At that time, he single-handedly offended the entire film and television circle and was tragically "banned" by the industry, what happened to him at the age of 75?
In the 1990s, China's film and television drama market ushered in an unprecedented boom, with the creation of the rating myth of "Longing" opened a grand prelude, and in the mid-1990s, a costume drama "Liu Luoguo," with the sign of "not history", turned out to be popular all over the country.
At that time, the children in the streets and alleys would hum the theme song of the play: "There is a scale between heaven and earth, and the scale is the common people." ”
In this 40-episode TV series, the Qianlong Emperor, who has a hilly chest and knows the way of balance, He Yan, who plays with power and does his best to meet the ability to meet flattery, and Liu Yong, the prime minister who is upright and brave in fighting wits and courage with political enemies, are good at winning and shining.
The actors of these three characters with distinct personalities, Zhang Guoguo, Wang Gang and Li Baotian, have reached the peak of their careers.
Years later, some people still relish Li Baotian's Liu Luoguo: a righteous person who does not lose his humor; laughter and anger make the adulterous person invisible; lifting a weight is light, and he wields it freely...
In the year of starring Liu Yong, Li Baotian had already reached the year of "knowing the destiny of heaven".
Doing one's duty and obeying the mandate of heaven is the wisdom of Confucianism in dealing with the world, but Li Baotian is a person who "does not believe in evil."
Guan Hanqing, a master of Yuan Dynasty opera, called himself "I am a copper pea that is not steamed, not cooked, not beaten, fried and not exploded." ”
Li Baotian is undoubtedly also the "copper pea".
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Li Baotian has been a fan of drama since he was a child.
At that time, his family was poor and had no money to buy theater tickets, so he squatted at the entrance of the theater and saw that some spectators left the theater early, so he picked up the ticket stubs thrown away by others and mixed in to watch a final show.
Even if the afterglow is over, it will still make him reminisce endlessly.
He would often run dozens of miles to watch a play, because there were no shoes to wear, and there were many blood blisters on his feet, and the pain was unbearable, but he still enjoyed it.
Later, he thought that people on the stage could act, and he could also act. So he told his family about this idea, and it was fiercely opposed by the family.
In that era when three meals were not served and food and clothing were problematic, in my father's view, only reading could change the fate of ordinary people.
Because he did not like to go to school, Li Baotian was forced to repeat the grade and was ridiculed in a class of classmates who were shorter than him.
That year, the Jiangsu Provincial Opera School and the Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Cadre School went to Xuzhou to enroll, and he signed up behind his father's back and was successfully admitted.
● Li Baotian old photo
When he got home, he told his father that he was no longer studying and was going to study drama.
The father was furious, beat him up, and put down his harsh words, even if he died outside, he would not recognize the son again.
So, 13-year-old Li Baotian packed his bags and went to Nanjing. After entering the troupe, when faced with "sub-disciplines", under the incomprehensible eyes of everyone, he chose "ugly behavior".
Clowns are difficult to become a climate, most of the time just as a supporting role for gags, but he likes, "the clown is happy, unrestrained", not to mention that as long as he can let him act, he will forget himself and become his own world.
It was three years of natural disasters, and "there were no shoes to wear in the winter, frostbite; no way to remove makeup, no hot water." ”
When the uncle went to see him, he found that he "had no cotton on the mattress on the bed, only straw between two layers of cloth." ”
Li Baotian, who is growing up, is hungry every day, sometimes too hungry to stand it, and can only drink with tofu milk.
Over time, he was puffy and swollen, and when he was taken to the hospital for examination, the nurses could not find the blood vessels.
Malnutrition coupled with excessive exercises made Li Baotian's physical strength seriously overdrawn, and once suffered from a cold and a high fever that did not go away, almost died.
When he woke up from his coma, he found his father leaning over to look at him.
When he woke up, his father's eyes turned red.
I stared at him, and he straightened up and turned around and left. I couldn't stop crying. It was the first time I had seen my father in years since I had run away from home. ”
At that time, my father was also hospitalized in the same hospital. He went to see his father and showed him the diary with his ambitions written on it: "Dad, don't look down on me, when I become a big actor in the future, I want my father to pick up Little Li Baotian, who has become a big actor, to go home." ”
After reading it, the father threw the diary against the wall and made a prediction for his future: "You can't become a big actor!" ”
Father and son, they have a deep love for each other, but they declare their respective positions in an uncompromising posture.
