The TV series "Dress up" came to an end, and an actress named Gong Beiyuan once again attracted attention.
Gong Beiyuan plays Qin Min, the manpower director who kills decisively, with short hair, a suit, and mood, and is a typical strong woman in the workplace.
Some people say that Gong Beiyuan and Gong Li are somewhat similar.
In 1997, Gong Beiyuan entered the show business circle under the banner of "Little Gong Li".
Gong Beiyuan was not as famous at home and abroad as Gong Li, but she also had her own wonderful moments.
At the age of 11, she played the heroine, entered Hollywood, and was one of the earliest idol drama actors in China.
The United States "Time Magazine", "Variety" and other media once commented on Gong Beiyuan: "She is an actress with great international potential, with a unique temperament and a strong sense of screen. ”
More than 20 years after her debut, why has Gong Beiyuan been playing red people and not red? Along the way, what kind of ups and downs and choices has she experienced?
01
In 1978, Gong Beiyuan was born in Shishi City, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, a native of southern Fujian.
The Gong family is a teacher's home, Gong Beiyuan's grandparents have devoted their lives to education, peach and plum all over the world, deeply loved by students, her parents and sister have also served as teachers.
Therefore, Teachers' Day has always been a big festival in the Gong family.
Gong Bei's name was given by her grandfather, who had a good English, and "Bei Mo" is a transliteration of baby, who regarded her granddaughter as a treasure and hoped that her life would be fragrant and smooth.
Gong Beiyuan is the second oldest in the family, with an older sister on the top and a younger brother below.
In those days, it was easy to raise three children. As teachers, parents can only get a low salary every month.
In order to improve the family's life, Gong Beiyuan's father went to Hong Kong to work, and the family's chai rice oil and salt were all managed by her mother.
At that time, most of the families in Shishi did not have electric lights and no running water, and the mother had to chop firewood, carry water, grow vegetables, and raise a pig and a litter of ducks.
Gong Beiyuan's literary and artistic talents were still learned from her mother.
Gong's mother passed the interview of the Fujian Provincial Song and Dance Troupe at the age of 18, but because of the special "ingredients" at home, she failed to realize her dream. At the age of 21, she entered the Putian District Cultural and Labor Troupe and became the only dancer in the troupe who could fully dance "The White Haired Girl". After getting married, the family did not support Gong's mother's dance career and entered the school as a Chinese teacher.
The grinding of reality has not stopped Gong's mother's pursuit of art.
In her free time, she taught Gong Beiyuan and her sister to dance dances such as "Dark Sky" and "Little Snail Number" at home, and her sister learned beautifully and quickly, and Gong Beiyuan once felt inferior.
Compared with dance, Gong Beiyuan is more enthusiastic about self-composing and acting sketches, and her family does not suppress her nature, but praises her clumsy acting skills from time to time.
The artistic atmosphere and education methods at home have laid a good foundation for Gong Beiyuan's path as an actor.
02
In junior high school, Gong Beiyuan was selected by the provincial sports team, and although she had passed the golden age of athletes, she still set a record. Gong Beiyuan is good at long jump, playing basketball, and is also the record holder of the 100-meter sprint championship in Shishi City, with a 13-second performance, she has maintained it for ten years.
Gong Beiyuan's athletic talent benefited from her father.
She has been as naughty as a boy since she was a child, her father will take a small bamboo whip to whip her when he is angry, in order not to be beaten, Gong Beiyuan can only flee quickly, and the long -term "escape" has actually encouraged her athletic ability.
At that time, Gong Beiyuan and her grandparents lived in the school and played on the playground when they had nothing to do. Once, just happened to meet the physical education teacher who was training and preparing to go to the city to compete, Gong Beiyuan also practiced with a playful mentality. It didn't take long to practice, and she ran faster than her brother and sister.
Coincidence coupled with innate explosive power, Gong Beiyuan entered the ranks of athletes.
As a teenager, Gong Beiyuan came out of nowhere and was famous in school, and classmates said she was a bit like Momoe Yamaguchi.
That year, the Xiamen Little Egret Art Troupe enrolled in Shishi, and Gong Beiyuan was selected, and if she performed well, she could develop in the direction of dancers.
