LayarHijau – William Chan recently shared a painful experience from his past acting career. At that time, he had finished trying on his costumes and even stayed at a hotel waiting for the shooting schedule. However, after almost two weeks without any news, he found out that his role was given to another actor.
This story became a hot topic again after William Chan talked about it in an interview with Sina Entertainment on August 20, 2026. This old story was connected by fans to the term “revenge work” right after his newest drama, Mystic Nine (《九门》), finished airing.
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Even though William Chan did not say the title of the drama directly, the details point to the popular 2015 drama The Lost Tomb (《盗墓笔记》). This drama was based on a novel by Nanpai Sanshu, the original author who also worked directly as a scriptwriter and creative team member for the show. In this project, William Chan was actually contracted to play a supporting character named Hai Shao. However, news of his involvement leaked to the public and was distorted into a rumor that he would play the main character, Zhang Qiling.
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This misunderstanding caused strong protests and boycott threats from some novel fans. This situation created a major problem within the production team. William Chan—who had already finished costume fittings and waited for almost two weeks at his hotel—was replaced from his original role (Hai Shao).
Shocked by this, William Chan called the producer, Lin Guohua, to ask what happened. Lin Guohua said that the problem was being handled. However, internal conflicts in the production team grew worse. In the end, Lin Guohua was removed from the project, and Nanpai Sanshu was restricted from entering the filming set. With no other choice, William Chan had to pack his bags and leave.
William Chan’s departure also ruined the plan for his reunion with Yang Yang (who played Zhang Qiling). If everything had gone as planned, this drama would have been their second time acting together after their successful collaboration in The Four (《少年四大名捕》). Although they missed the chance to work together again on The Lost Tomb, the two actors remained close friends and often spent free time together boxing and watching movies. Meanwhile, the role of Hai Shao was given to actor Li Chenhao.
Although his experience with The Lost Tomb ended badly due to rumors, William Chan’s professional relationship with Nanpai Sanshu remained good. In 2016, the author created a new project called The Mystic Nine (《老九门》) and specifically wrote the character Zhang Qishan (Zhang Dafoye) to suit William Chan. This role became one of the biggest achievements in William Chan’s career. In an old interview, he admitted that the bad experience made him appreciate every role given to him even more.
Almost ten years later, William Chan played the legendary character Zhang Qishan again in the 2026 drama Mystic Nine (《九门》). His return to Nanpai Sanshu’s story universe and the successful completion of the series made netizens talk about the term “revenge work.”
Fans use this term to describe how William Chan and Nanpai Sanshu proved their quality after rising from difficult times. Responding to this popular term, William Chan gave a wise answer: “Holding a grudge is not good, but kindness must be remembered for a lifetime.”
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