Soon after, his father died of illness.
That day, when he rushed to the hospital, he saw that the nurse was already collecting the equipment, and his mother was constantly wiping her tears, "One of my father's feet was stretched out of the quilt, and his feet were wearing gray nylon socks"...
He did not have the courage to look at his father's face with his eyes closed, and he did not have the courage to say "I'm sorry" to him, a reconciliation that could not be reached because of his father's early death, which remained like a tribulus in his heart for many years afterwards.
● "Clown Daddy" cooperated by Li Baotian father and son
Decades later, Li Baotian used a "Clown Daddy" to pin his infinite mourning on his father.
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In 1966, at the age of 20, Li Baotian entered the Xuzhou Regional Cultural and Labor Troupe. In that special historical period, the great troupe was criticized for fighting, suspended from office, and the order was chaotic, and his most precious youth was wasted here for 12 years.
In 1978, he was overjoyed to hear the news that the Central Academy of Drama had held a refresher course for directors and cadres. Although he was 32 years old at this time, he still decided to apply. Because, he waited for this day, has been waiting for many years.
"I put all my strength into it and went through my homework day and night. I hardly slept properly during the week of the exam, and my whole body was numb and almost collapsed during the exam. ”
● Stills from the movie "Breaking into the Rivers and Lakes"
After he finished the exam, while waiting for the notice, he fell seriously ill.
At the end of August, the notice finally arrived! His illness also miraculously improved.
His life took a turn for the worse.
In 1981, Li Baotian passed the thesis defense with excellent results, and the school broke the rules to let him stay in the school to teach.
Two years later, Tianjin Film Studio is preparing to bring to the screen "Breaking into the Rivers and Lakes" by the famous drama master Wu Zuguang, a film that reflects the life of the old social critics, directed by Cen Fan and Fang Shen.
Stills from the movie "Breaking into the River" Source: Movie Channel
Cen Fan has always been very strict in the selection of actors. After a long time of selection, they did not find the ideal candidate, and later Cen Fan found Li Baotian, who was teaching at the Central Academy of Drama.
Prior to this, Li Baotian had never acted in a movie.
At that time, he was 37 years old, and he had long missed the golden age of actor development.
But he has a solid foundation in opera, and the male protagonist Zhang Lotian in "Breaking into the Rivers and Lakes" happens to be a clown artist.
● Li Baotian's clown costume
The turmoil and bitterness of the low-level artists in society, under Li Baotian's interpretation without any axe chisel marks, people can't help but shed tears of sympathy.
In 1987, female director Huang Shuqin directed the film "Man Ghost Love" that showed the artists of Hebei Yizi, in which the adoptive father of the heroine Qiu Yun was a character who experienced ups and downs.
She believes that only Li Baotian can perform the essence of this role, and sure enough, Li Baotian did not disappoint Huang Shuqin, and with his proper performance, he conveyed the complex inner world of Qiu Father in every detail.
Li Baotian won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 8th Golden Rooster Awards of Chinese Cinema.
It was his first performance award.
But Li Baotian's real fame was actually in the 90s.
In 1990, together with Zhao Lirong, Six-year-old children, Ge You and other actors, he co-starred in the movie "New Year".
In this film, Li Baotian, who was only 44 years old at the time, and Zhao Lirong, 62, played an elderly couple. But whether it is the appearance or the performance, the pairing of the two complements each other perfectly.
● Stills from the movie "New Year"
In the movie, he needs to cross not only the gap brought about by age, but also the lack of experience and psychology, experience and emotion, but Chinese New Year's Eve this day, when he sits in front of the 62-year-old Zhao Lirong, facing his wife who misses his children, he will drink all the wine, and then take out the hard money earned for half a year, a soft "All belong to you!" "Let the old partner burst into tears...
In the same year, Zhang Yimou, a great director who has become internationally renowned, filmed an ethical film - "Ju Dou", and Gong Li played Ju Dou, who had a "nephew and aunt love" with Ju Dou, and Zhang Yimou was firmly determined to be played by Li Baotian.