Whether it's an athlete or a dancer, the old-school Gong dad disagrees. The late 1980s and early 1990s were the golden age of Shishi's development. Gong's father returned from Hong Kong to start a business, and seeing that the stalls were getting bigger and bigger, he needed the support of his family. Therefore, he asked Gong Beiyuan to apply for the finance and accounting major and help him take care of his business after graduation.
If she had not met director Mi Jiashan, Gong Beiyuan might have followed the route planned by her father, become an accountant, get married and have children, and follow the old path of her mother.
03
In 1989, Mi Jiashan took the crew of "You Are Not Sixteen" to Quanzhou to select actresses, and after many places, he noticed Gong Beiyuan's sister.
At that time, Sister Gong was a well-known child star of ShiShi, with a beautiful appearance and good dancing, almost born for the camera.
In the face of Mijiashan's invitation, Sister Gong refused, because she was busy preparing for the college entrance examination and could not spare time to shoot.
In order to persuade Sister Gong, Mijiashan did a lot of ideological work, but still returned to no avail.
In order to dissuade Mijiashan, Sister Gong joked: "Go and invite my sister!" ”
When Gong Beiyuan came into view of Mijiashan, he had the answer in his heart. Gong Beiyuan is not as beautiful as her sister, but her temperament is agile, her appearance is quite recognizable, a mouthful of small tiger teeth, and a bit of Gong Li's appearance.
At that time, Gong Li won the grand prize in Berlin with "Red Sorghum", and her typical oriental appearance redefined the image of the heroine.
In this way, Gong Beiyuan followed Mi Jiashan into the group, and Gong Beiyuan, who did not have any acting surprises, was not afraid of the stage at all in front of the camera, and with a little guidance, she could understand the essence of the characters.
After "You Are Not Sixteen Years Old", Gong Beiyuan fulfilled her father's wish and entered a vocational high school to study finance and accounting.
By the time the movie was released, it was four or five years later.
In 1994, "You Are Not Sixteen" was released nationwide, a children's film that reflected the current situation of the loss of primary and secondary school students, which resonated with countless people.
In the school where Gong Beiyuan studied, it caused a sensation, and for a time, Gong Beiyuan became a celebrity in the school.
Many people say that she is like Gong Li, and she learned that Gong Li graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, and she has strengthened her determination to take the Chinese opera examination.
Before this, Fujian Province had not yet taken the Chinese opera students, and at that time, the Chinese opera only recruited 20 students in the performance department in the country, and Gong Beiyuan's decision was bound to face many tests.
04
That year, Gong Beiyuan's mother was seconded to the Provincial Department of Culture as a choreographer. She also had artistic dreams, and was the first to stand up to support Gong Beiyuan.
She inquired about the enrollment of Chinese opera and invited professional acting teachers to tutor Gong Beiyuan.
After everything was ready, Gong Beiyuan began to participate in the interview of the Chinese opera.
In the most basic singing assessment, Gong Beiyuan was nervous to sweat, because the Chinese opera liked students with loud voices, and she was a mezzo-soprano, singing without strength.
Holding the mentality of a dead horse as a live horse doctor, Gong Beiyuan sang a nursery rhyme from her hometown and unexpectedly got a high score.
During the examination recitation, Gong Beiyuan chose a song "Monkey Eats Watermelon" and used physical performances to cover up her non-standard Mandarin.
After the Chinese opera exam, the teacher stopped Gong Beiyuan: "Are you still going to the Beijing Film Academy?" "Someone used to tell Gong Beiyuan that if the teacher asked this question, you must answer that you didn't take the exam."
But Gong Beiyuan is a rectum, and she said emphatically: "It is not easy for me to come so far from Fujian, and I still have to go to the exam." As a result, the teacher told her: "You go straight home and prepare for the culture class." ”
Gong Beiyuan happily returned to Quanzhou, facing the most challenging college entrance examination, when there were only two months left before the college entrance examination.
Gong Beiyuan, who came out of vocational high school, did not study ordinary high school subjects, which meant that she had to complete three years of high school courses in two months.
Gong's mother found a lot of tutors for Gong Beiyuan, and her head was hanging from the beam cone to stab the strands, and only then did she pass this pass.
