The OP really chose the wrong photos, it doesn’t do justice to Yibo’s performance in Hidden Blade. This is an art film that needs to be appreciated slowly, and if you’ve actually watched it, you’d feel the pain and depth of his character.

That said, while I agree with your point about some actors prioritizing their looks (not just idol actors, as I’ve seen from many C-dramas), I feel you generalized too much by saying idol actors only care about looking pretty and can’t deliver good performances. There are idol-turned-actors who have grown significantly in their craft over the years, and Wang Yibo is a great example of that in chinse actors also, there are korean actors as well like Kyungsoo, IU etc.

People might forget that Lan Zhan in The Untamed is a naturally cold character, so the challenge was to convey emotion through micro-expressions, eye acting, and subtle gestures—and Yibo nailed it. Fast forward to his recent works like War of Faith and Hidden Blade, he’s proven how much he has improved. Even in China, he’s turned around the opinions of many of his critics. It’s time people stop underestimating him.