After Zhang Xiaofei won the Golden Rooster Award, I couldn't help but sigh to my friend: "You see, Zhang Xiaofei won the Golden Rooster Award at the age of 35, and Yang Mi, who was in the same class as her, although he was red early, but he was still playing an ancient doll in recent years. ”
The friend was very dissatisfied: "But Yang Mihong has been red for so many years, and he has already earned money, ah, even if Zhang Xiaofei wins the prize, he may not be able to earn so much money from Yang Mi." ”
I paused, thinking, as if it were. Yang Mi and Zhang Xiaofei, these two classmates of the 05-level Nortel, the acting path of the two of them, went in two completely different directions: some people became popular early, but the succession was weak, and the 35-year-old still circled in the past role; some people did not get fame that matched the strength, but at the age of 35, they ushered in the first real leap in their careers.
These two people, the Tao is different, it is difficult to say which is good or bad. But if Heaven gives you a chance to choose, do you want to be "Yang Mi" or "Zhang Xiaofei"?
She was a regular on the crew at the age of 4
At the age of 19, she dreamed of performing
First of all, in terms of "performance", there are different "weights" for Yang Mi and Zhang Xiaofei.
For Yang Mi, the "Big Girl of Beijing", acting is a natural thing. Running in a playful mood, 4-year-old Yang Mi applied for a children's film training class, and then starred in film and television dramas such as "Tang MingHuang", "Monkey Baby", "Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qi'er" and so on.
At the age of 15, Yang Mi, who loves beauty, followed the magazine to learn how to dress and sent his photo to Ruili.
She was then photographed by the editor and began working as a graphic model.
In 2002, Yang Mi signed with Li Shaohong's Rong Xinda, and the next year, she got the first script in her life, "Red Pink Family".
In the play, Yang Mi plays Sun Li's younger sister. Looking back at the stills, Yang Mi of the Water Spirit at that time was not inferior to Sun Li in beauty.
In 2004, Yang Mi, who was still in his second year of high school, took over Guo Xiang in Zhang Jizhong's version of "Divine Eagle Hero". The play, when it aired two years later, caused a small sensation.
Although in my heart, this version is still not as good as Li Qihong's version of the classic, but Yang Mi's big eyes can see the aura.
Therefore, to the later examination of Nortel, for Yang Mi, who has acted in so many dramas, it is very natural.
She was good-looking, bold, and a little clever, as if she was born to eat this bowl of rice.
Yi Lijing once asked Yang Mi, did you have a dream when you were a child? Yang Mi said that no, she has been a very pragmatic person since she was a child. I used to like to draw, but my family said that painting had no future, so she thought about it and went to study acting.
But for Zhang Xiaofei, who grew up in Anshan, northeast China, acting is not so easy.
When she was a child, Zhang Xiaofei's mother found that her daughter was slender and had a talent for dancing, so she let her learn to dance. In 1997, 11-year-old Zhang Xiaofei left Anshan and went to the Central University for Nationalities to learn dance alone.
In 2001, Zhang Xiaofei joined the Chinese Armed Police Cultural and Labor Troupe and became a dancer.
For dance, Zhang Xiaofei's view is, "When she was young, when she didn't know what she wanted to do, her mother took her to learn. ”
Although it is not her own choice, Zhang Xiaofei is still grateful for this experience of learning to dance, because it has cultivated a character of "being able to endure hardships".
Entering the literary troupe is equivalent to finding a job. The family thought it was good, but Zhang Xiaofei was not satisfied.
In 2005, Zhang Xiaofei was admitted to the acting department of the Beijing Film Academy and became a classmate of Yang Mi.
When she looked back on her experience, she used the words "broken boat" and regarded it as the "first proud moment" in her growth process.
Because learning to act and being an actor is Zhang Xiaofei's own choice and pursuit. In order to dream, she gave up the work of the literary troupe and was fierce.
One is a natural success, one is broken, it seems that from the beginning of the industry, the mentality of the two has been different.
She is the "new little flower" who is constantly joking.
She fell into the embarrassment of having no scenes to shoot
In 2005, Yang Mi and Zhang Xiaofei became classmates at the Beijing Film Academy.