● Stills from the movie "Ju Dou"
The imprisonment of identity, the release of nature, with a strong dramatic conflict, whether it is overheated passion, or the shackled can not show the huge tension of this tragic film, but Li Baotian in that "forbidden love", the unrestrained and cowardly and hesitant contradiction struggle under the shackles of Tiandao Lunchang showed more than enough control.
Later, he became the underworld boss in Zhang Yimou's other two films, "Shake, Shake, Shake to Grandma's Bridge" and the middle-aged intellectual in "Have Something to Say".
● Stills from the movie "Shake, Shake, Shake to Grandma's Bridge"
The viciousness of the underworld boss, the pedantic cowardice of middle-aged intellectuals, and the two roles that are very different have been given flesh and blood souls under his molding.
● Stills from the movie "Have Something to Say"
Years later, when Zhang Yimou was interviewed by reporters, he still believed that Li Baotian was one of the greatest male actors in China.
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In 1994, "Phoenix Qin" was released.
The difficulty and backwardness of education in China's rural mountainous areas reflected in this film still has practical significance even after more than 20 years.
● Li Baotian played the private teacher Principal Yu in the movie "Phoenix Qin"
In the movie, Li Baotian plays the private teacher Principal Yu, who wears black-rimmed glasses and has a dull yellow face, as if he is a portrayal of thousands of ordinary teachers rooted in the rural grassroots.
For many years, in order to keep his children from school, he stuck to the remote mountain school, and although he was eager to turn around to solve the family's financial situation, he finally gave up his place to the young people who came later.
The most moving scene is the flag-raising ceremony in the mountains , the flute and harmonica play a sonorous and powerful national anthem , and the old principal himself raises the flag. The children lined up neatly, watching the flag rise reverently...
He said that the reason for raising the national flag every day is to let the children remember our country and remember China.
● Stills from the film "Phoenix Qin"
It is not sculpted, but it is light and tasteful; there is no rhetoric, but it makes people cry. That year, Li Baotian became the recipient of three awards: the Government Award, the Hundred Flowers Award, and the Golden Rooster Award.
In 1996, Li Baotian ushered in the peak of his career.
He cooperated with Zhang Guoguo and Wang Gang and starred in the TV series "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo".
● Stills from the TV series "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo"
"Liu Luoguo", played by Li Baotian, is only eight buckets tall, wise and foolish, and can not only make a generous statement in the head-to-head confrontation with Hezhen, but also be able to win surprisingly when playing with Hezhen, and defeat is victorious.
This classic image was selected by netizens as one of the "10 classic screen images" that are most difficult to surpass in 30 years of Chinese television, and Li Baotian also won the Best Actor Award at the 1996 Golden Eagle Awards for this drama.
At that time, his combination with Zhang Guoli and Wang Gang was called the "Iron Triangle".
Just when everyone was expecting them to take advantage of the victory and jointly create the next work, Li Baotian publicly stated that he would not cooperate with them again, and as for the reason, he only said "not a road person", and never mentioned it after that.
Later, when Zhang Guoli rode on the "Kangzhuang Avenue" of the "Emperor Professional Household" and Wang Gang on the "Kangzhuang Avenue" of the "Hezhen Professional Household", Li Baotian never played Liu Luoguo again.
His reason for refusal was simple: "Playing a role in the old age is careful of the audience's stomach, and it is not easy to create a successful character, but it is easy to destroy." ”
Li Baotian, who has been seeking a breakthrough, once again ushered in the climax of his career at the age of 57.
In 2003, "Divine Doctor XiLaile", starring him, set a brilliant record of the annual ratings champion on CCTV, and won many Chinese TV drama selection awards such as Feitian and Golden Eagle.
● Stills from the TV series "Doctor Xi Laile"
The "divine doctor" who hangs the pot and is kind and upright is happy and happy, and his life has fluctuated greatly, and his luck has been obedient, but he has let people see the great wisdom of life of "not being anxious and frank in case of trouble, and not shocking the world".
With his textbook-level acting skills, Li Baotian has won many awards such as the Most Popular Actor Award and the Audience's Favorite Actor Award.
