The highest evaluation that male actors can get from female audiences these days is not good looking, nor good acting, but - a sense of vulnerability.
Even if you don't follow dramas much, if you open an app casually recently, you will inevitably meet a roasted sweet potato-style man like An Xin.
Image source | "Crazy"
What is a roasted sweet potato style man?
At first glance, he looks like a thick layer of skin baked by the years; When you break it open, the core is soft and hot.
He looks at you with aggrieved eyes, and while you scold "the director has no heart, why is it always An Xin who is hurt", you think to yourself "Hehe, I also really want to eat and ravage him".
Image source | "Crazy"
All 8G surfers in this room know that vulnerability is not a new word.
When "Langya List" was a hit in 15 years, some people used it to describe Mei Changsu played by Hu Ge. Male actors who later showed this trait were usually coveted by female audiences.
Like Zhu Yilong, he vomited blood with his housekeeping skills, and was listed in the list of "beautiful and strong miserable" in various styles all year round.
On site B, the second creation video containing the following plot has nearly 3 million views.
Image source | "Soul Town"
Someone commented.
Struggling to live, but being torn apart in the most vigorous moments of life, stained with blood, and dying holy and brilliantly - this beauty can only be felt in words, but now it is interpreted by actors.
Would you say better than say more? Unfortunately, it is not comprehensive enough.
So what exactly is vulnerability? What kind of actor can give a character a sense of vulnerability? What is it that female viewers are really obsessed with when they are obsessed with vulnerability?
Today's article, talk about how sweet potatoes are baked.
The most recent actor to be praised for his vulnerability is 46-year-old uncle Yan Chengxu.
As a matter of common sense, it will never be a glorious thing for an actor to be obsessed with Jack Sue in middle age. If the strong dent marks are obvious, it may not be possible to rush customers in minutes, and the audience will criticize "acting very well, don't act next time".
In the matter of Jack Su, Yan Chengxu has turned over many cars
Image source | "I Like You So Much"
Piao also predicted Yan Chengxu's new drama "Summer Flower" at first.
But just watching the first act of the first episode, I almost couldn't hold back the ecstasy of slapping the table: oh, this time it finally became ah (only for Yan Chengxu and the fit of the characters, not to refer to the overall color of the show).
How to say?
Like such a man who spits smoke rings lonely on the side of the street, you talk to him and he will not reply more than three words, and when he returns home with only a cat with him, you will not say that he is greasy, but will be curious:
I'm dripping obediently, how come I have such a rough life at this age?
No, you start to be curious and can't help but want to get close to him.
And the point is that since he has the consciousness to go outside to smoke, even if he seems to be hiding from the world, there must be a place in his heart that cares about him and is sensitive.
Under the rough and thick melon skin, it is still soft and hot core.
It's just that no one has torn it apart yet.
But it's important to note that not every rough guy feels vulnerable.
If the man played by Yan Chengxu in "Summer Flower" is so lonely that it is distressing, then something like Zhang Hanyu will only make people's hearts palpitate, and the oppressive aura is too strong, which is already another charm.
Image source | "Li Mi's Conjecture"
A man becomes a tough guy when he is rough and his skin is baked and firm, how can you still touch that inch of softness?
A man like this gives the impression that he needs more of a sense of accomplishment than love. Out of vigilance for injuries, you will be afraid to step three meters away and dare not approach forward.
But Yan Chengxu (to be precise, his role Xiao Han in the play) is different.
Because he has been hurt before, he is more vigilant than you are about injuries. Coupled with the sensitivity and care of his personality, he will instinctively back away when he receives a signal that you are approaching.
Little girl
Just chill for a few days
Don't delay people
However, this responsible attitude can not resist the turbulent situation when love lands.
When he was chased by a girl ten years younger than himself, he knew that he should make a rational choice, but he still couldn't help but fall into the vortex of love step by step.
From the initial dodge to the unloading of defense, to the complete defeat of defense.
He even begged heaven with his eyes: Please tell me, what should I do?
The real source of this vulnerability is not loneliness, but that he is in a dilemma, but he is powerless to deal with the happiness he thinks he should not have, and can only struggle and fall at the same time.