It seems that there is a common platform, but the opportunities placed in front of them are not the same.
Because of the previous film and television works, Yang Mi already has a certain foundation. Just after going to college, Yang Mi was found by the "Wang Zhaojun" crew to play the heroine, and returned to school three months after the school started.
After that, Yang Mi also co-produced "Chatting with The Little Qian of Zhizhi Zhizhi" with Hu Ge.
△ Looking at Yang Mi's stills at that time, you can really feel the agility, and you can understand why you are caught by so many people.
For Yang Mi, who was still in college at that time, her trouble was not that there was no drama, but that there were too many scenes.
Yang Mi said in an interview that she had a heavy heart when reading, and for a while, she did not want to take the role at all. She went out with Yuan Shanshan every day to shop and buy clothes.
After stopping for about half a year, she developed a sense of emptiness again. It was also at that time that Yang Mi felt anxious for the first time: "Oh, in fact, you are not irreplaceable. ”
I have to say that Yang Mi is still quite suitable for survival in the entertainment industry.
She was able to realize the sense of crisis so early.
Yang Mi's way to fight anxiety is to return to the crew and find the state of filming: "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Immortal Sword III", "Dark Fragrance"...
In April 2009, before she graduated, she had already won the title of "Four Little Flowers" in the mainland in the "Post-80s New Generation Entertainment Stars" jointly voted by 100 entertainment journalists.
Waiting ahead of her is a great future.
△ Yang Mizeng, Huang Shengyi, Liu Yifei and Wang Luodan were rated as the "New Four Little Flower Dan".
Zhang Xiaofei, on the other hand, was not so smooth.
Although she has strong professional ability, she is one of the top two students in the class.
△ Yuan Shanshan said in "Youth Alumni Association" that Zhang Xiaofei is a very good professional girl in the class.
When she was in college, she also filmed several plays, such as "The Beacon Years", "Shakespeare of the Big Pie" and so on.
However, perhaps Zhang Xiaofei's appearance conditions are not as outstanding as Yang Mi's, and there is no splash in the scenes she shoots.
△ Zhang Xiaofei in "Beacon Years"
When he graduated, Zhang Xiaofei fell into a situation where there was no drama to shoot.
She once described herself during that time as "a drawer of freshly baked buns", which was still steaming at first, but immediately "cooled" because soon a new batch of film school graduates came out and did not eat well.
In "Youth Alumni Association", Zhang Xiaofei also shared a sad interview experience.
When she handed over her resume to the crew, she met a producer who pointed directly at her face and said, "Do you think there is a problem in your face, which place?" ”
If it is not red, it will be pointed out.
Under this harsh reality, Zhang Xiaofei had to adjust his goal, from the ambition of "wanting to become a film actor" to "I want to survive in Beijing first."
It is difficult to support herself by filming alone, and Zhang Xiaofei joined the China Broadcasting Art Troupe and became a host.
She became a traffic icon
She became a sketch actress
In 2011, two years after Yang Mi and Zhang Xiaofei graduated from Nortel, the two embarked on completely different career paths.
Yang Mi, 2011, was her popular year.
Because she starred in Yu Zheng's "Palace Lock Heart Jade", her popularity soared. In 2011, she won a total of 14 awards at awards ceremonies, including seven trophies for the most popular actress.
What followed was the increase in the number of her films.
She is known as the "Little Princess of Hengdian", the most year, shooting 11 plays a year.
At first, public opinion was still mostly positive about Yang Mi's work attitude, calling her "desperate three brides".
But slowly, when Yang Mi's works are on, everyone finds that something is wrong, how come this acting skill has not grown with the number of works?
On the Internet, the doubts about Yang Mi have gradually become more and more.
In this regard, Yang Mi has a big heart.
She began to use a "self-black" attitude to face the bad comments of netizens. Self-deprecating, allowing her to win more attention and traffic.
However, in terms of works, Yang Mi always seems to lack a beautiful counterattack.
2014's "Ancient Sword Qitan" and 2017's "Three Lives and Three Worlds and Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms" can be regarded as her works with a good reputation in recent years.
But the ratings of these two films are some distance away from the "Immortal Sword III" of that year. Others, not to mention, are almost all below the qualifying line.
