won do not match his strength. An actor who has only acted in one movie, no matter how hard he works, it is impossible for him to reach the level of a movie star in a short period of time. Giving him too much honor too early will not only be detrimental to his growth, but will also make him lose himself and eventually become a victim of capital.
For Xiao Zhan, this nomination is an opportunity and a test. If he can clearly realize his shortcomings, calm down to polish his acting skills, and prove himself with more and better works, then this nomination will become an important turning point in his acting career. On the contrary, if he is immersed in the praise of fans and the praise of capital and does not want to make progress, he will only be eliminated by the times in the end.
For the entire industry, this incident is a wake-up call. It reminds us that professional awards must stick to their bottom line and cannot compromise with flow and capital. Only when acting becomes the only criterion for judging actors, when hard work is no longer a marketing gimmick, and when literary criticism can speak freely can our film industry develop truly healthily and more excellent works and actors emerge.
On May 21, the Asian Art Film Festival Awards Ceremony will be held in Macau. Regardless of whether Xiao Zhan ultimately wins the Best Actor, this debate over flow and acting skills will not end. It will continue to torture the conscience of every entertainment practitioner: What kind of film industry do we want?