Lin Biao, one of the ten founding marshals. In the long river of history that is constantly rushing forward, the name "Lin Biao" occupies an important position. 2 He was skilled in strategy, resourceful, deep in character, silent, and made great achievements in the war years, and had meritorious achievements in his life.
Many people know Lin Biao mostly through film and television works, and for decades, there are only a few actors who have created the image of "Lin Biao". In the memories of most audiences, there are two actors who play "Lin Biao" most deeply, one is teacher Li Xuejian and the other is teacher Ma Shaoxin.
Their interpretation of "Lin Biao" is impressive, but what is little known is that the process of their role as "Lin Biao" was not easy.
Pictured| Lin Biao
"Lin Biao" in the drama - Li Xuejian
In 1980, the Air Politics Repertory Theater was preparing to rehearse the drama "913 Incident", and needed to select an actor to play "Lin Biao". At that time, Li Xuejian came to the Air Politics Repertory Theater not long ago.
Li Xuejian was born in 1954 in a peasant family in Shandong, with five brothers and sisters, and he was the eldest of them. At the age of 10, the family followed his father to Guizhou Kaili "Zhiqian", and since then he has been studying in Guizhou Kaili, his hometown is his hometown, and Li Xuejian regards Guizhou Kaili as his hometown.
When he was studying in school, Li Xuejian often hummed songs, and the most he sang was "Sixteen Articles is Good" and "Dongfang Hong", and his classmates also loved to listen to him sing, which already highlighted his literary and artistic cells.
Picture| Li Xuejian
In 1970, 16-year-old Li Xuejian graduated from junior high school, entered the 210 factory of the central state-owned enterprise to work, he still did not give up his hobby of singing and performing, in addition to working steadfastly, the workers read and sat down to rest, Li Xuejian sang and performed to everyone, watching Li Xuejian's performance gradually became a spiritual enjoyment for everyone.
At the literary and artistic party held in the factory, the person everyone thought of was Li Xuejian. He played the role of Mu Renzhi in "The White-haired Girl" on stage, Mu Renzhi is the dogleg of the landlord bully Huang Shiren, who helps the landlord oppress the poor people on weekdays.
Li Xuejian portrayed the role of Mu Renzhi very well, nodded to the landlord, and commanded the people, and under his performance above, the underground audience hated the itchy teeth, because he played this role too vividly, and then everyone simply called him "Old Mu".
After staying in the factory for two years, the unit came to Guizhou Kaili to recruit soldiers, and Li Xuejian was selected to become an amateur literary and artistic soldier stationed in a certain unit of the Second Artillery Corps in Yunnan.
He does not pick a role, even if he is given a tricky role, there are no lines, the appearance time is only a few seconds, Li Xuejian is always happy to do this, he always uses a meticulous attitude to prepare for the performance, even in the corner he blooms his own shimmer.
Picture| Li Xuejian
In 1976, Lu Wei, who was the director of the Culture Department of the Kunming Military Region, met with Li Xuejian, Lu Wei admired Li Xuejian's focus and efforts, in the drama "A Thousand Autumn Great Cause" rehearsed by the PLA General Logistics Repertory Troupe, Li Xuejian was assigned a trick role, but he still treated it wholeheartedly, and his serious energy was noticed by Lu Wei as a director, and Lu Wei saw the potential of this young actor.
He wrote a letter recommending Li Xuejian to apply for the Air Politics Repertory Troupe, and in 1977, Li Xuejian was admitted to the Air Politics Repertory Troupe as he wished and became a drama actor of the Air Politics Repertory Troupe.
Within a few years of his entry into the Air Politics Repertory Troupe, the drama about Lin Biao began to select roles, and some of the old actors in the troupe did not have time, and some had inappropriate temperaments, resulting in the troupe picking for a long time, and the actors who played "Lin Biao" could not be settled.
One day the deputy head of the regiment happened to meet Li Xuejian, and felt that his face was still somewhat similar to Lin Biao in the past, and the deputy head suggested that Li Xuejian try the role of "Lin Biao".
Li Xuejian is not impulsive, he did not listen to the advice, and went straight to the theater to audition. He spent several days to get to know Lin Biao, observe and figure out Lin Biao's expressions and movements in different periods, and when he fit in with this role, he went to audition.
Pictured| Li Xuejian's appearance
Li Xuejian's hair was shaved, his eyebrows became thicker, and his military uniform was already very "Lin Biao" feeling, and as soon as he appeared in front of everyone, he was recognized by everyone at once, and the director immediately clapped: Li Xuejian played "Lin Biao".
Li Xuejian is in his twenties and has a strong body, but in order to create the role of "Lin Biao", he directly lost more than twenty pounds, he pasted Lin Biao's photo on his bedside, stared at the photo, studied Lin Biao's eyes and temperament, he often stared at it for hours.
Every morning, Li Xuejian wore the military uniform of "Lin Biao" and walked around the yard, learning to speak like Lin Biao; Lin Biao is a native of Huanggang, Hubei Province, and Li Xuejian sought the help of a line teacher to find out word by word with the help of recordings, striving to be closer to the accent of Lin Biao's speech.