In September of that year, Gong Beiyuan walked into the school gate of Chinese opera with full expectations and became classmates with Duan Yihong and Tao Hong.
Tao Hong, who came out of the synchronized swimming team, had the classic masterpiece "Sunny Day" before entering the Chinese drama, and was the goddess of all male students in the class, and became the class leader effortlessly.
In the middle play of the master Ru Lin, Gong Beiyuan dimmed.
05
There are no shortage of handsome men and beautiful women in the Chinese drama, and there is no shortage of people with deep family backgrounds, and Gong Beiyuan can no longer give any advantage except for the face that resembles Gong Li.
She could only sink her mind, delve into professional classes, and conscientiously complete every performance assignment assigned by the teacher.
At that time, the whole class had to rehearse dozens of sketches, and Gong Beiyuan played in humble supporting roles.
Bidding farewell to the glory of the town, Gong Beiyuan felt for the first time that the future was uncertain. For a long time, she wondered if she was only athletically talented.
Every year at the Art Academy Games held in Beijing, Gong Beiyuan can win the first place as long as she participates.
She ran fast, but her expression was ugly, and the physical education teacher described her as rushing over like a blood basin, if you throw an apple, you must throw an accurate one.
Later, Gong Beiyuan learned that people who are good at sports have an advantage in interpreting martial arts dramas or roles with aura, because the Games bring flexibility and explosiveness to people.
In 1997, Gong Beiyuan, who was still in her junior year, finally waited for Bole.
A Hong Kong brokerage company was attracted by Gong Beiyuan's appearance and packaged her as "Xiao Gongli" to the market.
This year, she and Li Yapeng made two plays: "Beijing-Hong Kong Love Line" and "Carry Love to the End".
In that era when idol dramas were just germinating, Gong Beiyuan got the first cup of soup.
Gong Beiyuan is very serious about acting, after getting a character, she will make detailed background information to supplement, and use the greatest empathy to understand the direction of the character.
After these two plays, Gong Beiyuan was famous in the circle.
The company originally planned an idol route for her, but Gong Beiyuan was determined to be a powerful actor. In a short time, she missed the outlet of idol dramas, but in the long run, it extended her artistic life.
06
In 1998, Gong Beiyuan graduated from Chinese opera and met the love of her life.
It was at Wu Shixian's twenty-third birthday party, and Gong Beiyuan, who was idle and fine, came to play with her friends. For this beautiful and cheerful girl, Wu Shixian's heart rippled.
Wu Shixian is a mixed-race child from the Film Arts Department of the University of Washington in the United States to the directing department of the Beijing Film Academy, and he has made many TV commercials as a fledgling.
After Gong Beiyuan and Wu Shixian met each other, they became friends and had intermittent contacts.
At first, Wu Shixian was very repulsive of women in the circle, thinking that the circle was impetuous, and the other half must find an outsider. After getting along with Gong Beiyuan, he overthrew all his previous prejudices.
Gong Beiyuan is very real, she does not have to spend extra time, just want to be a good actor.
Under the romantic offensive of Wu Shixian, Gong Beiyuan surrendered his weapons. It was 2000, Wu Shixian was 25 years old, and Gong Beiyuan was 22 years old.
At that time, Wu Shixian was preparing the short film "Car Forty-Four", and Gong Beiyuan naturally became his heroine.
The female driver played by Gong Beiyuan put a cold story in front of the eyes of the world.
After its release, the short film caused a sensation at many international film festivals and was also shortlisted for the Cannes Film Festival Award.
This year, Gong Beiyuan and Wu Shixian both ushered in the highlight moments of their lives. Achieving each other and fighting side by side make the lovers' feelings more righteous.
After the success of "Car Forty-Four", Wu Shixian wrote and directed a "Waiting Alone", invited Xia Yu and Li Bingbing, and Gong Beiyuan became a supporting actress.
Wu Shixian's arrangement is not because Li Bingbing's coffee position is bigger, but because the heroine and the male protagonist have a lot of kiss scenes, many actresses are unwilling to play this role, and he can't accept his girlfriend kissing scenes with others under his own lens.
