Preamble:
What supports an ordinary person who has never been on the stage, who has been floating in the treacherous ocean of the entertainment industry for 8 years, and finally turned into a popular actor?
Stand-in period: 8 years Andy Lau, struggling under the halo of stars
Du Yiheng, an ordinary person, has a very similar face to actor Andy Lau.
Around 2000, under the recommendation of his agent, he started his first job in the entertainment industry - becoming Andy Lau's full-time stand-in.
For Du Yiheng, this opportunity is undoubtedly an opportunity to change his fate, and being able to get close to stars is unimaginable for a person outside the entertainment industry.
However, the reality is cruel, and he soon realizes that the aura of the identity of the stand-in is not as brilliant as he imagined.
As a stand-in, he needs to imitate Andy Lau's mannerisms and speech on various occasions, and even his smile and demeanor must fit perfectly.
This is an extremely hard job, and Du Yiheng has to carefully examine his every move, for fear of revealing any flaws.
He must enter the role at any time, keep in mind Andy Lau's demeanor and demeanor, and strictly require himself not to have any flaws in front of the camera.
This caused a lot of stress in his life and also cost him the opportunity to be himself.
However, his dedication and efforts are difficult to win the recognition of his peers.
Under the halo of stars, he has always been a small and insignificant role hidden behind the scenes.
Du Yiheng is eager to have the opportunity to perform on stage, but the position of the protagonist is not destined to belong to the stand-in.
He once fantasized that one day he would be able to switch identities and move from behind the scenes to the front of the stage, winning the applause of the audience.
But this situation is really rare, and most of the stand-ins are just phantoms behind the halo of stars, and it is difficult to turn over.
Gradually, Du Yiheng became frustrated with the status quo.
He found that under the glamorous starlight, there was a figure of hard work but no recognition.
Obviously, he understands Andy Lau's acting skills better than anyone else, but he has never been able to fill that vacancy on the stage.
An imbalance in his heart prompted him to make a difference.
He realized that if he didn't take the initiative to fight for it, the opportunity would not come to his door.
Termination turmoil: Determined to stand on its own
8 years of stand-in career has given Du Yiheng a deep understanding of the entertainment industry, and he understands that if he wants to get the stage, he must take the initiative to fight for opportunities.
So, he mustered up the courage to terminate the contract with his agent, and decided to set up his own door to embark on the road of acting.
At the beginning, Du Yiheng confidently released a solo single album.
However, the response was very bleak, and the sales and attention were far behind other kings and queen-level singers.
This undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to Du Yiheng's confidence, and he originally believed that as long as he had the opportunity to show his singing voice, he would be able to win the love of the public and become famous.
The reality is that this is not the case, and no one will take a newcomer who has never heard of it in their eyes.
At this time, Du Yiheng suddenly realized that the aura of a star comes and goes easily.
He has only left Andy Lau's aura for just a few months, and the public's memory has faded, and there is no longer him in their eyes.
To re-establish his popularity and gain recognition is a hundred or a thousand times more difficult than he imagined.
The stage seemed to open its arms of indifference to him once again.
This was undoubtedly a heavy blow, and Du Yiheng fell into self-doubt.
He couldn't help but ask himself, after years of hard work in exchange for such a result, should this acting path be abandoned? He had looked up to those star-studded stages from the audience, and now the road to chasing his dreams was full of thorns.
Jiang Wenti: Establish an actor's path
The trough period did not defeat Du Yiheng, and after a short period of confusion, he chose to continue to chase his dream.
In 2005, he became acquainted with director Jiang Wen and participated in the performance of the movie "Sunny Day".
This also officially opened the curtain on him becoming an actor.
For Du Yiheng, the film audition itself was a huge challenge.
He has no systematic acting training, and all his acting skills come from the observation of stars in his years of stand-in career.
In order to be competent for the role, he worked tirelessly, repeatedly figuring out the character of the character, and interpreting all kinds of details in front of the camera.