It is the proper neutralization of reason and sensibility, strong and weak.
A tough guy of steel, you have no intention of bumping your head with him.
But a roasted sweet potato-style man, you want to hold him in the palm of your hand and hurt, and at the same time, you want to get into his arms and be cared for.
A man with a sense of vulnerability is not necessarily a good actor, but a good actor may not be able to give a sense of vulnerability.
Someone will make your heart tremble with just one look;
Even if someone sheds male tears, they may not be able to drop tears into the pit of your heart.
Huang Zihua, who recently released a new film, is one of them.
The lawyer Lin Liangshui he played in "Poisonous Tongue Lawyer", although he is involved in danger and tiring for development, he is actually a good person in his heart, but his heart is cold because of the cold world.
It can also be said that he is a roasted sweet potato-style man.
But I'm sorry, even if I love Zihua Shen very much, I dare not say that he has a sense of vulnerability.
There is such a play in the film.
Lin Liangshui went to a bar to buy drunkenness and depression after the victim was imprisoned, and then was beaten by Norma Lin's friend Fat, and the two went to a breezy place to chat about their hearts. While chatting, Lin Liangshui shed tears of self-blame.
Here Huang Zihua is indeed fragile, the problem is that his vulnerability is too straightforward, there is no atmosphere, and only weakness remains.
Most male actors have such inertial thinking when dealing with inner drama.
Because men are always more active or passive in society, sometimes a tear is the greatest vulnerability they think they can expose.
It's not a matter of acting, it's a difference between personality and thinking.
Zhang Yi jumped out of this mind-set when dealing with inner drama.
You see the scene where he collapsed on duty in "Crazy", he didn't show you the crash directly, but acted for almost an episode of calmness, hanging your heart.
When Gao Qisheng committed suicide and Li Xiang was martyred, Gao Qiqiang, the black boss, was so sad that he stumbled and couldn't speak smoothly, what about An Xin?
With only an ignorant face, he ran to Li Xiang and whispered four words:
Loud and loud
After being demoted to be a traffic policeman, he still couldn't let go of his ideals in his heart, so he ruthlessly broke up with Meng Yu, who he had loved for many years, and did not want to delay people.
Of course An Xin hurts.
But the night he said goodbye to Meng Yu, from the beginning of nostalgia to the later determination, he did not shed a single tear.
Tears became a glimmer in the eyes
It wasn't until everything was handled properly that he was suddenly shocked from the inside out by the accumulated emotions, and he couldn't help but fall down while on duty.
It's just An Xin who is heartbroken, and I am clearly in front of the screen
Zhang Yi knows how to grasp vulnerability.
It requires the actor to understand the subtle meaning of "receiving" - hiding vulnerability in the eyes, subtle body movements, and showing weakness with weakness has always been a taboo among taboos;
It is also necessary for the actor to have a restrained and sensitive temperament.
Tony Leung also had a sense of vulnerability when he was young.
He once played a lonely and sensual deaf mute in Hou Xiaoxian's "City of Sorrow", and there is a scene in the film where he looks through the prison window at his fellow inmates who are taken away.
There is a sense of vulnerability in movement and static, and the key is to look at the eyes
Source|"Blood Street" and "City of Sorrow"
It is clear that there are no tears, but it is still heartbreaking, and Tony Leung's mother outside the screen burst into tears for this.
She said that the character is very similar to her son, who is Tony Leung.
A rule that can be summed up is that from Tony Leung to Zhang Yi and Yan Chengxu, almost all actors who can give a sense of vulnerability are sullen personalities, although they are silent, but their hearts are very sensitive and active.
In reality, most masculinity is the opposite, lacking sensibility and preaching.
Therefore, it highlights the scarcity of roasted sweet potatoes' potential, and each one is worthy of a "treasure boy".
Interestingly, this sense of vulnerability is often only used by female audiences.
Male audiences should love Gao Qiqiang more than Anxin.
Men are naturally competitive, powerful, and danger is always attractive to them, so you watch action movies and war movies with more men than women.
A black boss like Gao Qiqiang who does not follow the rules is more able to satisfy men's fantasies.
