Alley boy
In the Xinjiekou area of Beijing, there is a celebrity, and the neighbors call him "San'er". He wandered in this area for decades, sometimes helping the neighbors to build a handle, and the neighbors were also very good to him. Nearby restaurants sometimes make him a bowl of noodles to eat without charging money. For a long time, he used to sell newspapers, which were a little more expensive than newsstands. But the neighbors were willing to buy his newspaper, knowing that he had no other livelihood.
Over the past few decades, Xinjiekou has changed a lot, many commercial buildings have been built, and the hutongs have been demolished, but San'er is still a "landmark" around Xinjiekou and is very familiar with everyone. He is a symbol of the neighborhood relations in the old Beijing hutongs, and when you see him, you can feel the simplicity and sincerity of the neighborhoods.
San'er and Zhang Yishan are also very familiar, and when they meet, they will chat for two sentences. Once, San'er met Zhang Yishan on the side of the road and said, "Hey (ái), that, you buy the newspaper." Zhang Yishan said, go ahead, buy newspapers. He bought a newspaper for 50 bucks. San'er knew Zhang Yishan's name and watched him grow up in that area. From Zhang Yishan's father's generation, the third son was there. Zhang Yishan told China News Weekly: "My generation has a very good relationship with him. ”
Does San'er know that Zhang Yishan is an actor? Zhang Yishan is also unclear. Many neighbors around him, like San'er, did not regard him as an outsider, but "watched him grow up from childhood." Now, Zhang Yishan sometimes goes back to the courtyard where his grandmother lives, and some of the grandparents in the courtyard know him, and they also feel that "the child has a chance."
What Zhang Yishan misses is exactly this kind of love between neighbors, full of kindness and natural.
For decades, Zhang Yishan spent most of his life in the Xinjiekou area. When I was a child, in a group of children, Zhang Yishan was not the child who took the initiative to pick a fight, but he also fought with his friends; he did not make a big mistake, but he was also quite skinny, and always had his own "child's idea". In the TV series "Family with Children" that made Zhang Yishan a fire into Liu Xing, Liu Xing's personality has many similarities with Zhang Yishan himself: he looks a little leper-like, loves to play poor mouth, sometimes talks quite funny and sometimes quite angry, but the key moment is still about love, jumping around, ghostly.
(Photo/ Zhang Yishan photo album "There is a mountain outside the mountain" photography / liangzi)
Xinjiekou is a paradise for him and his friends. Before he was 10 years old, it was still the style of the old hutong, door-to-door bungalows, children walking through the streets, chasing and fighting, and many of the neighbors had their own homes, but it was very convenient to visit the door.
For his native place, Zhang Yishan has an exclusive memory. He wrote in his photo album "There is a Mountain Outside the Mountain": From Xinjiekou to Xidan, he can reach it without taking the main road and crossing several alleys. How this road goes, only he and a few people know. In the hutongs, they drink Arctic soda, eat bean popsicles, play police to catch thieves, play glass balls, shoot foreign paintings, throw sandbags, kick pots, we are all wooden people, family.
Games and objects are still secondary, Zhang Yishan is more nostalgic for the emotions of the neighborhood: "When I was a child walking in the hutong, every family walked in, people would give you a bite to eat and give you a Arctic ocean to drink." At that time, people-to-people communication was face-to-face, sincere and simple. "The child star debuted, and for a long time Zhang Yishan gave most of the audience the impression of a naughty child Liu Xing. But, talking about this, he seems to have grown up a long time ago.
Growing up was what he had always longed for. When he was a child, he liked to follow his brothers and sisters "upside down", and he liked to be with people older than himself because it could bring him fresh insights.
Now, when not filming, Zhang Yishan likes to eat with his parents, meet friends, attend his father's dinner, and he likes to listen to the things of that era.
The simple memories of hutong life and the subtle education of his father also influenced Zhang Yishan's personality, and he brought these to the performance.
