In the TV series "Being the Housewife", actor Zhang Lei played the bad and greedy of the prefect Cao Wenbin into three points. Many viewers saw half of it, and then suddenly realized that he was also the current prime minister of Yushu Linfeng in "Yulou Spring".
A few years ago, the original "male number one" Zhang Lei returned to the show business circle, but found that "there is no drama to act". "I originally picked a play, the characters were flawed or I wanted to travel, I would push the play away, so after a few years, I suddenly found that there was no drama looking for you." 」 Taking advantage of the new drama broadcast, we chatted with Zhang Lei for two hours, and he was very patient and had to answer questions. He figuratively compared people like spider webs, "You suddenly find that there is no thread dragging you, and then you are very tired to weave the web." ”
Although he has always played in supporting roles in recent years, Zhang Lei has always tried his best to play every role. Even if he is a villain with a small role, he still has to perform the complexity of people. This is why there is "Hu Yilang" in the web drama "The Silent Truth" and "Cao Wenbin" in "Being the Housewife".
"By proving myself through small roles, I still exist." Zhang Lei was waiting for a new opportunity.
Starting with "Coco Ciri", he became a professional actor
Zhang Lei was born in Xinjiang, and in retrospect, he feels that he was "passive" as an actor. "The clouds in the sky open up, a beam of light hits you, and the pie falls from the sky." At that time, he was still studying in the key class of Urumqi No. 1 Middle School, and he had no idea that there were such artistic halls as Chinese opera and opera. His parents were both college students in the past, and Zhang Lei's original life plan was to be admitted to the "mouth" university according to his parents' expectations.
Unexpectedly, one day, the teacher of Chinese opera came to the school and planned to recruit Dai Peisheng of the Xinjiang Repertory Theatre. Tall, handsome-looking Zhang Lei was chosen. "I have a bit of a literary and artistic foundation, and I like to play guitar, so I recited a poem by Gu Cheng while playing, and I was admitted to Chinese opera." In the college entrance examination that year, he was also admitted to the Department of International Trade of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
After going to the Chinese opera, Zhang Lei found that he could not keep up with his classmates, everyone was "liberated in nature", he still "could not open his mouth, could not take a step". For the actors, this is almost fatal. He reluctantly dropped out of school, but refused to admit that he was a loser. Although he also planned to change majors in the middle of the way, and also went to the University of International Business and Economics to study business English for half a year, Zhang Lei still wanted to become a professional actor.
In 1995, Zhang Lei was again admitted to the Department of Stage Art of Chinese Opera. He intends to "save the country by curve". After graduation, he opened a bar in Sanlitun, Beijing, and many directors and actors in the circle liked to come here to talk about scripts, so he became acquainted with gao Qunshu, Lu Chuan, Guan Jinpeng and other directors, and also received an important role - "Gayu", a policeman who pretended to be a reporter to investigate the hunting of Tibetan antelope in "Coco Xili".
"I became a professional actor from 'Coco Ciri.'" Zhang Lei said. Director Lu Chuan, like him, is also from Xinjiang. The two drove from Xining to Yushu, with Xu Wei's "Blue Lotus" on the way. Zhang Lei remembers that the director took everyone to understand the heavenly burial and local customs and customs, which was also the first time he experienced altitude sickness.
After more than 20 years in the show business circle, Zhang Lei still feels that "Coco Xili" is the most painful drama to shoot. At that time, the filming site was very far away from the station, and tens of thousands of square kilometers of land in the Coco Xili Nature Reserve were deserted. Even more unpredictable is the weather, with scorching sun a second before, suddenly shrouded in dark clouds, followed by high winds and hail, and the climate changes in a few hours throughout the year.
"The sky is so close, the mountains are so big, nature is so majestic, and people are so small. You will have reverence and worship for nature. Zhang Lei described that when filming "Coco Xili", he almost gritted his teeth to complete one difficult scene after another. One of the scenes is crossing the glacier, to stand in the water, the ice water flows quickly, the hand is put down for a few seconds to numb, but also to beware of falling in the waist-deep water, it is difficult to get ashore, the clothes are like ice buckets hoops on you. "As soon as the wind blew, the tents were overturned. Everyone is shivering with cold, and at this time you don't dare to look into the eyes of others, and you want to hide this kind of suffering from yourself. That's when you know that professional actors are going to take the lead. ”
Zhang Lei remembers that in addition to "Coco Xili", when filming "The Soul of the Nu River" and "Southern Shaolin Swing Heroes", he was also bitter. There is a scene about him being rescued by a monk after soaking in the sea for several days, "When filming, we were under a cliff, and in front of it was a monstrous wave, and the wave hit the cliff. Before going to sea, he drank a bottle of white wine and rushed down; as soon as the sea receded, the waves came and the whole person crashed into the cliff wall, and his hand was broken.