Since deciding to play the role of "Lin Biao", Li Xuejian's eyes, movements, behaviors, and words must be on par with Lin Biao, and in the next few months, he will get closer to Lin Biao as much as possible.
Pictured| Stills from Li Xuejian's drama
After the drama performance, Li Xuejian's "Lin Biao" made everyone's eyes shine, when Lin Biao had died, and some audiences praised him: "If Li Xuejian stood on the Tiananmen City Tower, people would think that Lin Biao was 'resurrected'." Although it is a joke, as a young drama actor, Li Xuejian's performance has been recognized and affirmed by many people.
The drama has been performed for more than 400 consecutive performances. Once, when the troupe gave a performance to a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, one of the audience included Liu Shaoqi's wife, Wang Guangmei, who was a first-hand witness of history and had a personal feeling for the story presented on the stage.
After the performance, everyone waited on stage to shake hands with the actors, Wang Guangmei walked to the actors one by one, praised everyone with a smile, and expressed condolences to everyone for their hard performance. When she walked up to Li Xuejian, put away the smile on her face, and took back the outstretched hand with anger on her face, she refused to shake hands with Li Xuejian, didn't even look at him, and walked straight over.
Afterwards, people around her also asked Wang Guangmei, why did she, who has always been gentle, act like that that that day?
Wang Guangmei said: "It's not that I don't shake hands with Li Xuejian, but when I see him, I think of Lin Biao, and I will never shake hands with 'Lin Biao'." Shaking hands with him will not pass the hurdle in my heart! ”
Although Li Xuejian is a little embarrassed at the moment, this also just shows that he portrays the role of "Lin Biao" very realistically, and he also understands Wang Guangmei's mood.
Pictured| Wang Guangmei
Through this drama, through the role of "Lin Biao", Li Xuejian won the first Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Award, and the name of actor Li Xuejian is also known by more and more people.
After that, Li Xuejian continued to cultivate in the field of performance, and provided many excellent film and television works to the audience. Teacher Li Xuejian's acting skills have become more and more exquisite, and he has won many awards such as Feitian Award, Golden Rooster Award, Hundred Flowers Award, and Huabiao Award.
But when many people mention teacher Li Xuejian again, they still habitually think of the role he created at the beginning of his acting career - "Lin Biao"!
Pictured| Teacher Li Xuejian
The first positive image of "Lin Biao" on the mainland screen - Ma Shaoxin
Every time I mention the actor who has portrayed the role of "Lin Biao" very successfully, one name that cannot be bypassed is - Teacher Ma Shaoxin.
After the founding of New China in 1949, many stories of the war years were put on the screen, so that future generations will not forget the history of arduous battles in the bloody years. In the eighties of the twentieth century, Yang Shangkun, secretary general of the Central Military Commission, suggested that a film about the three major battles could be made.
In 1986, the Chinese People's Liberation Army Bayi Film Studio officially established the script creation team of "Armageddon", and the film was divided into three parts, including "Armageddon: Liaoshen Battle", "Armageddon: Huaihai Battle", and "Armageddon: Pingjin Battle", and casting work began at the same time as script creation.
Ma Shaoxin is a native of Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, when the film "Armageddon" began to prepare, Ma Shaoxin was already an actor who had worked in the drama troupe for decades, his performance skills were solid, and his superb performances over the years had captured the hearts of many audiences and became famous in the local area. However, at that time, the drama performance market was not very sluggish, and Ma Shaoxin, as a drama actor, did not work much, and it was common to be idle at home.
Pictured| Ma Shaoxin
In 1988, the assistant director of "Armageddon: Battle of Pingjin" came to the northeast, hoping to select several suitable actors. The assistant director found friends who worked in the drama troupe, hoping that these friends could recommend some suitable candidates, and to the surprise of the assistant director, these people almost invariably gave the same name: Ma Shaoxin.
Who is Marshoxin? Why does everyone recommend him? The assistant director immediately wrote to Ma Shaoxin, hoping that he could send a few photos of himself to the Bayi Film Studio.
Ma Shaoxin was overjoyed when he received the letter, and he put his photo and resume in an envelope according to the assistant director's wishes, sent it to Beijing Bayi Film Studio, and soon received an interview notice.
He rushed to Beijing from Jixi to meet the assistant director who invited him and filmed the audition clip. Ma Shaoxin's original audition role was "Chen Buri", and Yang Guangyuan, the director of "Armageddon: The Liaoshen Campaign", also met Ma Shaoxin, Ma Shaoxin's appearance conditions and personal temperament made Yang Guangyuan's eyes bright, feeling that both the image and temperament were close to "Lin Biao", and the director decided to ask him to try the role of "Lin Biao".
Pictured| Ma Shaoxin stills
After the audition, Ma Shaoxin returned to Jixi, and after months of waiting, he didn't know if he had been selected. But a good meal is not afraid of being late, he finally waited for the good news, "The role has been decided, if you can get out, report quickly." Receiving the news from the Bayi Film Studio, Ma Shaoxin was very happy, and he drank with his wife to celebrate that night.