● Clips from the TV series "Doctor Xi Laile"
The great instrument was late, but it was full of xia, so some people summed up his contribution to China's performing arts in this way: "No one dares to deny that the three words 'Li Baotian' are the epitome of the times and the representative of the image of the Chinese screen." ”
The amazing acting skills are not only talented, but also stem from the obsession of his "drama maniac".
"When I was acting in "Ju Dou", I could not take a bath for a month, and my palms and body were all ash, and no one else thought it was true, but I had to have a real effect in this way."
"Any role you play must have truth, and true includes the image, including the soul that intervenes in the deep level of the role, not only looks like that role, but even the spirit must be close, even if you can't do it thoroughly, you must do a little bit of image." 」
When playing Liu Luoguo, in order to meet the characteristics of the character, the entire 40 episodes of the TV series, he hunched over the whole process, meticulously, and strived to be exquisite.
● Stills from the TV series "Ge Laozi"
In 1992, when he performed "Ge Laozi", Li Baotian was only 46 years old, but in order to create the image of the septuagenarian Ge Laozi who had to be white and old, he carefully studied the words and deeds of the old man, from walking and sitting to looking and looking, he observed in detail, carefully considered, and even did not hesitate to harm himself:
"The hair was badly damaged, it couldn't go back to its original state, it was falling out every day, because the damage was so bad, I could hear the small sound of the hair cracking and breaking, very slightly, but I could hear it." Since then, I have begun to damage my hair, and from 1991 to the present, I have damaged it several times, just for the image of the elderly. Among the brothers in our family, my hair was the rarest—it was destroyed like that. ”
Having lived most of his life, he used to wear only shoes at home that could go out, in order to keep himself working forever.
In his view, wearing slippers means slacking off, and people become relaxed as a result.
● Stills from the movie "Looking for Han Ji"
In 2021, he starred in "Looking for Han Ji" at the age of 75, and screenwriter Zhao Zhao asked him: "Teacher Li, shooting so hard, how come you are not tired?" ”
● Fragments from the movie "Looking for Han Ji"
"From the time I opened my eyes to the time I went to bed at night, I didn't know what exhaustion was!"
Over the years, he seems to be always in a state of "excitement", and he firmly believes that an actor's "soul" cannot be lost, and "gas" cannot be lost.
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In 2004, when Li Baotian filmed "Chincha Minister", he signed a contract with the crew. Contract stipulated: In the 30 episodes of "Chincha Chancellor", Li Baotian not only starred, but also served as the artistic director, enjoying the right to finally review the drama.
● Stills from the TV series "Chincha Minister"
After filming, the crew extended the drama to 33 episodes without the consent of Li Baotian, broadcast it on a number of television stations, and released VCD and DVD.
Behind the "water injection drama" is the rush for interests.
Li Baotian, who has always been more genuine, was not accustomed to this kind of deception of the crew, and could not tolerate the intensification of this "pursuit of profits", so he filed a complaint and took him to court:
"Ordinary people don't even eat 'water-injected meat', why watch 'water-injected drama'"?
In the end, although Li Baotian won the case, because he moved the "cheese" of others, he immediately became "the target of everyone" and was jointly denounced by more than a dozen film companies, saying that he was a "drama bully."
As a result, he single-handedly offended the entire film and television industry.
In the face of the joint boycott of many film and television companies, Li Baotian's attitude was simple: "Even if you don't shoot a scene in the future, it doesn't matter." ”
In fact, as early as 1975, Li Baotian has been named "drama bully". When he was the head of the literary troupe, the leader above forced a handsome actor who could not act, and he firmly disagreed.
Because of his different understanding of the role, he once fought with his peers to get red in the face, and later because of the challenge to the "unspoken rules", he put himself in the "embattled" situation...
"When the swan comes to the world of crows, whiteness becomes the original sin."
But he never regretted his insistence: "I have been willful since I was a child, and now, I may not survive this character." But the luck of that era was good, I was hungry, I broke through the ghost gate, and I could still mix it up. I am strong in creation, and I dare to be the enemy of everyone in artistic creation, can this not be stubborn and self-righteous? ”
The so-called "sea is a hundred rivers, there is tolerance is great; the wall stands a thousand, and no desire is rigid." ”
Because he has no desire for fame and fortune, and does not regress in principle, he dares to call out the board and dare to offend people.
