There aren't enough "parents" for the domineering CEOs in the short drama.

"5,000 yuan a day to recruit 'domineering CEO dad'" and "Short drama urgently needs middle-aged and elderly actors"—as recruitment gimmicks flood the internet, many people feel that the "actor's dream" is within reach for ordinary people.

Some even considered helping their parents "get back into the workforce," leaving photos and contact information under group messages on social media.

The children want to fulfill their parents' unfulfilled dreams of acting in their youth, while the elders yearn to find a new way of life after retirement. But when they actually embark on their journey to pursue their dreams, they discover that reality is far harsher than they imagined…

The short drama production team is still complaining about the lack of fathers and mothers, but they keep their distance from the real middle-aged and elderly people.

Behind this apparent contradiction lies the "quick and easy" survival logic of the short drama industry. The popularity of themes such as family dramas and sweet romance dramas featuring middle-aged characters, coupled with extremely tight filming schedules, has made the "shortage of middle-aged actors" a reality, leading to a deluge of recruitment information.

But the supply and demand mismatch of "parent actors" is also real: the industry needs middle-aged actors, but it doesn't need ordinary parents who pursue their dreams with just passion.

So when the hype is enticing enough, it might just be that someone is secretly eyeing your wallet.

The following is the main text:

When the internet was flooded with casting calls for short dramas about "lacking a father" and recruitment information offering daily wages of over a thousand yuan, Liu Qi immediately contacted her father.

Liu Qi's father is over 180 cm tall. He served in the army when he was young and had a tall and upright posture. After retiring from the army, he was assigned to work in a state-owned enterprise in his hometown and was once recognized by everyone as the "face of the office".

Near Liu Qi's home is a film and television base that filmed well-known films and television dramas in the past. Now, due to industry adjustments, it has shifted to the short drama track and is gearing up to become the "city of short dramas".

People around him often joked that the old man was perfectly capable of becoming an actor, and Liu's father had also dreamed of entering the entertainment industry since he was a child. He often complained about short dramas, saying, "Those people acted too exaggeratedly. I would definitely be better in it."

In September of this year, coinciding with Liu's father's retirement and the online buzz surrounding the "shortage of middle-aged actors" in short dramas, Liu Qi suggested that his father try playing a "domineering CEO dad," and the old man readily agreed.

But reality quickly gave the father and daughter a cold shower. "It wasn't until they actually tried that they realized that becoming a father in a wealthy family through short dramas is harder than climbing to heaven," Liu Qi said.

There are two paths to becoming an actor in a film and television city: "going through a guild" requires registering as a temporary actor, joining a group, and waiting for casting calls; "cash roles" allow actors to negotiate and settle payments independently. But regardless of the path, a model card and a self-introduction video are essential for getting started.

After finally figuring out the requirements, Liu Qi discovered that her father in the camera was nothing like his real-life handsomeness—his face was noticeably asymmetrical under the iPhone's lens, making him look ten years older than he actually was, and his once-proportioned figure appeared bloated.

More importantly, the father, who had no acting background, moved stiffly and had unnatural expressions when recording the video.

With these materials, she contacted several agents who had marked "urgently needing middle-aged and elderly actors," but her messages either went unanswered or she only received sporadic replies. "They said my dad has a good image, but his eyes are unfocused, and he looks inexperienced and needs training."

To Wang Jiarui, who runs a film and television actor talent service studio, this result is "perfectly normal." He even feels that "it should be like this, otherwise people will think that short dramas really have no threshold."

The short drama industry is currently experiencing an unprecedented surge in production capacity. In the first half of this year alone, 251 key online micro-dramas were registered in Zhejiang. Zhengzhou, which is trying to take over as the "capital of micro-dramas," had 2,656 micro-dramas registered and launched on the platform in the first seven months.

Because the audience for short dramas is mostly middle-aged and elderly people, there is a surge in the production of "sweet dramas for middle-aged people" targeting this demographic. Even Liu Xiaoqing has crossed over into the industry, which has to some extent caused scheduling conflicts for existing middle-aged actors.

“The schedules of several middle-aged actors I’m working with are booked until 2026. I have to squeeze in time to ask them for appointments whenever I can,” Wang Jiarui said.

To fill the gap, Wang Jiarui also tried recruiting ordinary people online, but was repeatedly disappointed.

"Speaking of model cards alone, what we need are professional materials that can clearly showcase the actor's style, facial features, and body lines, not just casual snapshots that can't even present a basic image," said Wang Jiarui.

He has seen too many ordinary people fall into traps: some people have normal facial features in real life, but the camera will infinitely magnify small flaws such as facial asymmetry and skin condition, and they lose their charm as soon as they appear on camera; many people's body shape does not meet the crew's standards, and the one-size-fits-all costumes are either too tight or too loose on their bodies, and they cannot support the aura of the character at all; some even cannot speak Mandarin fluently and cannot communicate normally.

