On September 16, 2003, backstage of the 24th Golden Eagle Festival Awards Ceremony, Li Baotian, who won three awards for "Divine Doctor Joy", criticized the TV series producers to reporters.
At that time, a reporter mentioned that "Divine Doctor Xi Laile" injected water, and Li Baotian suddenly became emotional: "If he (the producer) does not come to receive the award, it means that he still knows shame, if he comes to receive the award, it means that he does not know what shame is!" He pulled a 20-episode "Doctor Xi Laile" into 26 episodes, and even cut the unusable expansion pack, which won the prize with water-injected pork, which is simply irresponsible to the national audience, which nakedly exposes his traitorous nature!"
After leaving such a remark, Li Baotian brushed his sleeves and left, leaving a group of stunned media.
Speaking of Li Baotian, many people will think of two words, one is Qinggao, and the other is proud bone.
However, when talking about the two little people, Li Baotian will smile with joy and have unconcealed love and tenderness on his face.
Those were his two granddaughters, Little Strawberry and Little Golden Bean.
Zheng Zheng's iron bones, such as Li Baotian, can hardly escape the magic of the next generation, but when talking about his father, the elderly Li Baotian always can't help but cover his face and cry, and it is difficult to restrain himself.
Once, he ran away from home and did not contact his family for more than 4 years, until his father was critically ill, and they did not see each other for the last time.
Later, he and his son did not have contact for 4 years because of a TV series and 3 million, and their fate seemed to be a reincarnation.
After becoming a grandfather, Li Baotian truly understood his father, and when he thought of his father, he felt guilty.
Looking back at Li Baotian's experience, no one is allowed to say, "This old man is really stubborn!"
01
Li Baotian was born in Weihai, Shandong Province, his father was a veteran soldier, and he was one of the members of the group of five who received Xuzhou City that year.
As the eldest son in the family, Li Baotian was pinned high hopes on by his father, but he had a stubborn personality, did not like to learn, and wanted to learn opera.
When he did not go to school at a young age, his parents naturally did not allow it, so Li Baotian went his own way and was beaten up as a common thing.
At the age of 13, the contradiction between father and son broke out, and Li Baotian ran away from home.
Because Li Baotian insisted on learning to play a clown, his father was furious, "If you become an actor, I will not have your son!"
Not willing to show weakness, Li Baotian vowed that he would become a big actor, and his father's sentence "You can never become a big actor" inspired the rebellious heart of the teenager.
The next day, Li Baotian took advantage of his parents' lack of attention and left with the drama class, which was more than 4 years.
In the drama class, most of the children are from the countryside, and Li Baotian seems out of place.
He refused the Liuzi Opera Troupe arranged by his teacher and wanted to go to the Peking Opera Troupe
All the children regarded Li Baotian as an outlier, and he was ostracized.
What makes him even more sad is that 30 pounds of rice tickets a month, no vegetables, no oil and no meat, he ate it in 15 days, and then rubbed a little east and a little west.
For Li Baotian, who has a long body and consumes internal strength by practicing exercises, not having enough to eat is the biggest difficulty.
Without friends and unwilling to ask for help, Li Baotian stood up like this.
In 1964, Li Baotian, who was anxious to achieve success, was overloaded with exercises, and his body was overwhelmed, and finally fell ill.
He suffered from severe typhoid fever, repeated fevers, always receding during the day and burning again at night, tossing and turning back and forth for half a month.
While performing outside, Li Baotian's physical condition was discovered by a superior, and his secretary sent him back to Xuzhou for medical treatment.
Back at the Xuzhou Theater Troupe, the dormitories were locked with doors, and Li Baotian laid down the covers in the corridor.
By the time he woke up, he was already in a hospital bed, and his mother was crying and her eyes were red and swollen.
It turned out that the people of the troupe were afraid that Something would happen to Li Baotian and went to great lengths to find his family.
02
The mother knew her son's experience in the past few years and watched her son in the hospital bed cry all the time.
What Li Baotian did not know was that in the special ward not far from his ward, his father was being tormented by the disease unscrupulously.
That day, Li Baotian was dripping on the hospital bed and fell asleep in a daze.
After feeling something strange, I opened my eyes and saw my father moving his arm for him to make him feel more comfortable.
In this way, everything between Li Baotian and his father was resolved.
Li Baotian did not know that his father was running out of time at that time, he still did not open his heart to his father, and returned to the troupe after his illness.
Li Baotian returned home again to see off his father, who had died of illness.
This became Li Baotian's guilt for a lifetime.
Li Baotian's parents were never willing to seek personal interests for several children, and lived a bright and upright life.
Li Baotian has a younger brother who is a very talented painter, and when he went to Xinjiang to sketch, in order to save money for train tickets, he took someone else's free ride.
Unfortunately, the car was in a car accident and his brother never woke up.
Li Baotian has always blamed himself, thinking that it is because he has no money and cannot give his brother some money that such a thing happened.
He didn't know how to open his mouth to his mother, until the day he couldn't hide any longer, he asked an old colleague from his mother's unit to go home with him.
