The 86th edition of "Journey to the West" accompanied the childhood of countless of us, and many of its classic images are still unforgettable. It was also director Yang Jie's high requirements for roles at that time that made "Journey to the West", a classic film and television work. In the casting of Journey to the West at that time, the role of "Red Son" stumped director Yang Jie.
According to Yang Jie's requirements, at that time, "Red Son" had to find a cute-looking and clever little actor, and also appear on camera with a bare ass. "Red Son" actor Zhao Xinpei resolutely disagreed at the time, but under the director's "coaxing", he could only comply. Now "Red Son" is worth hundreds of billions, only because the actor Zhao Xinpei retired at his peak.
First, the national casting stands out
In the early days of filming of "Journey to the West", Yang Jie, as a director, began to look for actors across the country. Because most of the images in "Journey to the West" need makeup, many actors only need to meet the standards of body movements, and facial images are not considered at all. However, when choosing the actor of "Red Son", director Yang Jie made a difficulty.
"Red Child" is one of the few characters in the whole play that does not require makeup, and it is also necessary to find an actor who looks cute and has aura. In order to find a suitable actor for "Red Son", director Yang Jie traveled all over the country to literary troupes. Finally, under the recommendation of others, Zhao Xinpei, who has acting experience and line skills, was selected to play "Red Son".
Second, start shooting and refuse to take off your pants
When filming the scene where the four masters and apprentices met the Red Son, Zhao Xinpei, who had originally agreed to shoot, suddenly cried and refused to shoot. Director Yang Jie hurriedly stepped forward to inquire, but Zhao Xinpei was unwilling to say why he refused to shoot. Under the persuasion of the staff, Zhao Xinpei finally said the reason, which was because he did not want to take off his pants.
It turned out that in order to restore the image of the "Red Son", director Yang Jie requested that the "Red Son" must appear with a bare butt, which made 8-year-old Zhao Xinpei embarrassed. Taking off his pants in front of so many people, although Zhao Xinpei is a child, he is still very unhappy. For this reason, director Yang Jie persuaded Zhao Xinpei and agreed to Zhao Xinpei's condition, that is, there can be no girls on the shooting site.
Third, retire at the peak
During the filming, Zhao Xinpei's hard work was liked by everyone in the crew. Because this scene requires the "Red Child" to be hung from a tree, but for the young Zhao Xinpei, this is also very much to insist on. When this scene was filmed, director Yang Jie found that his hands and feet had been worn and bleeding, but Zhao Xinpei didn't say a word, which made Yang Jie uncomfortable.
After the broadcast of "Journey to the West", the national audience quickly recognized the bare-assed little actor. If it were put today, Zhao Xinpei would inevitably embark on the road of child stardom, but at that time, young Zhao Xinpei had no intention of developing in the entertainment industry, and immediately returned to school after filming. Since then, Zhao Xinpei has never made a single play, and "Red Son" has become his "masterpiece".
Fourth, it is now worth hundreds of billions
At that time, Zhao Xinpei, who was popular all over the country, did not continue filming, but devoted himself to learning. With his efforts, he was successfully admitted to Peking University and subsequently entered the Chinese Academy of Sciences. While in school, he met his lifelong wife, and when they were in graduate school, the two made a vow to keep their promises and entered the palace of marriage.
In 2014, Zhao Xinpei founded his own company, mainly developing the agricultural industry, combining high technology and agriculture to empower agriculture and increase agricultural production, but made a profit of tens of millions in a few years. Today's Zhao Xinpei has dozens of famous companies, and his worth has already exceeded 100 million. If he had chosen to continue filming at that time, he might not have achieved as much as he has now.
Fifth, Yang Jie passed away and went to mourn
Director Yang Jie passed away in 2017, and at the memorial service, many actors from the "Journey to the West" crew went to see director Yang Jie off for the last ride, and Zhao Xinpei also personally went to mourn. At this time, he had lost his childhood dexterity, and although his figure began to flourish, he could still see the appearance of the "red child" between his eyebrows, and the six-year-old child recognized him at a glance in the crowd.
In the interview, Zhao Xinpei said that he was very grateful to director Yang Jie for letting him play "Red Son", and also expressed his views on not acting in the entertainment industry. He said he didn't like acting and just wanted to do something meaningful through his abilities. Now Zhao Xinpei is helping the development of the agricultural industry in full swing, maybe this is the meaning of his life.
epilogue
Someone asked Zhao Xinpei if he went back to decades ago, would he choose to continue acting when he was popular? Zhao Xinpei said that it is no longer meaningful to talk about it now, now we just do our job, these things can only be left to everyone to guess. For Zhao Xinpei, insisting on being yourself is the most appropriate.
Do you remember what the "Red Son" looks like in "Journey to the West"?