What troubles him even more is that the demonization of the short drama industry by outsiders and the low barrier to entry that anyone can make short videos lead many applicants to come with a "just for fun" mentality. "They don't treat this as a serious job at all. They come in and immediately pick roles and talk about salary. They can't even complete the basic audition."

Wang Jiarui also saw a friend's film crew who brought his parents to Hengdian for tourism and then volunteered to act in the film crew. "But apart from having parents, they were not suitable anywhere else."

Left with no other option, Wang Jiarui stopped recruiting amateur actors starting in the first half of the year. So, after news broke about summer short dramas lacking "fathers and mothers," he became quite sarcastic when encountering kids who wanted to send their parents to be powerful CEOs.

"Hengdian has 200,000 registered extras. Aren't there any middle-aged people among them? We don't want ordinary people. We want professional, audience-friendly, and popular middle-aged and elderly actors."

Shi Lan, the assistant director in charge of theater coordination, strongly agreed with Wang Jiarui's views.

After pointing out common problems such as amateur actors' inability to act, poor delivery, and high training costs, she used more straightforward words to expose the deeper contradictions in the industry: "This track, which has been hyped up by the outside world as 'lacking fathers and mothers,' actually does not truly welcome middle-aged and elderly people at its core."

All of this stems from the "short, quick, and efficient" nature of the short drama industry. "Outsiders always focus on the hype surrounding viewership and the daily wage of 5,000 yuan, but no one knows that the income of ordinary actors is actually quite modest, and this job is essentially physically demanding."

Shi Lan admitted that the shooting cycle of the short drama was compressed to the extreme, and the pace was incredibly fast. It was common to shoot more than a dozen scenes a day, and working non-stop from dawn to late at night was a regular occurrence. "Most middle-aged and elderly people can't withstand that kind of non-stop intensity."

The recruitment rules of the Hengdian Union also confirm this: actors over 60 years old need to submit a recent medical examination report in order to obtain actor certificates.

Even with all the necessary paperwork in place, most short drama production teams are reluctant to use older actors. "If they develop health problems midway through filming, the entire production schedule will be affected, and no one can afford to take that responsibility."

With multiple factors combined, "super-generation" has become the industry's unspoken optimal solution.

"Our production team mainly recruits middle-aged and young actors with acting experience who are willing to play older roles, and then uses the magic of makeup and styling to 'elevate their seniority'," Shi Lan said. Such scenes are already common in various short drama production teams.

34-year-old actress Lin Xi is one of those "super-generational" actresses. In real life, she is still childless, but in the world of short dramas, she is already a "veteran" wicked mother-in-law.

Because she is so familiar with the role of the wicked mother-in-law, Lin Xi has even learned how to do her own makeup. She uses shadows to outline deep nasolabial folds on her face, then raises her cheekbones, and adds the formulaic acting that the director likes, "which is the wicked mother-in-law image that everyone likes."

Photo | These two actresses, both in their early 30s, play mothers-in-law in the short drama.

Lin Xi had considered playing other roles, but was rejected: "There's no way around it. Most of the middle-aged characters in short dramas are just tools to advance the plot . If I don't take on these kinds of roles, I won't have any other roles to play."

40-year-old actor Zhang Dong had a similar experience. In real life, Zhang Dong's daughter is just starting elementary school, but he plays the grandfather of a girl his age in a period drama, calling her "my dear grandson" with loving eyes.

Even in short drama production crews in Hengdian, it's not uncommon for 40-year-old actresses to play the role of mothers to male actors of the same age.

More realistically, the mainstream market still features sweet romance dramas with young actors taking the lead, while middle-aged characters are mostly stereotyped, functional supporting roles. "They only have a few lines, and their pay is about 200 yuan a day. The high salaries of several thousand yuan circulating online are basically only for 'extra actors' or those paid in commercials."

In Hengdian, to become a "contract actor" earning a high daily wage, one must pass the selection exam of the Actors Guild, undergoing rigorous screening from basic dialogue skills to on-the-spot performance before being "certified to work." "Or, if you are a full-time acting student from a professional acting school, you can pass directly," said Wang Jiarui.

This is why, before high-paying middle-aged roles are even released, casting directors will directly contact extras they know. Meanwhile, ordinary middle-aged roles with lower requirements are always snapped up by experienced actors as soon as they are released, leaving no room for amateurs who might not even be able to deliver their lines properly.

"To put it bluntly, we don't want middle-aged people in terms of biological age, but rather those who appear middle-aged visually. Whether they are actually 30 or 40 is not important," Wang Jiarui stated frankly. "These can be achieved through acting skills and styling, which is far less troublesome than finding real middle-aged or elderly people, and it also ensures better shooting efficiency. Why not do it?"

In Shi Lan and Wang Jiarui's words, "Short dramas don't lack people, and they certainly don't have that many high salaries to hire 'parents'."

