When it comes to the special actor who plays Mao Zedong, many people immediately think of Gu Yue.
From the first film "Xi'an Incident" to the subsequent works such as "The Founding Ceremony" and "Armageddon", the performance of the ancient moon-shaped god satisfies the audience's imagination of the founding leader.
Whether it is appearance or temperament, Gu Yue can be regarded as the "first person" who plays the chairman.
But after Gu Yue, which actor who played the chairman was most recognized by the public?
Here, Pigo is nominated for actor Wang Xia, who has played the chairman for more than 30 years.
Most people will find it unfamiliar when they first hear this name.
But when it comes to film and television works such as "Breaking New Ground", "My Long March", "Amnesty 1959" and so on, many people suddenly realize: it was him!
Since 1989's "Breaking New Ground", Wang Xia has played the chairman more than 60 times, and this record is second only to Gu Yue.
Therefore, he has also been praised by many audiences as the "second person" who plays Chairman Mao in the domestic showbiz circle.
01、
In November 1957, Wang Xiao was born in an ordinary family in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
"Bright and upright, heroic and dashing" - this is the meaning of Wang Xia's name, but in fact, from childhood to adulthood, the only requirement of his parents for Wang Xia is four words: healthy and happy.
Now the extracurricular education has been rolled in, but in that era when the country was just founded, the pressure on children was much less, and the parents really did so, and would not force Wang Xia to compete for the first and second.
Wang Xiao is also very sensible, his academic performance is quite good, and thanks to the relaxed growth environment, he has developed a strong interest in literature and art.
In the 1960s, 10-year-old Wang Xia was already exposed to dance.
And he began to learn from a young age, until he was selected by the teacher at the age of 12, entered the dance class of Zhejiang Art School, and boys danced from primary school, which is not so common even now, let alone in such a special era.
And what's even more "incredible" is that he still studied ballet.
However, after only one year of studying ballet, Wang Xia "changed his mind".
In 1970, at the age of 13, he happened to go to a show with his parents, and at a young age, he was deeply attracted by the Yue opera performances on the stage.
Compared with ballet, he suddenly realized that this kind of stage performance with exquisite costumes and singing style was what he really liked.
After returning from watching the performance, Wang Xia resolutely decided to "change careers" in the opera industry, and with the support of his parents, the teacher transferred him to the Yue opera class.
In the following years, Wang Xiao immersed himself in the study of Yue opera, while unlocking a new skill: learning drama performance.
Interest has always led him into new areas, and on the drama stage, Wang Xiao finally found a real "sense of belonging".
At the age of 25, Wang Xiao was successfully admitted to the Central Experimental Drama Theatre (later the National Drama Theatre), and with his superb and sophisticated acting skills, he soon became the backbone of the new generation of the troupe.
02、
If you have been staying in the troupe, Wang Xia's future path is relatively clear, sometimes participating in drama performances in the troupe, sometimes acting in film and television dramas, such as playing a small role in the 87 version of the TV series "Liaozhai". Stable career, eat and wear without worry, but may also work quietly in the position of actor for a lifetime.
But at this moment, Wang Xia, who had been in the drama theater for more than 6 years, suddenly ushered in a turning point in his life.
It was 1989, and the Shanghai Film Studio was looking for actors for the young Mao Zedong for the film "Breaking New Ground."
The film tells the history of the founding of our party in 1921, and it focuses on the portrayal of 13 delegates who participated in the congress.
The other 12 representative actors are easy to determine, but it is difficult to find a special actor to play Mao Zedong.
On the one hand, this is the first time that the image of young Mao Zedong appears in film and television dramas; on the other hand, playing Chairman Mao needs to go through political review, whether it is appearance, resume, and qualifications, it needs to meet the standards.
Although the various performing arts units provide many actor candidates, there is no suitable target for choosing to choose from.
The director group thought that it was really not possible, so they let Wu Gang, a new actor submitted by Beijing Renyi, come to play, although he was only 27 years old, his appearance was not too consistent, but the breath in his eyes was very similar to Mao Zedong in his youth.
Originally, this matter was almost settled, but one day the assistant director looked through the resumes of all the actors again and was suddenly attracted by a photo, because the silhouette was indeed somewhat similar to Chairman Mao in his youth.
This nose, this eye, this face, clearly exudes a bit of the youthful radiance of the chairman.
This actor is Wang Xia, who was submitted by the National Drama Theatre.
In this way, Wang Xia, who was rehearsing on the stage, suddenly received a notice to go to Shanghai for an interview immediately.
Although Wang Xia had also starred in some film and television dramas before this, he never thought that he would really play Chairman Mao one day.
When he appeared in the image of young Mao Zedong in accordance with the director's request, wearing a simple long shirt and dressing up by the stylist, everyone in the crew boiled over.
The director was even more excited to say bluntly that the Wang Xia in front of him was almost like running out of the oil painting "Mao Zedong Goes to Anyuan", too similar!