This year, after the broadcast of the web drama "Double Mirror", Zhou Yunpei, played by Zhang Lei, had a lot of fans on the B station, and some people specially made a short video to praise his acting skills. Zhang Lei brushed it, and he was also a little guilty while being moved. "In the past, acting suffered from a thousand kinds of sins, and I felt that the actors were so bitter. Now I just use my previous accumulation to complete the character, not as much as before, can't sleep all night, use the extreme state to make myself conform to the character, and I will get countless fans, and I feel a little guilty when I think about it. ”
Re-"weave the web" and prove yourself through small roles
Zhang Lei is an actor who likes to "toss". In 2010, the TV series "Xin'an Family" was broadcast, and he was the male number one Cheng Tian. This is the most colorful play he feels, during that time he deliberately made his heart quiet, so that the characters appear clean and clear, "is my best state of the play." After filming this word-of-mouth work, performance invitations poured in, even including the starring role of "Great Qin Empire". But Zhang Lei chose to retire temporarily, for four or five years, he rarely took over the drama, not even watching TV, but opened a vegetarian restaurant and a tea house, "I want to make myself clear and empty." When the teahouse could not continue to operate and wanted to return to the film and television circle, he found that "there is no drama looking for you".
"I started again, and the sky changed. It's not your sky, you have to re-adapt to that sky. The environment is strange, start building relationships one by one again, and prove yourself through small roles. Zhang Lei said.
In recent years, Zhang Lei has always played in supporting roles. Although the scenes are small, they are all impressive. In the suspense drama "The Silent Truth", he is "Hu Yilang" and wants to perform that "bad" momentum. He explained: "Hu Yilang's character is hidden, and I want to play him as a cultured thug. ”
To "Cao Wenbin" in "Being the Housewife", he is also a negative character, but Zhang Lei chose another way of black humor. "I like the dramatic tension of this character, he is a very extreme, exaggerated character, he must be fiery and open-minded." For example, he said, Cao Wenbin likes money, so he wants to show his greedy side bluntly, "This character can bend and stretch, in the official arena can be a big husband and a small person, he is not a bad person with a face." I play any negative role, I hope everyone will be bright. ”
Proving himself through small roles, Zhang Lei likens this process to the process of re-weaving the net. The mesh threads are broken, and now they are rewoven, which will inevitably consume more accumulation. "When others see Sun Xun, they only see me in "Yulou Spring", but in fact, I have accumulated a lot of energy. The most important thing now is to shoot the scene and act well. How big the net can be woven depends on how much energy you have. ”
What used to be "people picking plays" has now become "picking people by plays". Zhang Lei had no choice, because when he returned to the crew, he could only play an elderly old man or the father of a certain character. Once filming in Hengdian, he played an old emperor, and when he appeared in the crew, he was wearing a thick hood and sticking a beard; when he took off his hood and removed his beard on the day of the killing, the director did not recognize him. "I'm not that old in my life, and I want to make scenes that represent my current state."
Zhang Lei felt that the opportunity was also in front of him. At that time, the emperor who starred in "Double World Pet Princess" was a friend who recommended him to go because of the temporary schedule, but he did not expect that the broadcast effect of the drama was not bad, and there was a second and third part. He also received a lot of "emperor plays" as a result.
When he was young, Zhang Lei wanted to be a star and longed for the strange life of the show business circle. Now he didn't think so. "As an actor, I want to reach a state where no one knows me in life, but everyone can remember the character as soon as they appear in the play. Drama throwing face is the highest evaluation for me. ”
Everyone wants to be the lead actor, and he is no exception. After all, the supporting role is limited, and if you think about it, the space that can be played is not as good as the protagonist.
"My ultimate goal is to shoot the character I want to make, but I haven't found it yet. Why do people want you to shoot? How much box office and traffic can you get? Only through your own efforts, when the other party is none other than you, are you qualified to negotiate terms with others. Zhang Lei said, "In order to achieve this goal, you have to grit your teeth, no matter what role, let everyone remember." Not enough is being done now. ”
Column Editor-in-Chief: Shi Chenlu Text Editor: Shi Chenlu
Source: Author: Zhang Yi