On October 2, 2006, a major car accident occurred in Nantou County, Taiwan, killing and injuring 21 people. Wang Lixian, the special actor who played Chairman Mao, died in a car accident. The person Wang Lixian admired most in his life was Chairman Mao, and wang Lixian spent eight years preparing for the role of Chairman Mao.
However, he had just starred in the TV series "The Story of Mao Zedong's Side", and he died in a car accident. Wang Lixian's death has brought great sorrow to those around him. What kind of person is he? Why did he only play Mao Zedong once and get unanimous praise from everyone?
Chairman Mao is the sun in the hearts of the people. Since Chairman Mao left us in the 1970s, more and more film and television drama works have chosen to create chairman Mao's character image on the screen to commemorate the great leader Chairman Mao.
Casting for Chairman Mao has become a difficult problem. The actor who plays Chairman Mao must not only look like Chairman Mao, but also have solid acting skills, which can vividly show the life image of the chairman, so that the audience can appreciate the content that the work wants to convey.
More than half a century has passed, and there are many actors who play Chairman Mao who have penetrated deep into the hearts of the audience. In addition to Tang Guoqiang, Gu Yue, Hou Jingjian, Gu Zhixin and others who are familiar to us, there is also a special actor who plays Chairman Mao, named Wang Lixian.
Perhaps for Wang Lixian, the actor, we are somewhat unfamiliar. That's because Wang Lixian only participated in a TV series about Chairman Mao, "The Story of Mao Zedong's Side", and then on his way to Taiwan, he was in a car accident and unfortunately died.
Gao Qizhi, director of the Dalian Development Zone TELEVISION station, expressed great sorrow over this. Gao Qizhi commented: "He is a man who values feelings and morality, and without him, we will lose a good friend." ”
Gao Qizhi said bitterly that what was most sad about him was that he felt that Wang Lixian was not dead and looked forward to seeing him again when he woke up one day. Leaving aside the TV series "The Story of Mao Zedong's Side", wang Lixian's personal charm and reputation alone are enough for us to understand him in depth.
Wang Lixian is an authentic northeasterner. In 1954, less than five years after the founding of New China, Wang Lixian was born in Dandong, Liaoning Province. Wang Lixian's parents were both local farmers. Although his family was poor, Wang Lixian's personality was very lively and cheerful.
At that time, the whole country was immersed in the wave of post-war mass production. The war to resist US aggression and aid Korea, which has just ended, has brought out the momentum of the Chinese volunteer army. Chairman Mao's command ideology spread in all directions, and a wave of learning from Chairman Mao was set off all over the world.
The young Wang Lixian was also a minor fan of Chairman Mao. Wang Lixian has a great talent for acting. At that time, the northeast was popular for two-person transfers, and the streets and alleys were all entertainment activities related to two-person transfers. Wang Lixian himself occasionally learns to imitate the actor who turns between the two.
He was interested in acting and decided to become an actor in the future. Wang Lixian began to study the profession of actors with his heart. In 1976, Wang Lixian was successfully admitted to changchun film studio with his outstanding performance.
The teachers of the Changchun Film Studio all thought that Wang Lixian was a good seedling to be an actor, good at imitation, and willing to work hard to endure hardships. Since then, Wang Lixian has received 4 years of systematic acting training in Changchun Film Studio, and his acting ability has become more and more professional.
After graduating from the studio, Wang Lixian was recruited by the Dandong Repertory Theatre. Wang Lixian not only has outstanding performance ability, but also is deeply liked by the people of the drama troupe. Wang Lixian only spent one year in the Dandong Repertory Theatre, starring in the song and dance drama "The Story of Daqiao".
Subsequently, Wang Lixian decided to dive into his own acting skills. He studied under the art master Yuan Kuocheng, and followed his master to learn to sing passages, comment on books, and talk about cross-talk, which provided a wealth of practical experience for his line kung fu.
Wang Lixian's ability to imitate has been further improved, and it is said that he learns what he looks like. Wang Lixian did not immerse himself in the applause of the audience, but constantly created opportunities for himself to learn. He often discussed professional issues with his predecessors in the art world, and also dabbled in different fields.
He not only speaks cross-talk, reviews books, and performs dramas, but also works as a tv host and reporter. Wang Lixian seemed to be riveting his strength and working towards a goal. This goal is to play the great man in his heart, Mao Zedong.
Coincidentally, Wang Lixian, like Chairman Mao, is a big man of 180 and weighs about 90 kilograms. Wang Lixian was influenced by the surrounding atmosphere since he was a child, and he had a natural reverence and admiration for Chairman Mao.
After understanding a little, Wang Lixian learned that Chairman Mao was a great hero of the people and that the whole of China was fought down by Chairman Mao and the people. As an adult, Wang Lixian learned about Chairman Mao's experience and thoughts in his writings, and his admiration for Chairman Mao was even worse.
Wang Lixian has said on many occasions that he is a person with a "Chairman Mao complex." His biggest dream in life was to be able to play the role of Chairman Mao once. This is not only a way for him to commemorate great people, but also an ideal of life to express his inner feelings of home and country.
In Wang Lixian's heart, being able to use the acting profession he studied to get close to the character of Chairman Mao was the happiest thing in his life. He worked hard for 8 years to play the role of Chairman Mao.
Wang Lixian knew that it was really very difficult to play Chairman Mao well. He not only needs to be familiar with Chairman Mao's personal deeds, but also has enough historical knowledge, but also has a deep understanding of the chairman's lifestyle, personal thoughts, and expression habits, and even his every move is something he needs to really grasp and understand.
