Ben Barnes marks ‘Shadow and Bone’ co-star Jessie Mei Li’s birthday in cute post

Ben Barnes, who portrays the menacing Darkling on Netflix hit fantasy series Shadow and Bone, shared a sweet throwback in honour of his castmate’s Jessie Mei Li’s 28th birthday.

The actor, 41, took to his Instagram on Saturday, August 27, to post an adorable picture of the duo posing in between filming the second season of the Netflix show. The photo had an animated Happy Birthday banner placed on it.

Shadow and Bone was adapted from the YA fantasy novel of the same name by Leigh Bardugo, which stars Li as the lead in the show, Alina Starkov. The show has aired two seasons on the streaming giant so far.

Meanwhile, the fate of the third season hangs by a balance as Netflix has not greenlit anything yet for it, especially amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strike.

Barnes and Li share brilliant chemistry on-screen and off-screen which is quite evident from their promotional appearances and interviews for the show.

The two often shared their antics on social media with Li once pranking Barnes in a cheeky video. The two have number of photos from their time filming posing in adorable snaps.

Fans have even begin speculating that the two might be dating secretly given their rather flirty antics during the press conference for the second season.

In a clip posted on TikTok, the co-stars sat next to each other and giggled and smiled together between interviews. The video zoomed in on the physical flirting, as one fan pointed that Barnes’ “love language is physical touch.”

“Imagine having someone so attracted to you that they CANNOT physically stay away from you and will try anything to get close, even with their PINKY,” another fan pointed at the time, via The Sun.