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Wang Luoyong
Wang Luoyong was the first Asian actor on Broadway in the United States, and performed a total of 2478 musicals "Miss Saigon", which is a household name in the United States. The New York Times praised him as Broadway's "centennial flag," filling the gap in Broadway history where no Asians played the lead role.
In 2001, Wang Luoyong returned to China from the United States Broadway to shoot dramas, and in the past 20 years, he has successively starred in 70 film and television dramas such as "Lin Hai Xueyuan", "The Age of Returning to the City", "Tiger Xiaolong Yin", "Visitor on the Iceberg", "Life and Death Undercover", "Northeast Anti-Japanese Coalition Army", etc., and won the 27th China Television "Golden Eagle Award" Audience Favorite Actor Award, and the Chinese Film "Golden Rooster Award" Best Supporting Actor Award.
Wang Luoyong's road to fame on Broadway was soaked with tears and heartache, and he returned to China to shoot a drama with hidden feelings...
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Wang Luoyong was born in 1958 in Luoyang, Henan Province, to a father from Nanjing and a native of Shanghai. Shortly after Wang Luoyong's birth, his parents were transferred to work in a large state-owned enterprise in Sichuan, and soon after, they were transferred to work in the Second Heavy Machinery Factory in Deyang, Sichuan.
Early years wang Luoyong
When Wang Luoyong was in elementary school, his parents were transferred to China's second automobile manufacturing plant in Shiyan, Hubei Province, and the family moved to Shiyan to settle down. Wang Luoyong's uncle was versatile and taught him to play the flute with his heart.
In 1971, Wang Luoyong was just 13 years old, because the flute was played well, and was admitted to the Beijing Opera Troupe in Shiyan City, Hubei Province, with a monthly salary of 14 yuan. As soon as he received his salary, he bought food and clothing for his parents and sister, and then gave the rest of the money to his mother to subsidize the family.
In the Peking Opera Troupe, Wang Luoyong practiced very hard, each time he took the big top is more than 1 hour, kicking legs to play more than 800 times at a time, solid tong zi gong has benefited him for life.
Once, Wang Luoyong rehearsed the Peking opera "Ode to the Longjiang River" and accidentally broke his arm. During his recuperation at home, he was attracted by the horn in the Peking Opera "Wise Tiger Mountain" and pestered the leader to learn to play the horn. The leader saw that Wang Luoyong was smart and studious, and had a strong ability to accept, and sent him to the Hubei Song and Dance Troupe to learn to play the horn.
Wang Luoyong and Hu Jing (left) Zhai Jia
Immediately after, Wang Luoyong was admitted to the Wuhan Conservatory of Music to study composition. After two years of study, he still returned to shiyan city to work in the Peking Opera Troupe.
In 1980, Wang Luoyong learned of the enrollment of the People's Liberation Army Academy of Arts and rushed to Beijing alone to take the exam. He had an aunt who lived in Zhongguancun, Beijing, close to the People's Liberation Army Academy of Arts in Weigong Village. Wang Luoyong walked from his aunt's house to take the exam, who knew that he did not even pass the initial exam.
After returning to Shiyan, some colleagues laughed at Wang Luoyong, which made him feel inferior. At that time, he was also in a bad mood, and often had trouble with his parents at home.
In 1981, Wang Luoyong's mother learned that the Shanghai Theater Academy had set up an admissions examination center in Wuhan and rushed to the countryside to inform her son. At that time, Wang Luoyong was performing with the troupe in the countryside, and the leaders of the troupe did not agree to his application. Wang Luoyong and the leader have been grinding for more than 3 hours, until the evening when the leader did not give in.
Colleague Yao Yafei borrowed a bicycle and took Wang Luoyong to Shiyan Railway Station, where he caught the last train to Wuhan.
At noon the next day, Wang Luoyong appeared at the examination center in Wuhan. At this time, the enrollment work has been carried out to re-examine, and Wang Luoyong did not take the initial examination, which means that he has lost the qualification for the examination.
He found three teachers, Yu Dexian, Mi Zeng and Zhang Tingshun, who were in charge of the admissions examination, and sincerely asked them to give themselves a chance to take the exam. It was not easy for them to see Wang Luoyong coming from Shiyan, and they made an exception for him to take the exam.