He went to the library and spent a long time reading books and materials about "Lin Biao", and he also visited more than ten comrades who had contact with Lin Biao, and the crew gave him several months to prepare, and Ma Shaoxin gradually had a comprehensive understanding of Lin Biao.
In the summer of 1990, the filming of "Armageddon: Liaoshen Campaign" began, Ma Shaoxin, who was accustomed to performing on the drama stage, walked into the studio for the first time, facing the camera he was very nervous and difficult to enter, director Yang Guangyuan encouraged him: "It's okay, old Ma, just relax a little." ”
But perhaps because of the heavy responsibility on his shoulders and lack of experience in shooting films, Ma Shaoxin has never been able to get rid of the tense state, so that even his similar temperament with "Lin Biao" has not been interpreted, and in the early sample films, Ma Shaoxin's performance is visible tension and stiffness.
But this is Ma Shaoxin's first appearance as the role of "Lin Biao", and when the samples shot in the early stage were sent to the command group and other higher-level organizations, the instructions on the top were: lack of verve, the characters can't stand up, and quickly replace them.
Pictured| Ma Shaoxin stills
Director Yang Guangyuan won a chance for Ma Shaoxin to re-perform, and a group of onlookers around Ma Shaoxin brought Ma Shaoxin the feeling of acting in a drama, and Ma Shaoxin also successfully played his original state, and successfully defeated another young actor who wanted to replace him and kept the role of "Lin Biao".
After the sample of the new issue came out, everyone sighed that "Lin Biao" played very well, and Chen Yi, political commissar of the Dongye Logistics Department, couldn't help but praise after watching the sample: "Like, like, this is Lin Biao." Ma Shaoxin is worthy of being an old actor, this role can be poked and standing! "I am very sure of Ma Shaoxin's performance.
In 1991, "Armageddon: Liaoshen Battle", "Armageddon: Huaihai Battle" were released, and in 1992, "Armageddon: Pingjin Battle" was released, these three series of films reproduced that magnificent historical epic to the people with magnificent and realistic momentum and serious contributions.
Ma Shaoxin played "Lin Biao" in "Armageddon: Liaoshen Campaign" and "Armageddon: Pingjin Battle", successfully shaping the first positive image of Lin Biao on the mainland screen.
Pictured| Ma Shaoxin stills
The premiere of "Armageddon: The Liaoshen Campaign" was held in the Great Hall of the People, the national leader received the actors of the crew, Ma Shaoxin was standing in the back row of the actors, Yang Shangkun noticed him in the crowd, walked up to him, and said to him: "You acted well, very similar!" ”
Being able to receive praise from national leaders, Ma Shaoxin's heart is excited and excited. Lin Biao's daughter also made a special trip to call him to thank him for showing the complex image of Lin Biao through the movie.
Also appearing in this series at the same time as Ma Shaoxin are: Gu Yue, a special actor who has been portraying "Chairman Mao" all his life, Su Lin, a national first-class actor who has played "Zhou Enlai" dozens of times, and Guo Fazeng, the actor of "Liu Shaoqi" who is deeply affirmed by Wang Guangmei... Every actor in this film, without exaggeration, can be described as "impeccable".
From the manpower and material resources used, and the crew's intentions, this film can be regarded as a huge production in the true sense. The performances of the actors allowed countless audiences to see the real life of the great people of that year, and also became a classic in film history.
After the film was released, there was a movie-watching boom across the country, and it is now regarded as the "highest peak of domestic war films", and actor Ma Shaoxin also became famous for playing "Lin Biao" in "Armageddon" and approached the audience's field of vision.
A few years later, Bayi Film Studio began to prepare for the movie "The Great March: The Great Pursuit on the Southern Front", mainly telling the combat deeds of the Fourth Field Army and the Second Field Army that pursued and annihilated the Bai Chongxi Group entrenched in Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places, and Ma Shaoxin once again played "Lin Biao" in this film.
He used his three-point performance to perfectly present the role of "Lin Biao" on the screen, and later when people mentioned the actor who played "Lin Biao", the first thing that came to mind was always Teacher Ma Shaoxin.
After 2005, Mr. Ma Shaoxin gradually faded out of the big screen. In March 2022, 86-year-old teacher Ma Shaoxin passed away due to illness in Jixi.
But to this day, the image of "Lin Biao" created by him in films such as "Armageddon" and "The Great March" still remains in people's memories.
Pictured | stills of Yu Hewei
At the Chinese TV drama quality ceremony, the host asked the elderly teacher Li Xuejian a question: "Starting from an actor, in your heart, what do you think is the most expensive?" ”
"The audience is the most expensive!" Li Xuejian replied forcefully, ushering in thunderous applause from the audience!
There are many stories about the beacon years on today's screen, and there are still many newcomers who take over the baton of senior teachers and create the role of "Lin Biao", and the 2021 TV series "Armageddon" will be broadcast, and the actor who plays "Lin Biao" is Yu Hewei.
The people of the past have passed away, but the stories of the past have not been forgotten, and the new generation of actors will also show a different "Lin Biao" to countless audiences with their own thinking!