Tough guy kid
When Zhang Yishan was in his twenties, his father once wrote a passage to his son, including a sentence that said: "May the child be like grass, although small, but it has color and personality." Strong growth, low-key life, do not compete with trees, mo and flowers than beautiful, do things wholeheartedly, be frank. ”
Such an attitude, when he was a child, accompanied him.
( Photo/ Zhang Yishan photo album "There is a mountain outside the mountain" photography / liangzi)
At the age of 11, Zhang Yishan left Xinjiekou for the first time to go out to shoot a drama, played Tong Le in the TV series "Little Soldier Zhang Ga", and followed the crew to Baiyangdian, Hebei Province, where he stayed for four or five months. Zhang Yishan recalled to China News Weekly: "It was the first time in my life that I washed my jeans and took care of myself. ”
There was a scene of a war in which he lost his shoes and ran barefoot in the reeds, his feet punctured. The crew's eating and living conditions were more difficult, but Zhang Yishan did not feel it at the time.
The relatives who grew up watching him in the family formed a team to go to the crew to see him, and by the way, to see how the filming was going. When we arrived, we saw a child crouching in front of the pot in the distance, eating boiled cabbage and a box of rice. When I looked closer, it was my own child, and several female elders couldn't stand it. The family members who came to visit the class should leave, Zhang Yishan said to everyone as if he was fine, you should hurry up. As soon as everyone went out, he couldn't help but cry alone.
Although filming is hard, children forget it in the blink of an eye and always jump around alive. In the play, Tong Le, played by 11-year-old Zhang Yishan, is the son of a traitor, with longer hair than other small actors and a pair of round glasses. In the meantime, a reporter interviewed several small actors, Zhang Yishan stood next to him for a while shaking his legs, and then he supported his glasses for a while, and he couldn't stay idle.
Playing a character who has a relationship with the villain is not the protagonist, but the child Zhang Yishan feels very good, and the role needs him to be as he is. Several other small actors said that they liked their roles, only Zhang Yishan said that he liked Gazi in the play, and he liked it after filming.
The reporter asked him: "Your hair is long." Zhang Yishan unconsciously touched his hair: "It's long, it's long." Traitors generally have to keep this kind of head, otherwise they are not like traitors. The reporter asked: "Is it hot?" Zhang Yishan's voice was crisp: "Hot, it's hot!" No way! The reporter commented: "I see that you have sharp teeth." Zhang Yishan replied with a smack of his mouth: "Well, yes, poor." Exceptionally poor! The reporter joked: "Did you say crosstalk before?" Zhang Yishan reacted quickly: "I didn't say, heredity, this belongs to heredity." ”
From the beginning of filming his first play in Baiyangdian, it was right for him to suffer hardships in order to shape the role. In the recently released movie "The Island Keeper", there is a scene, fire bombs and gasoline bombs are set off in the background, the earth bomb is buried nearby, and the little bean played by Zhang Yishan charges along the side of the earth bomb, is opening his mouth to say "rush", stepping on the earth bomb, the earth bomb just exploded, and the wood chips, soft sand, and dirt were sprayed into the mouth at once. For an instant he was a little confused, but immediately spit out the soil and ran forward. "I can't stop, because there are so many people, and I started to set up the bombing point at seven o'clock in the morning, and I was busy for four or five hours." If this one is not filmed, it will be in vain for several hours. Zhang Yishan said.
His father also taught Zhang Yishan a lot of rules, which are often found in the culture of Shijing Hutong, Zhang Yishan counted china news weekly: "For example, when dealing with people, you should use the honorific title 'you', and adults stand and sit with you, which is absolutely not OK, for example, you must respect women." These rules have gradually been integrated into Zhang Yishan's habits of dealing with the world. In his work and life, he values love, and these are inseparable from the memories of his neighbors who cared for each other when he was a child.