This movie was hidden by the snow for two years before it was released, but Li Bingbing won the first Golden Rooster Award nomination for best actress in her life, and I am afraid that Gong Bei's intestines at that time were remorseful.
However, God has his own arrangements for Gong Beiyuan.
07
"Waiting Alone" is regarded as the "Love Bible", and Li Jing, played by Gong Beiyuan, who regards love as a belief, has become the white moonlight in the hearts of men and women in that era.
After the film was screened in Hollywood, the praise was overwhelming, and Gong Beiyuan attracted the attention of Hollywood agency Endeavor.
Before this, among the domestic actresses, only Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li had signed a contract with Hollywood.
Gong Beiyuan caught this olive branch, which means to take the road of international superstar.
In 2005, Gong Beiyuan could not care about the newlywed Yan'er with Wu Shixian, and flew to the United States for English training on a single ticket.
At the same time, Wu Shixian was recruited by UTA, one of the three major agencies in the United States, to participate in international film projects.
The couple's journey to Hollywood seems to be a walk of fame, but it is actually a dangerous road.
On that ship full of movie dreams, Asians get tickets but can't get the right to speak, even if you have excellent appearance and acting skills, you can only be reduced to supporting roles.
Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi could not take the road, and Gong Beiyuan could only hit his head and bleed.
After training in Hollywood for two years, Gong Beiyuan failed to hand over a report card and could only return to China in a gray mood.
The reality is very cruel, she failed to take advantage of the hottest time to gain a foothold, disappeared for two years, and returned to China everything had to start from scratch.
In 2007, Gong Beiyuan appeared in the movie "Love Call Transfer", and has been reduced from heroine to female N.
In the following 5 years, Gong Beiyuan did not get his hands on the works, and only the TV series that drowned in the market such as "B+ Detective" and "Zhao Dan" were presented to the audience.
In those years, Gong Beiyuan could not find her own positioning, suspense films, idol dramas, period dramas, and her sense of existence was very weak.
At the same time, after returning to China, Wu Shixian was also dissatisfied with the domestic market, and although he had experience in American film production, he was unable to create scripts beyond "Car Forty-Four" and "Waiting Alone".
When people reach middle age, the road is obstructed and long, and they go down with a hard scalp, and they can always willow dark flowers and bright villages.
08
In 2012, Wu Shixian's self-written and self-directed "Inseparable" made a comeback and was selected for the Busan International Film Festival, and was also named one of the top ten Asian films of the year by the Wall Street Journal.
Gong Beiyuan also came out of the circle again with this movie, and she could have won back the lost glory. However, at the age of 34, she chose to have a child and return to the family.
Accompanying the child to grow up for another three years, Gong Beiyuan once again missed the golden period of career development.
In 2014, the 36-year-old Gong Beiyuan returned to the show business circle, breaking the previous label and starting to focus on costume drama. She does not meet the standards of traditional beauty, dressed in ancient costumes, and even has a different flavor.
The beautiful-looking snow girl with a high and cold personality in "Qin Shi Mingyue"; the dignified and elegant ice queen in "Magic City"; the fierce dark night in the center of "Fire Like a Song"; and the intelligent and versatile heroine Huang Rong in "Divine Eagle Man".
In addition, Gong Beiyuan is also a "professional household of ex-wives"——
Played Xu Zheng's ex-wife in "I Am Not a Medicine God", played Ge You's ex-wife in "My Motherland and Me", and became Yu Hewei's ex-wife in "Pampered".
In the past two years, Gong Beiyuan's performance in workplace dramas has been very amazing, from "I am very good in other places" to "Dressage", her own aura and high-level white-collar workers have no sense of violation.
Now 44-year-old Gong Beiyuan failed to become Gong Li, she did not need to be anyone, she became the best version of herself.
From the beginning of "You Are Not 16", she has firmly established herself as an actor.
Along the way, she did not have Gong Li's good luck, but she had her own small luck. She met Wu Shixian, gave her love, and made her successful with two more movies.
In the disturbed showbiz circle, she has taken detours, but she has not been lost. After stumbling, still do what an actor should do, down-to-earth, step by step accumulation, no big hits, but blooming in their own world.
There is something to do, someone to love, some expectations, Gong Beiyuan interpreted the best blueprint for a small town girl's life.