Her selection of dramas has repeatedly angered "career fans", forcing them to issue questions of "do you still want to be an actress of the people".
Zhang Xiaofei, in 2011, ushered in a turning point in his career.
She met Jia Ling in the China Broadcasting Arts Troupe that year. And, at the invitation of Jia Ling, they began to perform sketches together.
Zhang Xiaofei's plasticity in the performance is really quite high.
She broke the spell that "beautiful women can't act in comedy".
In terms of performance, she has no baggage, dares to make exaggerated expressions, dares to try various roles, and because she has acted in a number of sketches related to blind dates, she has the nickname of "blind date crazy demon Zhang Xiaofei".
In "Youth Classmates Association", an audience member said that when he saw Zhang Xiaofei, he wanted to laugh and commented that she was a natural comedian.
Zhang Xiaofei was in front of the screen, very aggrieved to say that her comedic temperament was cultivated the day after tomorrow.
Although she did not act in many plays before, most of them were regular dramas. When she entered Nortel that year, the teacher told her that she had been recruited according to the standard of "Big Green Coat". From "Big Green Coat" to comedian, how big the span is.
Over the years, Zhang Xiaofei has accumulated a lot of popularity with sketches.
But she never gave up her dream of being a film actress. Zhang Xiaofei has been looking for opportunities to break through and play other roles.
In 2018, Zhang Xiaofei participated in "I Am an Actor" and was ignored by his opponents throughout the whole process.
After being eliminated, Zhang Xiaofei left a paragraph on the stage, she said, in the past ten years, on the road of acting, she has not encountered too many good things, but she will not forget her original intention, how big the heart is, how big the stage is. She would wait for that role that belonged to her, her chance.
When she was still playing an ancient doll
Instead, she became the Queen of the Golden Rooster Award
Then, the time comes to 2021.
Because of the Spring Festival stalls, the names of Yang Mi and Zhang Xiaofei were linked again after graduation.
But this time, Yang Mi was not the winner.
Yang Mi's "Assassination of a Novelist" grossed 1 billion, while Zhang Xiaofei's "Hello, Li Huanying" broke through 5 billion, becoming the second in film history.
Zhang Xiaofei also became the "national mother" in the audience's heart with this film.
After the story, everyone is very clear.
Yang Mi's ancient puppet drama "Lady Hu Zhu" performed by Yang Mi this year is also the feeling of throwing the street, not only the rating is only 5.0, the traffic is not good, and there is no topic of "Three Lives and Three Lives".
And Zhang Xiaofei, after the release of "Hello, Li Huanying", the commercial value has continued to rise, and by the fourth roadshow, prada has been put on.
However, compared with the jump in commercial value, for Zhang Xiaofei, who entered Nortel in 2005 and aspired to become a film actor, the Golden Rooster Award at the end of the year should be a more important affirmation.
Because of her, dreams come true.
After 14 years of waiting, she waited for a good role, waited for a moment that made her shine in the movie.
Of course, whether it is To become Yang Mi or Zhang Xiaofei, it is extremely impossible for us ordinary people.
As my friend said, even if Yang Mi has a bad reputation for making bad dramas, the money she has earned from filming dramas over the years and the money she has earned as the boss of Jiaxing is not something we can imagine.
Zhang Xiaofei after "Hello, Li Huanying", there is no particularly eye-catching new work for the time being, and it is difficult to say whether she can continue to maintain the heat.
△ Zhang Xiaofei's next movie is likely to be "Exchange Life" with Lei Jiayin, and this lineup is also worth looking forward to
However, I think the development path of the two of them is still of some significance to us.
Fate is sometimes fair, and some things are too easy to get and easy to splurge.
And those opportunities that can only be waited for with the best efforts are often the winners and losers of life.
Life is a long road, and those who run fast in front of them may not always win; those who walk slowly, as long as there is no yaw, will always go to the destination.
Maybe Yang Mi is a "winner in life" in the secular sense, but I prefer what Zhang Xiaofei said and did.
"I am grateful that every step I take, I firmly grasped and did not give up."
"In the face of dreams, thank you for not giving up."
Rather than the luck and opportunities that came earlier, I wanted a steady life.
What about you,
Who will you choose?