Li Baotian's mother worked in the Maternal and Child Health Hospital before she retired, and everyone prepared first aid measures for her.
Li Baotian still couldn't speak, looking at him who wanted to talk and stopped, his mother took the initiative to say it.
Old colleagues were ready to comfort her, but Li's mother refused, and she shut herself in her room, not eating or drinking for days and nights.
The parents of the Li family have never been willing to seek personal interests for their children, adhere to principles, do not seek others, and are unwilling to cause trouble to others.
Innocence, strength and pride are the family style of Li Baotian's family.
When Li Baotian's mother died, a "lifelong innocence" of the union wrote the high wind and bright festival of their family.
03
On July 20, 1978, Li Baotian was admitted to the Director Cadre Training Class of the Central Academy of Drama and gave birth to his son in the same year.
Because he did not study much, Li Baotian hoped that his son was a cultured person and named his son "Li Yu".
He hoped that his son would talk elegantly and be a cultivated person, but because the name was a strange word, many teachers did not know it, and they always called the wrong name, which made Li Yu very embarrassed after going to school.
Every time he corrected the teacher, Li Yu was cautious, afraid that the teacher would lose face.
After graduating from undergraduate, Li Baotian applied for graduate school and stayed on to teach after graduation.
In 1983, at the age of 37, Li Baotian filmed his first film "Breaking into the Rivers and Lakes", and starred in the film "The Tramp and the Swan" in 1985.
In 1987, Li Baotian played the father of female artist Qiu Yun in the film "Human Ghost Love", and won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 8th Golden Rooster Awards in 1988.
When casting the movie "Ju Dou", Zhang Yimou first thought of Li Baotian.
However, Li Baotian was too old to match Gong Li, and he rejected Zhang Yimou.
Zhang Yimou changed several young actors, always felt inappropriate, and found Li Baotian again, "I believe that you are the most suitable to control the character of Yang Tianqing." ”
To this end, Zhang Yimou deliberately changed Yang Tianqing's age a little, Li Baotian lived up to expectations, and played the repressed tragic man Yang Tianqing into three points, the movie became a classic, and he also became famous in one fell swoop.
After that, Li Baotian played a series of classic roles and won major awards, and Zhang Yimou cooperated with him many times, praising him as one of the greatest male actors in China.
04
What really made Li Baotian enter the hearts of the audience was the two TV series he starred in, "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo" and "Divine Doctor Xi Laile".
Because of Liu Luoguo's popularity, Wang Gang, Zhang Guoli and Li Baotian were called the "Iron Triangle", but just when the audience expected them to shoot a sequel and Wang Gang and Zhang Guoli were also ready, Li Baotian was absent.
One is that the quality of the sequel cannot be guaranteed, and the other is that I do not want to cooperate with Wang Gang and Zhang Guoli anymore.
When filming together, Wang Gang often took leave and always let a crew member wait for him, Wang Gang did not feel inappropriate, but it was very different from Li Baotian's self-requirements.
You know, on the day of Li Baotian's son Li Yu's wedding, Li Baotian did not attend, because Li Baotian was filming the scene he starred in, and he had to wait for him when he took leave.
How can two people like this cooperate again?
"People are not the same, some people are impossible to cooperate anymore, this has something to do with personality, our attitude towards things is not the same, no one is good or bad, there is no right or wrong, it is just not compatible!" 」
After "Divine Doctor Joy", Li Baotian ushered in another career peak.
However, several shooting experiences have given Li Baotian a reputation for "drama bullying" and "playing big names", and he is calm about it.
Once on the set, Li Baotian saw only 20 actors playing the masses and directly went on strike.
He approached the director and said that if the actors were not in place, they would not shoot.
The director made urgent contact and found more than 60 extras, for which the entire crew was exposed to the sun for more than 4 hours, and everyone hated Li Baotian for many things and played a big card.
Li Baotian said: It's not that I have a lot of things, if I want to shoot, I must shoot accurately, otherwise I'm sorry for the audience.
When Li Baotian's "Chincha Minister" was broadcast, the 30 episodes at the time of signing the contract became 33 episodes when it was broadcast.
Li Baotian was very dissatisfied with this kind of irresponsible practice of "injecting water" in exchange for benefits and for the audience, and sued the other party in court with a statement.
Li Baotian's behavior annoyed the other party, and they united more than a dozen entertainment companies to shell Li Baotian as a "drama bully" and suggested that people in the industry boycott Li Baotian.
The body is not afraid of the shadow oblique.
Li Baotian did not respond, but his resources were indeed affected, but he did not regret it: "Even if no one looks for me to shoot again, I do not regret it, rules are rules." ”
05
The more famous and virtuous the actor, the higher the trust of advertising, so Li Baotian has always been a "lucky star" in the eyes of advertisers.
Helplessly, Li Baotian just does not accept advertisements, no matter the high-priced advertising fees, or the three cares of people.
Li Baotian said that he could not say that the wine was good without drinking, that he could not say that the medicine was good if he was not sick, and that opportunistic things could not be done.
Over the years, Li Baotian has rejected more than 300 advertisements, and according to his son Li Yu, the advertising fee has reached tens of millions.
