"I'm going to be a Hollywood star one day."
In 1980, 14-year-old Wu Junmei said this to her mother Zhu Manfang, and her mother Zhu Manfang asked her:
"You're not even a Chinese star, you want to be a Star in Hollywood?" You can't even go to Hong Kong, you still want to go to the United States? Do you know where America is?"
Why not?
Young Wu Junmei asked rhetorically, and her mother just shook her head amusedly.
Since then, Wu Junmei planted the seed of film in her brain, and 15 years later, this seed took root and sprouted, and Wu Junmei became the highest award in the film industry and a lifetime judge of the "Academy Awards" of the United States Academy Awards.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13">01</h1>
In 1966, Wu Junmei was born in Shanghai to a well-off family, her mother Zhu Manfang was an actor, and her father was a middle school teacher. Below Wu Junmei, there is also a sister.
Unlike her sister Wen Jing's personality, Wu Junmei's personality was more like a boy when she was a child, and she often begged her mother to take her to the set, and the cameras on the set, the costumes, including the lines between the actors, she felt particularly funny.
Without more introduction from her mother, she can get acquainted with herself, and she can talk with the camera brother and the director's uncle.
At that time, foreign things were still very fresh, and her mother would often bring back some foreign film magazines, and although Wu Junmei could not understand the above English, she still loved it.
She would sneak out her mother's old clothes, imitate the characters on them, and then learn the tone of speech she learned on the set, and play alone in the room.
When she was in middle school, Wu Junmei often took the No. 26 bus, and she especially wanted to become the conductor of the No. 26 bus, because there were so many people in the whole car, everyone had to listen to the conductor, and she felt that it was a special cow.
Soon, her ideals changed again, she wanted to become a diplomat, to work all over the world, but when she really had the opportunity to attend the Beijing Institute of International Relations, she changed her mind again.
Her ideal is today to change tomorrow.
In 1983, "Long Live Youth" was selected for actors in the country, and Wu Junmei danced a disco without music, and the youthful atmosphere that swept across her face infected director Huang Shuqin.
This is Wu Junmei's first real film, although the role is not much, but wu Junmei is still very happy to cooperate with Ren Zhixiang, Zhang Min and other people who were popular at the time.
In 1985, Wu Junmei received a call from Ning Ying, the assistant director of "The Last Emperor", and felt that she was particularly suitable for the role of "Wen Xiu", so she invited her to Beijing to audition.
After Wu Junmei heard that it was only an audition, she proudly said to the director: If it can be decided that it is me, I will go to Beijing, otherwise it will be forgotten.
An actor who has not made his debut dares to be so "arrogant", and Wu Junmei is definitely the first.
I didn't expect her "arrogance", but let the role of "Wen Xiu" fall on her. Because the director saw the shadow of Wen Xiu in her.
When Wen Xiu was born, the family was already poor except for the false name of a famous and prestigious family, but Wen Xiu's mother was very far-sighted, she cut down on food and clothing, did not give up the education of Wen Xiu, and when she was more than ten years old, poetry and song were already proficient.
Wen Xiu relied on her character and talent to learn, and was elected to the palace at the age of 14, if it were not for the fact that the family was too poor and sour, the queen's throne would be hers.
Wen Xiu is full of poetry books, and in the face of great right and wrong, she is more transparent than Wanrong.
Puyi colluded with the Japanese, Wenxiu objected several times, but Puyi She had an iron heart to restore, Wenxiu did not want to be a traitor slave, with the help of his sister Wen Shan, and Puyi against Bo Gongtang, and finally successfully divorced.
Wen Xiu's demeanor is dignified, but there is a stubbornness in his bones, and there is a hint of recognition of death, which needs to be interpreted by the actor.
Young actors have little experience, and if they are similar to the character's personality, it is naturally the best.
Wu Junmei got this role, and there was some element of luck in it.
This film was filmed for more than 9 months, and through this movie, Wu Junmei met Chen Chong.
In the film, Chen Chong plays WanRong, and the two do not have many opponents in the film, but outside the play, the two Shanghai girls have endless words.
Chen Chong was studying film production in the United States at the time, earning tuition in Hollywood in his spare time.
Prior to this, Chen Chong had already become famous in China, and Chen Chong's experience of breaking into Hollywood alone made Wu Junmei very envious.
