Yan An has said a heartfelt goodbye to his first male lead role in Tian Xi Wei's historical drama Where the Mask Ends.
The series aired its final episodes on Youku on November 3, and its TV broadcast on CCTV-8 wrapped up on November 10. That day, Yan An posted a long farewell on Weibo, and the hashtags "Yan An's thousand-word farewell to Where the Mask Ends" and "Tian Xi Wei and Yan An's finale photo" climbed Weibo's entertainment trending list. The drama is based on Xiao Jia Ren's Jinjiang Literature City novel.
Where the Mask Ends (Image via Youku)
"Our Where the Mask Ends never says goodbye"
Yan An, who plays Lu Zhuo, opened his post with "Our Where the Mask Ends will never say goodbye." He wrote that he spent his third Lunar New Year at Hengdian World Studios during filming and gained a bond he will cherish for life.
He admitted he was anxious before filming began. It was his first time playing a male lead and his first grounded period drama, and he had to build connections with a new team and cast. He said the producer, the director and his co-workers eased those worries, and that the shoot had hard moments too: "There were times of exhaustion and pressure, and times when I had to grit my teeth to keep going."
He described Lu Zhuo as someone who hides his emotions deep inside, carrying pressure alone without complaint, and said the character opened up and grew through his relationship with Wei Rao (Tian Xi Wei). "Through getting to know him, I found a way to be on the same wavelength: understanding him, getting closer to him and finally becoming him," he wrote. He added that the role left a touch of Lu Zhuo in his own personality.
Tian Xi Wei in Where the Mask Ends (Image via Youku)
He thanked director Yang Long, the producers, screenwriter Zhou Mo, his acting coach Li Shuai and the cast and crew, and closed with thanks to Wei Rao and Tian Xi Wei. In a separate interview clip shared by fans, he praised Tian Xi Wei as a very capable partner who was always serious and meticulous on set.
Fans also shared videos from the drama's wrap-up party on November 7, where Tian Xi Wei teared up and recreated one of Wei Rao's famous lines. Where the Mask Ends follows Wei Rao, nicknamed A Chou, and Lu Zhuo in a story of marriage, scheming and family secrets, and it has been one of the season's most talked-about C-dramas, as covered in our earlier report on its chart milestone.