Having been living under the fame of his father Li Baotian, Li Yu actually did not get much "welfare" from his father, but because his father was too straight, he was greatly affected.
Because of his obsession with his brother who died unexpectedly, Li Baotian began to let Li Yu learn to paint when he was 6 years old.
Sometimes, Li Baotian will take Li Yu into the crew, and Li Yu holds a paintbrush, but he loves the camera in his heart.
As the days went on, Li Yu felt that filming was much more interesting than painting.
Fate is like a reincarnation.
Li Yu also wanted to learn acting, but Li Baotian became his father and resolutely disagreed: "You are 1 meter 6 tall, and your appearance is not handsome, how can you be an actor?" ”
He knew that the road of acting was very hard, and he also knew that if he really wanted to act, his son was destined to live in his shadow.
Li Yu, like Li Baotian at that time, insisted on acting, and Li Baotian had to go by him, but asked him to rely on himself.
Li Yu applied for the Central Academy of Drama, and it took 6 years to be admitted, and the recruiting teachers were all acquaintances of Li Baotian, and he was stunned.
On September 8, 2009, Li Yu released her wedding photos, and on September 12, she and her wife Chen Yanlin held a wedding in Nanchong, but Li Baotian did not attend.
Li Baotian filmed in the "Never Look Back" crew, please take a day off, not only the crew everyone will have to wait for him, the cost of the machine and the venue will also be wasted.
For his son, Li Baotian is particularly strict, especially when acting.
During the filming of "The Legend of Doctor Xilaile", Li Baotian continued to star in Xilaile, and Li Yu played Xilaile's apprentice.
When Li Yu performed, Li Baotian would watch from the side, and if he was not satisfied, he would educate him on the spot and reprimand him for "what kind of acting."
Li Yu couldn't hang up a bit, but he didn't refute it, and his father did whatever he said.
Li Yu is difficult to play the main role because of his appearance, but he plays the supporting role vividly and vividly, giving the role a strong vitality.
The Qiu Qianling, Zhou Botong and south Sea Crocodile God played by him are very brilliant and leave a deep impression on the audience.
06
Li Baotian once ran away from home and cut off contact with his parents for more than 4 years, what he did not expect was that he and his son Li Yu also had no contact for 4 years.
That was when Li Yu was a little inflated, thinking that he had a certain level and wanted to make a scene with his friends.
Unexpectedly, the other party set up a pit and waited for the Li family father and son to jump in.
The contract required Li Baotian to make a cameo appearance in every episode, and Li Baotian read the script and said that he would not shoot anything, and directly questioned his son, "What is this?"
Li Yu could only tell the truth: "Dad, if you don't shoot, I will lose money, 3 million, that is, I mortgaged the house and car to change." ”
At this point, Li Baotian could only shoot the scalp while hating iron not steel.
Because of Li Baotian's joining, the cunning investor also found Zhang Fengyi.
Zhang Fengyi signed the contract as soon as he saw that Li Baotian had gone, and later when he saw the script, he was stunned, grabbed the phone and called Li Baotian.
Knowing the original taste of the matter, Zhang Fengyi was not good enough to say anything more, looking at Li Baotian's face, he filmed the scene.
After that, for four years, Li Baotian did not have contact with his son Li Yu.
In 2020, at the 30th China Television Golden Eagle Awards Ceremony, Li Baotian won the "Lifetime Achievement Artist Award of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles".
The actors all stood up and saluted him with applause.
Li Baotian, 74, made a speech that touched his heart: "Over the years, I have served the audience less, not less opportunities, no roles that I like. It's all cookie-cutter and not challenging. When I don't have the right script, I keep drawing at home. When the right script comes along, I will serve the public with the same passion. ”
He has never positioned himself as a star, and has always demanded himself with the principle of "serving the audience", not bending his back for fame and fortune, and living to the top of the world.
"There is a scale between heaven and earth, and that scale is the common people."
Winning almost all the acting awards, in the eyes of Li Baotian, is not as important as the audience's reputation.
Fame and fortune are in him, but the clouds in the sky are nothing.
His favorite is his little granddaughter, who can't close his mouth when he sees the child, and when the child is young, he doesn't let go of his hand.
He named his eldest granddaughter "Li Xiaoyu", Xiao is the meaning of dawn, but also knows, understands, jade represents a beautiful luster, but the son and daughter-in-law are disgusted with the soil, and named the child "Li Zetong".
However, Li Baotian likes the nickname "Little Strawberry", feels cute and appropriate, and says that his granddaughter is the best looking in their family for generations.
When "Little Strawberry" was two years old, Li Yu had a daughter "Little Golden Bean", and the family was happy and harmonious.
For his granddaughter, Li Baotian said that there is no hope, he looks at it, grows up freely, and chooses his favorite path while growing up.
The contradiction between his father and Li Baotian, the contradiction between Li Baotian and his son Li Yu, he did not want to repeat it in his granddaughter.
Old people are forgetful, but they don't forget to miss each other.
After passing the age, Li Baotian often mentioned his father, and not opening up to his father was an eternal regret in his heart.
The older you get, the deeper this regret becomes.