So the role of the young Mao Zedong in "Breaking New Ground" was thus determined, and Wu Gang, who was "eliminated", actually did not bid farewell to this role.
2 years later, he joined the crew of the movie "Mao Zedong and His Son" and played the young Mao Zedong in the film, which was a wish, and 26 years later he also completely went out of the circle with a role called "Secretary Dakang".
03、
1989 was definitely the most memorable year since Wang Xia became an artist.
It is reasonable to say that for a person like Wang Xia, who has rich performance experience, any performance can be as good as the water.
But as a film actor, especially a male lead actor, many of the performance experience on stage can not be displayed.
To perform on camera and under the gaze of dozens of pairs of eyes, or to play a big man like the chairman, the initial joy and excitement quickly turn into anxiety and nervousness that cannot be concealed.
Under such an emotional pressure, Wang Xia's problem was soon exposed.
First of all, the lines, Wang Xia always felt dry to say, like a robot repeating.
The most damning thing is because of nervousness, and he often forgets words.
There is also the pinching of the chairman's words and deeds, in his own view, it is just "Dong Shi Gong", and even he himself feels too fake to make people uncomfortable.
After a few days of filming, Wang Xia was very depressed: except for his appearance similar to that of the chairman when he was young, he seemed to be useless.
But as a powerful actor, he can still make positive changes in time.
Wang Xia felt that the reason why he acted so awkwardly was because he did not know enough about the role and the role of the chairman.
To this end, he specially took a leave of absence to go to the chairman's hometown of Hunan, from Yuelu Academy and Orange Island to Yang Kaihui's former residence, he traveled to the place where the chairman had stayed, to visit the chairman's cousin and old friends.
In addition, Wang Also went through a large number of materials and videos of Mao Zedong's youth, practicing each of his facial movements hundreds of times.
Before that, Wang Xia only interpreted the revered great man from the perspective of "fan";
But as his understanding of Mao Zedong deepened, he was no longer the "clumsy imitator" of the beginning, but used his heart to interpret the image of the great man he was familiar with.
04、
"Breaking New Ground" became a turning point in Wang Xia's life, and since then, he has played a lot of the image of the chairman in his youth and middle age, and his portrayal in "Jinggangshan", "My Long March", "Amnesty 1959", "Blood Battle Xiangjiang" is particularly impressive, and he also won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actor with "My Long March".
Some people say that among all the special actors who play the young and middle-aged Mao Zedong, he is the closest to the character archetype.
"Zhang is relaxed and relaxed, and retracted freely", this is the evaluation of Wang Xia's performance by many people, in Pigo's view, he really entered the inner world of the chairman and integrated himself and the character together.
Looking back over the past 30 years, Wang Xiao has played Chairman Mao nearly 60 times, and he can be called the second "Mao Zedong special actor" in China in terms of the number of works and the recognition of the audience.
Wang Xia also admitted that "no matter how many times he has acted, he has a sense of mission", even if he has to suffer more for the role, he is willing.
When filming "Blood Battle Xiangjiang", Wang Xia, who was nearly 60 years old, lost 20 pounds in less than a month in order to make himself "lose weight a little", and almost collapsed his body.
For him, since he must do his best to act, if he can't get the recognition and support of the audience, then what is the meaning of the performance?
But as an actor, he does not want to let himself be shackled to the heavy identity of "special actor", he feels that a good actor should be able to play any role.
Wang Xiao once confessed that he admired Tang Guoqiang the most, because he could not only play Mao Zedong, but also played the characters of Yongzheng and Zhuge Liang quite wonderfully.
He expected to try more roles, even costume dramas, but only one thing, that is, not to play the villain.
Having its own principles and bottom line, low-key never hype, focusing on the acting career, actors like Wang Xia are becoming more and more valuable in the showbiz circle of pursuing fame and profit.
Although he has played Mao Zedong in film and television works many times, Wang Xia did not give up his favorite drama stage and still worked as an actor in the National Drama Theatre.
Wang Xia on the drama stage not only continued to interpret Mao Zedong in dramas such as "Red Star Shines on China" and "Serving the People", but also starred in classic plays such as "A Q Zheng biography" and "Peach Blossom Fan", which were highly praised by the audience.
05、
Now that Wang Xia is 64 years old, he is still working in the film and television circle, and from time to time there are new works launched.
He also followed the trend, registered social accounts, shared his experiences in filming, and wrote articles about his acting experience and special feelings for great people.
A few days ago, he also appeared on the CCTV Movie Channel 'Today Film Review' program, as the main speaker to convey to the audience the spirit of Jinggangshan on the story of the movie "Autumn Harvest Uprising", 28 years ago, 36-year-old Wang Xia starred in this film, and now when he talks about this work again, Mei Yujian is still full of strength.
Paying tribute to Wang Xia, it is precisely because of his three-point interpretation that the image of the chairman's youth can be so truly restored and presented!
Text/Pippi Film Editorial Department: Ah Zhi
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