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Wang Luoyong recited "The Little Girl Who Sold Matches" and also performed a Peking Opera sketch. The 3 teachers felt that Wang Luoyong had a passion and creativity for acting, and let him pass the professional examination.
In 1981, Wang Luoyong was admitted to the Department of Opera Performance, and his classmates included Sun Chun, Ding Jiali, Liu Wei, Zhang Qiuge and so on. Four years later, Wang Luoyong graduated from university and stayed on to teach because of his excellent grades. The students he trained were Gao Shuguang, Sarina, Guo Donglin and so on.
At that time, wang Luoyong wanted to go out to shoot film and television dramas in addition to teaching, but the school had regulations that in-service teachers generally could not go out to shoot dramas. In this case, Wang Luoyong had the idea of studying abroad.
Wang Luoyong has a relative in the United States, and he asked his relatives to help him contact the University of Louisiana Drama School in the United States. The university was willing to accept him and promised a $6,000 scholarship. In 1986, Wang Luoyong went through the procedures of suspension of pay and retention at the theater, and then went to the United States to study.
However, on the fourth day of entering the University of Louisiana Drama School, Wang Luoyong was cancelled by the school for a $6,000 scholarship because of his poor English, requiring him to attend school at his own expense. Wang Luoyong could not come up with this money, so he had to withdraw from school.
Wang Luoyong with Tang Guoqiang and Liu Tao
Relatives told Wang Luoyong: "You study acting in the United States, there will be no big development in the future, you go to be a salesman, do this high income, and take time to participate in computer and real estate training." Wang Luoyong replied: "If I don't study acting, I won't study abroad, this road is difficult, I will continue to go on." ”
So Wang Luoyong applied for the Drama Performance Department of Boston University in the United States, which has not recruited Asian students for 70 years. Wang Luoyong said to the teacher: "If I can be admitted, I will go to Broadway after graduation." The teacher saw that he was excellent in his studies and had a sincere attitude, and he was admitted out of the box and offered him a $5,000 scholarship.
In order to survive, Wang Luoyong rented a basement and went to Chinese restaurants to brush dishes, deliver takeaways, and weed some rich white people's courtyards in his spare time.
After saving thousands of dollars, Wang Luoyong opened a paint company, he was both an employee and a boss, often going out to run business and brush paint with workers. At one point, he was suspected of being linked to a murder and was taken to a detention center.
After his income stabilized, Wang Luoyong hired an American English teacher to correct his spoken English. In order to pronounce it clearly, he stuffed the cork of the hot water bottle in his mouth, but the cork was too big, so he stuffed a small stone in his mouth and practiced speaking English with the stone every day. This stone was held in Wang Luoyong's mouth for more than three years, and later he treasured it as a permanent memorial.
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On average, every day, Shi Zi was held in Wang Luoyong's mouth for 3 hours, and his tongue and palate often blistered with blood, and he was in pain. In this way, Wang Luoyong practiced a pure, authentic spoken English, did not look at his face, and thought that the Americans were speaking English.
Wang Luoyong also often learned until late at night, and when he was sleepy, he stuck his hair to the electric fan so that he would not fall asleep. For 3 years, Wang Luoyong only slept 3 hours a day.
Wang Luoyong and Cao Kefan
In 1989, after graduating from university, Wang Luoyong was hired as an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin in the United States to teach theatrical performance. During this period, Wang Luoyong watched the Broadway musical "Butterfly Jun", which had the role of a Chinese Peking Opera actor, and then he volunteered to call the manager who selected the actor.
He arranged for him to audition and offered him a plane ticket and accommodation to New York. The manager was happy with him and asked him to go home and wait for news. Who knew that a few days later, the other party called him to inform him, saying that he would not hire for the time being, which made Wang Luoyong feel quite defeated.
In 1991, Wang Luoyong went to Broadway to see the musical "Miss Saigon", hoping to play the male number one. The other party felt that Wang Luoyong was whimsical and did not give him a chance at all. Wang Luoyong found a director a total of 8 times, and he did not even get the opportunity to audition. To save $1, he often walks from home to Broadway for three or four hours.