In "Family with Children", Yang Zi plays the clever and clever xueba sister, and Zhang Yishan plays the naughty and mischievous younger brother. In the play, the two sisters and brothers often raise the bar, which brings a lot of joy to the audience. Nowadays, the two actors have grown up, and every time they appear on camera with Yang Zi, Zhang Yishan's superficial anger "hurts each other", but in fact he is very gentlemanly. On different occasions, he sometimes helped Yang Zi lift her skirt; if there was only one seat, he would let Yang Zi sit, he stood next to him, and when Yang Zi was uncomfortable with his head on his back when he spoke, he would crouch next to him.
The two are good friends outside the play. Zhang Yishan told China News Weekly: "The two of us have been acting together since we were young, and there is really nothing we can't talk about. Everyone is busier than before, and they see each other less often. WeChat will chat, what kind of scene to shoot, tired or not. In fact, I am a little older than her, and now the relationship between the two of us is more like my identity as an older brother, sometimes giving her advice, and when she is stressed or tired, give her relief. ”
In 2020, Zhang Yishan's "Deer Ding" starred in bad reviews after the broadcast, and Zhang Yishan, who played Wei Xiaobao, also became the target of public criticism. Previously, he was considered to be an acting actor because of his performance in "Residual Sin", and the audience response this time was undoubtedly a turnaround of Zhang Yishan's acting career.
Zhang Yishan did not hide alone, he knew that the director and producer were very uncomfortable, and sent a long text to the past. Zhang Yishan said: "They may feel that they owe me something, and they don't dare to send me WeChat." In fact, I want to say that it is a fate that we can do this together, and we have all worked hard. However, due to various problems and reasons, there is no way to present the appearance that we are trying to achieve. Now there is some criticism, which is really normal. I still hope that there will be other dramas in the future, and we can work together again and do some things that we want to do. ”
For example, in the father's message, "May the child be like grass", the "grassroots" temperament of the hutong children is also reflected in Zhang Yishan. Try your best not to put yourself too high. For the audience's bad reviews, Zhang Yishan stood on the side of the audience: "If the audience feels bad, then I must also feel bad." The audience is my food and clothing parents, and if they don't like me, I have no money to earn, no food to eat, that's true. When asked: "Are there any concerns that the audience will soon dislike you?" Zhang Yishan said, "Actually, I'm not so worried." If you do your best, you can't make the audience like you anymore, which means that you are not capable. Then no one can rely on this matter, you have to recognize. You can't lie to yourself, you have to see a little bit clearly. ”
Drama with people
In the web drama "Residual Sin" broadcast in 2016, Zhang Yishan played an undercover policeman, full of ruffians, fond of playing poor mouths, quick response, and heavy righteousness.
This role has transformed Zhang Yishan from a stereotypical child Liu Xing into a responsible tough guy in one fell swoop. There is a scene in "Family with Children", the mother let Liu Xing drink milk, saying that beautiful boys are called "cream boys". Liu Xing said: "Cream xiaosheng drank milk? Then I don't have to drink this milk, because I don't want to be a cream boy, I want to be a tough guy boy - Jiang Wen. ”
Nowadays, "tough guy xiaosheng" has also become a portrayal of Zhang Yishan himself. Whether it is Liu Xing or Yu Sin, the character has the shadow of Zhang Yishan himself: Beijing's tone, mischievous mischief, hutong teenager's skin and intelligence.
For many good actors, being able to control various roles is a proof of acting skills, and the same is true for Zhang Yishan. In each play, he wants to try different ways of acting, "If I always perform in one state, there is no fun for me." ”
"But what is particularly brilliant in your past roles is related to the strength of beijing children." Do you think this judgment is accurate? ”
"I think it's pretty accurate. Because I don't believe that an actor can completely erase all his characteristics and reinvent himself when creating a role. He must have revealed a look, an expression, a tone of voice, or a sentence, close to him personally, but too much or too little. The less you probably feel the more creative the actor is. In fact, there is no standard for performance itself. ”
"Are you afraid that the audience will give you a characterization and think that you are only suitable for playing a TV series with Beijing tuning?"