In order to do a good job in these tasks, Wang Lixian read all the works of Chairman Mao, including the biography of Chairman Mao and the TV series related to Chairman Mao. Watching other TV dramas that play Chairman Mao allows him to speculate from multiple angles about each actor's personal understanding of the chairman's character image, so as to grasp the direction of his performance.
Wang Lixian was obsessed with learning from Chairman Mao to the point that even if Chairman Mao liked something, he would learn from it. Chairman Mao loved calligraphy all his life, and Wang Lixian copied Chairman Mao's calligraphy himself. When copying calligraphy, Wang Lixian is not in a hurry to write, always carefully observes the rise and fall of the brushwork, and then falls down, and strives to achieve a god-like.
In Wang Lixian's life, chairman Mao's relevant works can be seen everywhere, including chairman's images, audio and video, calligraphy, books, and so on. Because Wang Lixian has performed in song and dance dramas, and has learned cross-talk and counterpart plays, his baritone is very thick and he is also very talented at imitating dialects.
He is an authentic Northeastern man with a thick Northeastern accent. Chairman Mao, on the other hand, was a Native of Hunan and spoke with an accent peculiar to Hunanese. To this end, Wang Lixian listened to Chairman Mao's audio and video day and night, and soon imitated the chairman's business to seven or eight points.
Soon, director Guo Fa said that he wanted to make a Chairman Mao-themed TV series called "The Story of Mao Zedong's Side". In the beginning, director Guo Fa decided to let his good friend Gu Yue play Chairman Mao.
He has worked with Gu Yue many times, and the role of Chairman Mao played by Gu Yue is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Unfortunately, on July 2, 2005, Gu Yue suddenly died of illness. Director Guo Fa was sad and had to re-formulate the starring role.
At that time, in addition to Chairman Mao, played by Gu Yue, who was deeply liked by the public, Tang Guoqiang's performance was also remarkable. However, when Guo Fa had contacted Tang Guoqiang, he was told that the other party's file period had expired. Coincidentally, another well-known actor who played Chairman Mao, Wang Ying, was also full of time.
Guo Fa had fallen into the dilemma of casting. After Wang Lixian learned of this news, he took the initiative to come to the mirror. The performance displayed by Wang Lixian made director Guo Fa clap his hands and applaud. Guo Fa once sighed: "How did I not know that there were actors who played Chairman Mao like this before." ”
Wang Lixian not only looked like Chairman Mao, but also looked like Chairman Mao in his speech and demeanor and every move. Wang Lixian's advantage is that he resembles Chairman Mao. This is more important than being like Chairman Mao. Because playing Chairman Mao, it is more important to show the chairman's personal spirit.
After years of tempering, speculating and imitating the role, Wang Lixian has reached a very god-like point. It is precisely because he spends all his time studying that Wang Lixian has not taken on too many works, resulting in few directors knowing that there are such excellent actors.
However, since Wang Lixian met Guo Fa Zeng, his fame has been beaten out. Every time Wang Lixian finished performing a shot, the director would not stop praising. Once, the crew invited an 80-year-old grandmother to make a cameo in the group.
As soon as the 80-year-old grandmother saw Wang Lixian, she shouted directly, "Chairman Mao is coming!" "The grandmother regarded Wang Lixian as the real Chairman Mao. It can be seen how expressive the image of Chairman Mao, played by Wang Lixian.
The other actors in the crew praised Wang Lixian's performance one after another. They couldn't help but sigh: "How can there be such a good actor?", "How did I not know that there was another Wang Lixian before, I found out too late", "he is one of the best Chairman Mao's special actors".
Kong Xiangyu, who plays Premier Zhou, became good friends with Wang Lixian because of this drama. Kong Xiangyu once went to Dalian specifically to find Wang Lixian, and the two men talked until late at night. He personally commented that Wang Lixian is an actor who is willing to endure hardships and study the role.
Delving into characters is easier said than done. Once the role becomes famous, the actor is likely to drown in the explosive reputation, abandon his profession, and neglect to sink his heart to continue to study the role.
Moreover, show business is a very complicated place, but also a very test of human nature. Once an actor begins his acting career, it is difficult to focus on his own research on the role.
Wang Lixian's dedication to performance made everyone sincerely admire. After the role he played became famous, Wang Lixian was not proud, often maintained a modest and cautious state, continued to study the role, and honed his acting ability.
This is the most precious place for an actor. During the filming of "The Story of Mao Zedong's Side", the filming conditions of the crew were more difficult. Wang Lixian did not have a starring frame, and he worked with everyone to the lines and the psychology of the characters, and suffered together.
In the evening, when everyone got together to chat, Wang Lixian told jokes in local dialect to everyone, making everyone lean forward and backward. Unfortunately, such a good actor, but because of a car accident, his life was abruptly stopped.
On October 2, 2006, Wang Lixian died in a car accident on his way to Nantou County, Taiwan. At the time of his death, Wang Lixian was only 52 years old.
He could have participated in more TV dramas about Chairman Mao, and could have made more audience friends familiar with the existence of such excellent actors. However, the heavens made a joke and took Wang Lixian back forever.
After Wang Lixian left, his relatives and friends went to Taiwan for funerals, and then brought his body back to the mainland. With this article, I would like to remember the actor Wang Lixian, pay tribute to the outstanding actors, and hope that more excellent good actors can appear in The future of China and bring good works to the audience.