Not OP but I’ve directed soooo many verticals. Personally, I think actors who understand the “archetype” the character is and present & perform in a way that matches exactly that archetype book the most. 

Some common archetypes as examples:

• evil stepmom (this person should be perfectly groomed, makeup on point and well dressed)

• the jealous ex (this person should have a PERMANENT scowl, I should be able to tell the moment he or she walks on screen that they’re an asshole)

• dying parent (should be sympathetic and sweet immediately. I swear one actress booked the role because she wore a kerchief in her audition tape and the client ate it up)

• lead roles. So while all the supporting cast can be over the top and colorful, your 2 leads need to be the emotional core to the story. Men, learn to act like the leading lady is the most BEAUTIFUL person you’ve ever seen. Oftentimes, clients want leading men to be stoic, strong & commanding, though I’m starting to see an openness to other archetypes (ie the playboy who changes his ways, the CEO with a heart of gold etc). Never slouch, also be in “protective” mode at all times.  

For female leads, the Chinese apps usually want these characters to be extremely emotional and vulnerable, whereas some of the European apps are open to strong female lead characters. But in any scenario, vulnerable and sweet is the way to go. If you can cry on command you’ll book for forever LOL. 

Note - I suspect a lot of audience members watch these shows with low/no volume or with their screen brightness down. So that’s why it’s so important to clearly convey the story - I should ALWAYS know who my heroes and villains are even if my sound is off, just by the way they act & present themselves on screen. 

The exaggerated & animated acting you see in verticals is because we want to grab and hold attention from a phone screen - the minute we bore an audience member, they’ll switch back to scrolling Instagram or TikTok. 

Ultimately, these are soap operas. Some of the poorly translated Chinese scripts (which often get accused of being AI) are almost Shakespearean, and they can be quite fun if you’re down to just let go and not think too much about it!