Under the influence of Chen Chong, Wu Junmei decided to study abroad.
But romantic by nature, she did not choose film school, but went to a private university in Hawaii to study tourism.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="39">02</h1>
Wu Junmei, who first came to the United States, brushed dishes, worked as a nanny, and from the second semester, she was able to support herself.
In 1988, "The Last Emperor" won many awards internationally, Wu Junmei also became famous in the United States, she went to Los Angeles, and more people came to her to make movies.
But she found that everyone around her was studying film, and Wu Junmei felt that she was a bit out of place, so she gave up her travel major for a year and studied film instead.
Before coming to the United States, Wu Junmei received a special gift from Bernardo Bertolucci, the director of "The Last Emperor", with $2,000 encapsulated in a letter, which was the first time Wu Junmei saw us dollars and the first time she got so much remuneration.
She hid in the toilet, counted over and over again, and finally confirmed that it was 2,000 yuan.
It was director Bernardo Bertolucci who learned that Wu Junmei was going to study in the United States and deliberately exchanged her salary for US dollars.
After actually coming to the United States to make a movie, Wu Junmei found that everything had to be adapted.
Domestically, she doesn't need to audition, and in the U.S., if she wants to get a role, she has to accept the selection of an "employer" like a job-seeking employee.
However, this also tempered her personality to a certain extent, she no longer knows that "the sky is high" and slowly began to adapt to the Hollywood film environment.
But even if she is ready to adapt to various preparations, Wu Junmei will still be brushed off because she does not understand the rules.
Once, she managed to pass the interview and got the role of a Chinese SWAT officer, and when she did her homework and gave advice to the director on the set, the director did not even have room for negotiation, and directly replaced her and let a Vietnamese actor play.
Another time, because of her conservative personality, she rejected a movie with a kiss scene, and a chance to be the heroine was lost to her.
In the first few years of coming to the United States, Wu Junmei has been "adapting" and has always been on the verge of being an actor or not.
But every time, when she wanted to give up, there was another chance to come to the door and force her to continue. Even if her career is not going well, Wu Junmei seems to be particularly popular with the American media.
In 1990, he was named "The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine in the United States.
In 1993, "Joy Club" was released in the United States, and Wu Junmei's grandmother, Anmei, was named "beautiful and sad Asian face" by American magazine.
In 1996, due to a Chinese wedding, she was again named "the first best dressed bride of the year" by People magazine.
In 1995, Wu Junmei finally ushered in a turning point in her career, the famous British director Peter . Greener approached her and wanted to work with her.
Also in this year, the 29-year-old Wu Junmei was promoted to a lifetime judge at the Academy Awards in the United States, becoming the second Chinese actress to receive the award.
The first Chinese actress to win the award was Lu Yan, 67, who had worked with her in "Joy Club". And she won this honor only a year before Wu Junmei.
When the script of "Pillow Book" was delivered to her, Wu Junmei struggled for a long time, and the bold erotic shots in the film made her hesitate.
But after a few years as a judge and after watching countless films, her thinking has changed a lot.
In the end, in the face of secular prejudices and the pursuit of art, she chose the latter.
This is wu Junmei after entering the show business circle, starring in the largest scale of the film, the scale is comparable to "Color Ring".
Wu Junmei's performance did not disappoint the director, and her tense acting skills have been affirmed by many filmmakers.
Ge You once commented on her film:
An actress who has had such a film can retire.
This film made Wu Junmei's career in the United States have a big breakthrough, and after that, she has starred in a number of movies.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="15">03</h1>
Soon after entering the new century, because of her father's sudden stroke, Wu Junmei returned to China, and with her return to China, there was her talented director husband Oscar.
On the first call with Oscar, Wu Junmei felt that this person was a gentleman.
At that time, Oscar was the producer of the movie "Disappearing Children", and when the film was not yet filmed, Oscar gave Wu Junmei a phone call.
Wu Junmei on the other end of the phone, attracted by Oscar's magnetic low baritone voice, playfully asked Oscar if she had ever thought of finding a Chinese girlfriend.
Oscar did not answer Wu Junmei head-on, but said that his young daughter was practicing boxing.
The clever Wu Junmei suddenly understood that Oscar was not only rejecting her, but also showed that he was married and had children.