Wang Luoyong on the drama stage
Soon, Wang Luoyong resigned from his job as a professor at the University of Wisconsin and began to break into Broadway. In May 1995, Wang Luoyong did not know how many times he had ventured in, and finally got the opportunity to play the male number one "pimp" of "Miss Saigon".
On July 4 of this year, Wang Luoyong stood on the Broadway stage for the first time, and he will never forget this day. Since then, Wang Luoyong's "Miss Saigon" has been acted for 5 years and 8 months, and he is a household name in the United States.
In 1996, Chen Kaige led the team to Broadway in the United States and invited Wang Luoyong to star in the film "Jing Ke Thorn Qin King". After struggling in the United States for so many years, Wang Luoyong also wanted to return to China to make a movie. The longer he drifted, the more he had the idea of returning to the roots of the fallen leaves, so Wang Luoyong agreed.
Poster of "Life is Like a Song"
Who knows that soon after Chen Kaige returned to China, Wang Luoyong received a call from him, saying that the investor did not agree to use him, because Wang Luoyong had no influence in Asia, and the investor hoped to find an actor with influence in the Chinese market.
In 1997, the director of "Life is Like a Song" invited Wang Luoyong to return to China to shoot a play. This is Wang Luoyong's first time to return to China to shoot a drama after 11 years of leaving Shanghai.
This film inspired Wang Luoyong's desire to make film and television dramas, and he began to study film and television acting in the United States. Having lived in the United States for a long time, Wang Luoyong felt that it was too difficult for an Asian actor to play a leading role in the United States. He was Chinese and should return to the hot land, so Wang Luoyong decided to return to China.
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In 2001, Wang Luoyong officially returned to China to shoot dramas, and he taught at the Shanghai Theater Academy while taking over film and television dramas. Because of his good image temperament, broad vision and thinking, and creative performances, Wang Luoyong continued to make films after returning to China.
Stills of Wang Luoyong and He Saifei's "Life and Death Undercover"
Stills of Wang Luoyong's "The Age of Return to the City"
He has starred in many popular dramas such as "Lin Hai Snow Field", "Empty House", "Walking Through San Francisco", "Life and Death Undercover", "Being a Woman", and won many awards such as the Best Actor Award of the "Golden Eagle Award" of Chinese Television.
In 2021, Wang Luoyong has returned to China for 20 years and is still active in the film and television circle. He starred in film and television dramas such as "The Age of Return to the City", "Tiger Howling Dragon Yin", "Absolute Killing", "Dajiang Testimony", "Meritorious Service" and so on, which were deeply loved by the audience.
Wang Luoyong's wife, Ding Ning, married Wang Luoyong at the age of 19, and the two had a son and a daughter. Ding Ningyuan worked in a cultural unit in Shiyan and lived with Wang Luoyong for many years.
Wang Luoyong and his wife Ding Ning
Wang Luoyong and Bian Xiaoxiao
After Wang Luoyong gained a foothold in the United States, he took his wife to his side. As his parents grew older, Wang Luoyong did not trust their bodies, and later he brought his parents and sister to the United States to live with him.
In the days of "Miss Saigon" on Broadway, Wang Luoyong gathered less with his family, because he was particularly busy because he had to teach and perform. He got up every morning and the family had gone out. He ate lunch at school, came home from the evening show, and the family had gone to sleep.
In 6 years, Wang Luoyong did not spend a holiday with his wife, and he only had dinner with his family on Fridays and lunch with his family on Saturdays. Ding Ning could only eat two meals a week with her husband, but she had no complaints.
Stills of Wang Luoyong's "Tiger Howling Dragon Yin"
In 2001, when Wang Luoyong decided to return to China to develop, relatives and friends did not approve, but Ding Ning supported her husband's choice. After Wang Luoyong returned to China, Ding Ning also returned with a pair of children, and the family lived in China. She took care of her husband's life very well, and Wang Luoyong worked wholeheartedly.
Wang Luoyong loves his wife and loves his family, and there has never been a scandal, he will give his income to his wife to take care of, giving her the greatest sense of security. Time passes, and there are many temptations, but Wang Luoyong's marriage with his wife has always been harmonious and stable.
Many actors can't mix in foreign countries before they return to China, and Wang Luoyong's career in the United States is in the sky, and it is only out of love for the motherland that he returns to China for development. Praise for Wang Luoyong's patriotic feelings!
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