Women are different, even in the virtual space of film and television, they still have their feet close to the ground and their hearts connected to reality.
So you see, in "Crazy", the sister-in-law finally chose to leave Gao Qiqiang. Although he covered the sky with one hand outside, he was embarrassed, and he couldn't give his woman a sense of security.
But that doesn't mean women have to be stable.
To be precise, women are more practical.
That's why I use roasted sweet potatoes as a metaphor for these characters:
They seem to have a certain amount of experience, and they are rational and sober in everything they do, in other words, they are the kind of mature men who meet the expectations of society.
Men like this are often thought of as having a hard wall and can handle all life's problems.
But they can't do anything about something.
Slightly off the beaten track, without getting into danger, overall, it's as filling and delicious as roasted sweet potatoes, and it's okay to get by.
Going deeper, women are not a little bad when they are obsessed with vulnerability.
Men who are always sane and sober are really right and boring, so the moment when reason is destroyed is often sexier and more touching than ever.
Source|"There is You in this Life"
And in that moment, he had already expressed a thousand words with vulnerability.
It is precisely because I love you and trust you that I am willing to put my softest side in front of you, even if it will hurt you.
As if to say
I will also be hurt, and I am also sensitive
Jodie Foster commented on the actor's vulnerability
But note that vulnerability is not ill.
You should know that Jodie Foster has a classic film history called "Taxi Driver", in which Robert De Niro plays a single man who drives a rental for a living.
The character is very lonely, he spends all day on the street picking up passengers, but the car is always empty.
On the day he gave birth to evil thoughts and planned to take revenge on society, he showed pity for the prostitutes played by Jodie Foster halfway through and killed a nest of pimps.
He did not become a terrorist, but became a civilian hero in the newspaper.
The story is funny, and the character is fragile, but to be precise, he should be sick.
What's the difference?
There must be an extremely distorted part of the sick man's heart, which belongs to probability events.
Vulnerability is something that everyone has.
If vulnerability makes you feel trusted and willing to be hurt by you, then being sick is likely to hurt you.
Therefore, male characters with sick and coquettish characters will not attract most female audiences, but only the preferences of niche circles.
"Others are Hell" Xu Wenzu, "Night Scholar" white-haired ghost
In addition, although they are all hurt, the sense of vulnerability is also slightly different from what we often call the feeling of brokenness.
Like the scene of Zhu Yilong vomiting blood mentioned at the beginning of the article, it belongs to the sense of brokenness, which is more exposed than the sense of vulnerability.
The sense of vulnerability is more restrained, but I can't help but show pain.
The more he tried to hide his scars, the more he felt sorry for his strength in God's perspective for an audience who had long known that he was covered in bruises
Shen Wei of "Town Soul", which made Zhu Yilong famous in a battle, is typical.
In front of the person is an elegant and steady professor, but behind the back is a black-robed envoy who has silently waited for someone for tens of thousands of years. Because of this, he suffered physical and mental damage, and he had to pretend not to know and pretend to be okay in front of the other party.
It is clear that he is the one who can fight the most, but he has always become a person who is always abused because of this weakness.
Digging deeper, all his pretense is strong in order not to worry his loved ones.
This sense of vulnerability ultimately points to his affection and tenderness, not just due to personality, but to a specific attribute that you have.
Who can withstand this love with pain and heaviness, but exclusively.
In the same way, An Xin in "Crazy" is the most powerful character in the whole show, in order to confront the vicious gangsters for decades, and finally uproot the entire criminal chain.
But in this long process, he always silently left the harm to himself.
In the end, a sense of vulnerability does not mean that a person is really weak, but rather a possibility that is strong because of love.
Vulnerability is about feeling safe, not dangerous.
Because no matter how strong he is, he will not hurt you.
Of course, the most important point is that this vulnerability must not be intentional by the actor to know it.
Natural expression is the best quality, and it can also be pinched.
If it is mixed with too many deliberate ingredients, it will appear very greasy.
Remember, a weak chicken that is deliberately called, but no one wants to watch.
But a strong person who is only vulnerable for you, who can not love.