Wu Junmei has had two emotional experiences, at this time, she has a hard time withdrawing from the previous relationship.
She fell in love with a husband with a wife, loved to death and lived, and in this life he did not marry.
No matter how strong the feelings, the day when time has deteriorated.
She waited for three years, the road to marriage was still far away, she was tired, and the original sea oath mountain alliance became the most ridiculous joke.
Before meeting her husband, during the filming of "Dragon in China", Wu Junmei and the male number two in the film, Japanese actor Hiroshi Sato, fell in love because of the drama.
At that time, both of them were developing in the United States, both were newcomers to Hollywood, and although Wu Junmei was famous, she was often in a situation where she could not receive the drama and had to work odd jobs to maintain her life.
It was a carefree relationship, and the two of them wantonly exerted their youth and expressed their fiery love for the other.
But the lack of bread in love is usually a tragedy.
Even though Wu Junmei is not a material girl, the two still often quarrel over economic problems. Later, Hiroshi Sato returned to Japan, and the relationship ended without a problem.
On the set of "Disappearing Children", Wu Junmei saw the Oscar for the first time, and with just one glance, she decided that he was not her own dish.
Young girls always judge people by their appearance, especially when choosing the other half, and Wu Junmei is no exception.
Oscar is not so good-sounding, bald, and not handsome in the face, the point is that he doesn't look so young, he's 11 years older than her.
But more contact, Wu Junmei found that in addition to not being handsome, Oscar is an advantage, he is careful and talented, temporarily revising the script, balancing the contradictions between actors, he always has a way to break the situation, in general, the crew has nothing he can't do.
Wu Junmei found that she was once again in love with her husband.
But this time, Wu Junmei waited, and two years later, Oscar divorced his ex-wife and married Wu Junmei.
There is also a small story about who the two proposed.
Wu Junmei's sister also married a foreigner, but the wedding was held in Shanghai.
Wu Junmei wants to return to China to attend her sister's wedding, and Oscar also wants to go with her. Wu Junmei said half seriously and half jokingly: In what name are you going? Or will you marry me?
Oscar didn't say a word, and immediately agreed.
So the two rushed to get a license before their sister's wedding, and after returning home, Oscar symbolically gave the Wu family's parents a dowry of $999, and the marriage was approved by the parents.
In fact, Oscar is a very qualified husband and is particularly tolerant of Wu Junmei.
Wu Junmei said that he is a man who loves cleanliness very much, but Wu Junmei is just the opposite, no performance, no interview, she is unkempt all day, Oscar really can't watch it, persuade her to pay attention to her own image.
But persuasion was ineffective, and in the end, Oscar had to help Wu Junmei prepare the clothes she would wear the next day before going to bed every day to "save" his wife's image.
In addition to the tolerance of life, Oscar is also very supportive of Wu Junmei's work.
When Wu Junmei received the invitation to the "Pillow Book", she was very contradictory.
But the director waited for her for 8 months, and because she was Chinese, he changed the mother in the film to Chinese.
But Wu Junmei is still conflicted, and she is worried that Oscar will not accept her to make such a drama. She asked Oscar for her opinion, but oscar was very supportive after reading the script, and comforted her not to care about his feelings.
With the support of the Oscars, Wu Junmei finally put her mind at ease, and it was also this drama that made Wu Junmei's once conservative mentality change a lot.
A few years later, the stylist let Wu Junmei wear a silk long skirt, the texture of the long skirt made Wu Junmei look noble and elegant, the fly in the ointment is that the traces of underwear are somewhat defeated by the overall beauty.
Under the gaze of everyone, Wu Junmei slightly lifted her skirt, and without saying a word, she took off her underwear, startling others to close her mouth, but she said easily, how simple, this will not be solved.
This kind of extravagant style is very Wu Junmei.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="16">04</h1>
In the first few years of returning to China, Wu Junmei participated in many interviews, that is, in this interview, we learned about Wu Junmei's experience in the United States.
At the same time, it is also this interview that allows us to discover Wu Junmei, who acts in a way that dares to speak.
The experience of the love period, if it were not for her self-exposure, it is estimated that no one would know, but she did not shy away from saying it.
When evaluating Feng Xiaogang, Wu Junmei said that she was "shabudded" by Feng Xiaogang.
