Xu Zhenxuan (徐振轩)

Xu Zhenxuan first came to public attention as a young hopeful on the survival show The Coming One in 2020, where his clean features and earnest charm earned him a loyal following. But it was his emergence as the definitive young Wu Xie in the Daomu Biji franchise — first in The Lost Tomb: The Hidden Flower (2024), then as the lead in Wu Xie‘s Private Notes (2025) — that truly catapulted him to fame. Author Xu Lei himself declared, “This Wu Xie is the one who walked right out of my pages,” while fans crowned him the “Heaven-Chosen Wu Xie.” With his tall frame, classical features, and an innate ability to channel the character’s bookish innocence and quiet bravery, Xu stands as one of the most promising young actors to emerge from the Daomu universe. Breakthrough Role Xu‘s defining breakthrough came with Wu Xie’s Private Notes (2025), in which he portrayed a young, freshly graduated Wu Xie, a quiet antique shop owner drawn into a world of tomb-raiding conspiracies. Directed by Pan Anzi and co-starring veterans Wu Zhenyu and Cao Lei, the series became an instant hit upon its release on Tencent Video. Xu brought to life the earliest incarnation of the beloved character — curious yet vulnerable, “both cowardly and brave” — notably in the “wet cave” sequence, where his trembling hands and fluttering throat perfectly captured Wu Xie’s fear and fragile courage. The nuance that won over fans was his ability to convey what critics call “worldly without being jaded” — the subtle shift from politely nodding at his uncle to eyes sparkling with curiosity while inspecting antiquities. “I’m not playing Wu Xie,” Xu once explained. “I‘m temporarily living as him.” The performance earned him the 2024 Guoju Shengdian Emerging Actor Award and a place in the Wenrong Awards’ Young Actors Support Program. Xu Lei’s public praise — “Some actors imitate Wu Xie; Xu Zhenxuan resurrects him” — arguably sealed the role’s place as a definitive screen version of the beloved character. Public Perception Now 24, Xu Zhenxuan is regarded as one of the most promising young actors of his generation, having been personally scouted by director Guo Jingming early in his career. He is especially cherished by fans of the Daomu franchise, having portrayed Wu Xie across three different installments — The Lost Tomb (2024), The Grand Dream of Homecoming (2024), Wu Xie’s Private Notes (2025), and the upcoming Southern Archives (2025) — and quickly won audiences over. That said, public perception is a study in contrasts. To many, he is the perfect personification of young Wu Xie — “the most fitting portrayal in years” — praised for nailing the character’s bookishness, youthful curiosity, and physical mannerisms with remarkable precision. But to critics, he remains a raw talent in need of refinement, with some describing his performance as occasionally over-expressive or lacking depth in high-tension scenes. Others point to the fact that much of his acclaim comes from inhabiting a single iconic character, and question whether he can step outside Wu Xie’s shadow to prove his versatility. For now, Xu is widely seen as a talent teetering on greatness — an actor whose potential is undeniable, but whose future hinges on what he does next. With over 2.4 million Weibo followers and a devoted fanbase that calls themselves “snails,” his climb from survival show contestant to franchise lead has been nothing short of meteoric.