"I didn't think so. If so, it's actually very good, the audience is burying a foreshadowing for me, and if one day I make them feel completely different from the previous role, it will be a greater success for me. ”
In the recently filmed TV series "Zeng Juvenile", Zhang Yishan played a "Hutong Little Master", the story is set in Beijing in the 1980s and 1990s, which is another scene and character setting that he is familiar with, but it makes him feel the difficulty, in the past few years, he has experienced the good reputation of "Residual Sin" and the fiasco of "Deer Dingji".
Zhang Yishan said: "Ordinary people with unclear personality characteristics and life are the most difficult to act. If you are a doctor or a pilot or a warrior, the performance can be expressed by professional characteristics, and the audience can enter your path at once. This time, the character is one of the young children we may meet in life, on the road, on the bus. It is still quite difficult to perform the character characteristics of this kind of person and make the audience feel liked. In addition, the reader will compare the characters in the novel with the characters I play. Some may not be satisfactory, and the audience will feel less like it. ”
In this role, Zhang Yishan, on the one hand, combines the memories of Beijing that he grew up with, and on the other hand, he wonders how he can play the role on this basis and "fill his performance state". Thinking about it, he decided to subtract for himself: "There used to be a lot of roles, and I had to deliberately perform what the audience could like, and everyone laughed and had fun, and you succeeded." This time, I actually did not express it so hard, but lightly, more life flowing, all the energy was recycled. ”
Since he was a child, many of his life experiences, feelings about works of art, and attitudes towards life have come from listening to his elders chat. When he was a child, adults talked, he didn't interject, he always listened carefully from the sidelines, "thought it was particularly interesting", and when he grew up, he would participate in the dialogue, "What's going on?" Who has to do with whom? How were you doing then? This kind of life experience also subtly affects his attitude towards acting.
For some chaos in the industry, Zhang Yishan "is not willing to take care of that nosy." He talked about why he got into the industry: "I didn't do it because I liked the circle, nor did I want to be a star. I think I still like this, I love it. And then it just so happens that the profession I love allows me to earn money to support my family, which is actually a little bit of a thing. When the audience sees my work and feels very happy and likes it, I will have a sense of accomplishment. ”
In the industry for more than 20 years, 29-year-old Zhang Yishan revealed a kind of vicissitudes from time to time. Returning to his home in Xinjiekou after filming, he occasionally thinks about his childhood life and the changes in the hutong, and he will also be a little sentimental, "Actors, is emotionally rich."
"That era has passed, and I have grown up, and I am this age." Talking about this, the steady Zhang Yishan finally did not hide Liu Xing's cleverness, and seemed to be very solemn and said: "I have also experienced the changes in the architecture of Beijing culture." ”
Today, in the alley where he grew up in Xinjiekou, the children after school in the evening are still playful and playful, the rebellious teenagers of adolescence stand by the roadside, smoking cigarettes and raising their eyelids to look at passers-by, and the elderly grandfather sitting on the road pier chatting. What has changed is that the hutong has been widened into a road, and high-rise buildings have been erected on the flat ground, and the shops on the side of the road have also emerged. Each wave represents a different era, as if the changes in this alley are suddenly compressed in the same time and space. These experiences and changes have also been integrated into Zhang Yishan's blood.
Last year, the BTV Science and Education Channel interviewed San'er. The three children in the camera, pointing to the roads and buildings that have long changed, like a child with a good memory, introduce what was here and what was there before. San'er still loves to help people, even under the lens, it is still simple and natural. When I came to an intersection, San'er stood there, thought about it and said, "I forgot which road this is." ”
Zhang Yishan is now back at Xinjiekou, and he occasionally has such a trance. He remembered: "Our alley must be seven or eight hundred meters, before standing directly at the west entrance to see the people at the east entrance, now the alley is full of cars, parked." You can't see the end of the alley at all. I really don't feel the same taste as before. But it's also good, you suddenly find that everyone has money. ”