The role of Guan Zhilin in "Big Shots", Feng Xiaogang was first Ding Wu Junmei, and also called Wu Junmei.
Wu Junmei felt that this matter had been decided in this way, and then waited for the crew to start up.
One day, a friend asked her, are you starring in "Big Names", Wu Junmei said yes. But people say that "Big Shot" has been filmed.
Wu Junmei felt very puzzled, but the verbal agreement had no legal effect and could only give up.
It was a pity that she could not cooperate with Ge You. Because Ge You once said that she is one of the few actresses he wants to work with the most.
In 1996, "The Pillow Book" won a special prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and the festival invited her to attend the award ceremony, but Wu Junmei refused.
She said:
"There is no need, the scenes are all filmed, there is no need to create this atmosphere of big stars for myself, I always feel that the next step in being held up to heaven is to be trampled to the ground, so in order to prevent being stepped on the ground, I never want to enjoy the taste of being held up to heaven." 」
This kind of sobriety, few young actors can do.
Wu Junmei really became famous in China in the 2009 hit drama "Snail Residence", she played Mrs. Song, many classic lines in the play.
Like what:
"Women who live to my age should have understood that men are the same." Stepping stones are needed when you are young, you need a strong needle in middle age, and you need a crutch when you are old. I deserve to have made my own stepping stones..."..."
"I have been planting watermelons for 20 years, and when it comes to the harvest season, I am harvested by others. If your man is like this, can you also wave your sleeve without taking away a cloud? ”
Mrs. Song's sobriety has made many women see the reality and sadness of marriage.
If Wu Junmei in "Snail Residence" is just a middle-aged woman, then Li Muzi in "The Legend of Hot Mom" lets us see a fashion demon Wu Junmei.
The span of Wu Junmei's role is so large that people always wonder if this is the same actor. For example, Zhen Huan in "Ruyi Biography", Liao Jiamin in "Elite Lawyer" and so on.
In addition, Wu Junmei is also a "Song Meiling professional household", she has played Song Meiling three times in "Song Family Dynasty", "The Great Cause of The Founding of the People's Republic" and "The Flying Eagle Who Went Away".
The young Song Meiling in "The Song Family Dynasty", that confident and arrogant little eye, shows the pride and rebellion of miss Song Family Second Miss.
Song Meiling in "The Distant Eagle" has a brilliant style.
Song Meiling in "The Great Cause of The Founding of the People's Republic" is graceful and luxurious, but does not lose the style of the mother of the country.
Each edition has its own character and is unforgettable.
Therefore, Wu Junmei's acting skills have never been questioned by the audience.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17">05</h1>
Married to Oscar for more than twenty years, not having children is Wu Junmei and Oscar's biggest regret.
It was not too late for her to get married at the age of 30, and in the early days of marriage, she and Oscar also discussed that they would have 11 children and form a football team.
But to develop a career a few years before marriage, the children were delayed.
It wasn't until she saw that her sister's children were very cute that Wu Junmei felt that she should have her own children.
She began to actively prepare for pregnancy and asked her sister for various experiences, but for half a year, a year, two years, her stomach never moved.
Seeing that she was almost 40 years old, Wu Junmei was a little anxious, she had 9 IVF operations, but what greeted her was a failure again and again.
In an interview, a reporter asked what you would do if you chose again.
Wu Junmei said that girls should do it or do it, work, promotion can wait, but giving birth to children can not wait.
It is not difficult to see from this sentence that Wu Junmei regrets his original decision to "wait", but what can he do? Women's reproductive age is only a few years.
However, Oscar and his ex-wife have two daughters, and Wu Junmei treats them as if they were his own, and has invited Oscar's ex-wife and daughter to travel to China.
Nowadays, Wu Junmei, who is over 55 years old, has long shifted the focus of her career to China, in addition to playing the roles of Li Muzi, Zhen Huan and other roles that we are familiar with, last year's hit drama "Great Qin Fu", there is a Lady Huayang she played, in the play, Wu Junmei's style is still the same.
Wu Junmei is not a beautiful woman in the traditional sense, but because of her active and playful personality, she is particularly outstanding among the actors.
The roles she plays, each one is different, you can't see Wu Junmei's shadow in the role, which is an important reason why she is very popular with the audience.
Just the success of her career can't make up for her lack of children, but where is life perfect?