Wang Jiarui did the math: "What does a daily wage of 5,000 mean? Many leading actors and actresses don't even get that much. It's for well-known veteran actors. If you could earn 5,000 just by doing a few acts, middle-aged veteran actors would have been lining up for it long ago."

In Shi Lan's view, the actor industry in Hengdian is a hierarchical structure, and it is impossible for anyone to break the system, "unless it's a gimmick."

Photo | Despite numerous casting calls, Wang Jiarui and Shi Lan do not believe the industry is so lacking in actors.

If Hengdian has no shortage of actors and opportunities are not everywhere, why are there still so many news reports and casting calls about "lacking fathers and mothers" on the internet?

First of all, there is indeed an age gap among actors in the entire film and television industry.

Shi Lan said that in the past few decades, because the logic of "traffic" was so effective, all the spotlight in the industry was on "young and handsome actors" and "young actresses". Many actors in their 30s and 40s had no roles to play, so they either retired or went to play mothers-in-law, etc. Overall, the situation was balanced.

However, short dramas have short production cycles, and the current trend of "sweet dramas for middle-aged people" has created a large shortage, which is why the outside world has heard the news of "a scarcity of middle-aged actors".

Secondly, before the filming of long dramas and movies, there is a period of "training". For example, the "proton training camp" of the original "Investiture of the Gods" was popular for a while. However, short dramas are different. They quickly build an actor team through the "acting as training" model to support the continuous expansion of production capacity.

Driven by this pressure to produce more actors, experienced "visual" middle-aged actors are in high demand, leading to the "80/20 rule"—that is, actors with existing works are becoming increasingly sought after, while newcomers without such works can only struggle.

"A few years ago, when short dramas weren't so popular, it was still possible to get into the industry. Now, everyone is scrambling to produce, and amateur actors with no experience have a hard time getting opportunities. So, some high-quality dramas are willing to spend a larger budget on the scarce featured actors." This has led to the situation where a middle-aged actor who used to be hired for 800 yuan might now be paid 1,000 yuan a day, making the public think that it is really a "high salary".

Furthermore, short dramas are now moving inland to places like Zhengzhou and Xiangyang, which have film and television cities. Although these places have tens of thousands of registered extras, they are not as well-equipped as Hengdian, and there is a serious gap in age and ability. Sometimes, in order to save money, the production team will directly recruit middle-aged actors—after all, applying old-age makeup is still a test of skill, otherwise there would be no complaints from the audience that "it feels like the son who stole his father's suit."

“But these localized needs can be resolved through internal industry coordination, and it’s far from the point where a large-scale recruitment of amateur middle-aged actors is needed,” Shi Lan said. “ So the overwhelming recruitment information on the internet is most likely just a new recruitment tactic for film and television training classes.”

This tactic has existed in Hengdian and other places for a long time. They first lure people in with the promise that "you are a perfect fit" and "you can join the crew right away." Once the person arrives excitedly, they then recommend so-called "exclusive training courses" under the pretext of "lack of acting skills," charging training fees ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan.

Liu Qi's experience perfectly illustrates this point. After sending her father a "model card," among the few replies she received, one account whose homepage indicated it belonged to a "performance teacher" from a film and television training school. The person contacted her and her father, inviting them to meet in person, and then started promoting "training courses" during the "online interview."

Liu Qi looked at the course sent by the other party and found that it was more like an advanced version of a senior university. The content was fragmented and lacked practical application, and such a course was priced as high as 6,800 yuan.

Image | Some organizations use AI-generated recruitment posters, and the fonts are all wrong.

When asked about key questions such as "when can I debut," "which production team can I be recommended to," and "how much can I earn per day," the other party remained vague, only emphasizing that "learning will give you opportunities," and that "after completing the introductory course, they will even recommend advanced courses costing tens of thousands of yuan."

Even more cruelly, even if they spend money on training and manage to "debut" by chance, most amateurs can only get minor roles worth around 100 yuan.

“What does a role costing 100 yuan mean? It means that when the crew is short of people, they will take anyone who can breathe and stand up. It’s just to make up the numbers.” Wang Jiarui’s words were ruthless. “Most of the time, it’s just to have parents wear cheap clothes from a photo studio and shoot some scenes from rehearsals. They can’t even get into the real film crew.”

This model is essentially the same as those "child star detectives".

"The difference is that the latter harvests the wages of parents who hope their children will become successful, while the former targets the retirement pensions of 'middle-aged parents' who want to fulfill their dreams of becoming actors."

As he spoke, Wang Jiarui smiled wryly: "Now even celebrities are flocking to live-streaming e-commerce to make money. Good opportunities in the film and television industry are already scarce. Where are so many free lunches falling into the laps of ordinary people? If this industry were truly friendly to ordinary people, how could there have been a scandal like 'Blossoms Shanghai'?"