I did not recognise him as the same actor

I had a similar experience! When I first started watching, I knew the character's name, so I knew who to look at, but it took several scenes before I could really register him as Liu Minting! I will say it's easier when you see him moving, so you get him from a number of different angles, as well as the way he moves, instead of just a 2-d still image in screencaps.