But where there is desire and demand, there will be a fatal "death pit" and will be constrained by people.
He felt that an actor should be born for the role, not for fame and fortune.
He has lived a pure and clean life all his life, always adhering to the "three no's principle": filming without water injection, not receiving advertisements, and not going through the back door.
He said, I don't drink alcohol, I don't endorse alcohol ads; I'm not sick, I don't endorse ads for a drug.
"I've been approached by more than three hundred ads in the past thirty or forty years, at least 'a whole' (referring to the price), but I have never taken it. My family did not dare to persuade me to take the advertisement, because I did not treat them badly. I'm not selfish, not that I see money as dung, it's just that I don't want to earn [advertising fees], and I think earning this money is detrimental to my image. ”
Including his son Li Yu wanted to be an actor, he also encouraged his son to take the exam with his real ability, and as a Chinese opera teacher, he did not give his son a backdoor, which made Li Yu take the exam for several years before finally realizing his wish.
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This "old drama bone" who has played countless classic roles and won awards has really disappeared after the "banning" rumors.
Although he has still been asked for many scenes over the years, he has not taken it. Not because he's not short of money, but because there are no good characters who really impress him.
Because he cherishes his "feathers", he will prefer to be lacking rather than indiscriminate.
"[Those scripts] as long as the old man is written, either in a wheelchair, waiting for the end of his life in a nursing home; or the elderly dementia trapped at home, none of them write the wonderful old man.
What's so wonderful about the old man? Be the experience! It's life experience! In the relationship between the characters, love and selflessness can be generated; or you can also write about the bad old man, the old man has become bad, the bad guy has become old, and he has been photographed as touchingly, but not. ”
Rarely, Li Baotian appeared in this year's May Day file, he picked a book he liked and returned to the small people he was familiar with.
Thirty years ago, he used the method of playing an old man who was almost twice his age; now that he is over seventy years old, under the high focus of the camera, he has become an authentic old man with a bright face.
In his own words, he used to "play" the old man, and although this time the role was more than a dozen years older than himself, he really got older.
"Between the world and the earth of life, it is like a long-distance traveler." Sorrow and joy were all tasted, and the most difficult thing for him to let go of was the departure of his three closest relatives.
Many years ago, the only master in the troupe who treated him well died.
Before Master died, he and His Brother dragged Master on a board cart for ten stops before reaching the hospital. At that time, they needed to pay a deposit of 20 yuan, and they couldn't get it out of nothing.
When he was nearly confused, his dearest brother died in a car accident when he went to Xinjiang to sketch.
"Master's death gave me the first time to see the fragility of life, the process of the soul leaving the body is still vividly remembered. My father's death forced me to sharpen myself and achieve my career to comfort him with regrets of long sleep. And the death of the younger brother has made my life that is not young carry the mission he left behind. ”
"As long as I live, I can't stop. Heaven knows, their undead know, and although I am humble and ordinary, I will do my best all my life. ”
On October 18, 2020, Li Baotian appeared at the 30th China Television Golden Eagle Awards, and he was once again awarded the "Lifetime Achievement Award".
When he stepped onto the stage, the audience stood up and saluted, and the applause was endless.
His acceptance speech was unpretentious: "When I didn't serve everyone, I hid at home and drew with the first thought, and when the right opportunity was available, I continued to serve the public with passion as before." ”
● Li Baotian's "Sunflowers" pen colored lead painting, 2015
Inside and outside the play, Sheng Dan net end ugly, Gong Shang Horn Zheng Yu. As an artist, he plays all kinds of sentient beings, but he may not be able to play himself well.
But for a "fool", in every inch, there are thousands of glows; between advance and retreat, the book is written in capital letters.
He once said, "Years are carving knives, carving wrinkles on our faces." Fate is a carving knife that imprints wounds in our hearts. Whenever I was disappointed and miserable, I believed that The gaze of God was staring at me with deep concentration, and that was the moment when He loved me the most. ”
He deserves God's favor. Text/Wattle Green