Ariel Lin, Who Was The Highest Paid Taiwanese Actress In 2018, Makes Comeback Alongside Tiffany Ann Hsu

Taiwanese actress Ariel Lin, 40, is making her acting comeback, and fans could not be more excited. The actress, who’s been dubbed the “Goddess With Zero Negative Reviews” was hailed as the ace of Taiwanese dramas in her prime. However, she took a step back from filming in 2011 because it was taking a toll on her health.

At that time, Ariel shared that she often filmed for 12 to 18 hours a day, and that there was simply no time for her to decompress after work. She also went under the knife in 2009 to remove a tumour in her brain.

Since then, Ariel has focused mainly on films, though she did film two Chinese dramas in 2018 and 2019. 

And now, some 12 years after her last Taiwanese drama, it was recently reported that the actress will be starring in an upcoming drama, tentatively titled We Are Not Kind-Hearted. The drama will be directed by Taiwanese director Mag Hsu, who last worked with Ariel on the hit 2011 drama, In Time With You.

She will also be joined by her It Started With A Kiss co-star, Tiffany Ann Hsu, 38. Ariel’s role in We Are Not Kind-Hearted was apparently tailored for the actress. She plays someone’s mistress who manages to find true love. The drama also has a time-skip, and will see Ariel navigating life as a mother to a nine-year-old son. 

Reports also revealed that Tiffany and Ariel will be “rekindling" their on-screen romantic rivalry after 12 years in a way that’s reminiscent of their characters in It Started With A Kiss. This time, Ariel’s character is the third party who disrupts Tiffany’s relationship. Mike He, 39 and Kai Ko, 31, round up the main cast.

In order to get Ariel on-board with the drama, the production crew apparently spared no effort to sweeten the deal for the actress. 

It was previously revealed in 2018 that Ariel is the highest paid Taiwanese actress, receiving RMB$400,000 (S$77,700) for each 90-minute drama episode she filmed. Though the actress’ asking fee for her comeback role is not known, reports say the production costs for We Are Not Kind-Hearted have “increased greatly”.

The crew also set in place a number of stipulations to ensure that Ariel will not be overworked. For every four hours that Ariel is on-set, she gets a 30 minute break. Additionally, she will only be required to film for a maximum of 12 hours a day. 

Now, that’s true A-lister treatment.