Word of Honor star Gong Jun on how popular wuxia series was his ‘big breakthrough’, and the work he put into his challenging role
- Word of Honor, which is coming to Netflix, is a big hit in China, with more than 1.2 billion total views
- Male lead Gong Jun talks about how his challenging role has brought him new fans and plenty of work
A period drama series with no recognisable stars, Word of Honor is one of the biggest sleeper hit TV series in China this year.
The 36-part series racked up over 1.2 billion views when it was exclusively broadcast on Youku from February to March. The show’s first episode alone has accumulated over 8.7 million views on YouTube; it will next be available for streaming on Netflix. Its success has made its two male leads, Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun, into overnight sensations.
Gong has 15 million fans on China’s microblogging site Weibo and is the brand spokesman for various brands including L’Oréal, Braun and Roewe. He tells the Post in an interview that his new-found fame has given him a lot more work. “Thanks to Word of Honor, I’ve got a lot more fans,” he says. “I need to work harder to polish my acting skills in return for their support.”
Adapted from online fiction Tianyake by Priest, Word of Honor revolves around the bond of two young and handsome martial arts maestros, Zhou Zishu (played by Zhang) and Wen Kexing (Gong). Word of Honor co-director Ma Huagan said recently that the relationship between the two male protagonists involves friendship and brotherly love.
“Being castaways from wuxia society, they start at the lowest points in their lives. Zhou has only three years to live [after a big injury]. Wen is living in abject misery after leaving the Valley of Ghosts. [As the show progresses], they support each other and grow.”