In the end, he conquered Jiang Wen with a very realistic emotional performance and successfully passed the layers of screening.
In the process of filming the movie, Du Yiheng's dedicated work attitude and sharp acting skills left a deep impression on Jiang Wen.
So in many subsequent movies, Jiang Wen gave him the opportunity to play an important role.
Gradually, Du Yiheng has transformed from an unknown extra to a new powerful actor in the entertainment industry.
However, his path as an actor has not been smooth.
Du Yiheng's face is not only very similar to Andy Lau, but also brings certain limitations to him to play different roles in the future.
In movie auditions and role selection, Du Yiheng is often categorized as a "stand-in" and loses more opportunities.
This invisibly increased the burden of his acting skills and slowed down his development.
The road to the actor: constantly break through yourself
In the face of various difficulties, Du Yiheng did not choose to retreat, but became the driving force for him to continue to break through and improve his acting skills.
He understands that what everyone wants to remember is no longer "Andy Lau's stand-in", and he must have a unique acting personality and unforgettable superb acting skills.
So Du Yiheng began to observe and learn a lot of performance methods Xi other outstanding actors, and repeatedly scrutinized the subtle changes in the characters' personalities in front of the camera.
He spends a lot of his free time improving himself, just to be able to perfectly interpret the rich emotional world of the character's heart.
Through unremitting efforts, Du Yiheng gradually broke the label of "Andy Lau's stand-in", and proved that he was an outstanding character actor with his strength.
In the comedy "The Great Cause of the Army" co-starring with Xu Zheng in 2017, the role of Dai Anlan played by Du Yiheng is eye-catching.
The character portrayal of honesty, simplicity and wit and humor has been highly recognized by the audience and critics.
This also won Du Yiheng the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Hundred Flowers Awards that year.
In the costume drama "Ode to Joy" with Zhang Ziyi in 2019, Du Yiheng's three-dimensional and delicate villain role with torture in his heart has brought his acting skills to a new height.
The play has achieved great repercussions as soon as it was broadcast, and Du Yiheng's acting skills have been unanimously praised by all parties.
Standing out among many strong competitors, he finally won the Golden Eagle Award for Best Actor, completing the gorgeous transformation from actor stand-in to actor.
Today's Du Yiheng has grown into a first-line actor with good strength and popularity.
Film auditions and script invitations have come and gone, and the acting career has reached a new peak.
And the opportunity and foundation of all this comes from his dream of never giving up and his passion for acting.
It can be said that he interpreted the belief that "persistence will eventually win" with practical actions.
Newlywed news: a new journey on the road of affection
The success of his acting career did not occupy the whole of Du Yiheng's life.
The good news in 2023 said that after being single for many years, Du Yiheng and actress Yu Kexin have entered the palace of marriage.
Interestingly, Yu Kexin was Andy Lau's ex-girlfriend back then.
Perhaps because of similar experiences and common topics, Du Yiheng and Yu Kexin gradually became familiar at work, and then slipped to love on the basis of years of friendship.
Prior to this, Du Yiheng's love life had been kept extremely secret, and the news of the new marriage also made the entertainment industry hotly discussed.
Yu Kexin was born in a gorgeous family, highly educated, and has a lively and cheerful personality, which is in stark contrast to Du Yiheng's low-key and introverted.
But it is precisely this difference that fits the inner needs of the two.
Du Yiheng is cautious and steady, and Yu Kexin's enthusiasm and freedom have brought dazzling colors to his life.
And Yu Kexin is also eager to find a tranquility after the prosperity of the world, and Du Yiheng's rock-like reliability is the haven in her heart.
However, the older couple obviously attaches more importance to the true meaning of life, and after marriage, they choose to develop their relationship in a low-key manner, get together less and leave more, and focus on their careers.
Du Yiheng admitted frankly in an interview that instead of paying too much attention to the eyes of others, it is better to focus time and energy on family and career.
Epilogue:
Du Yiheng uses his own story to tell us that chasing dreams is a tireless journey.
Ups and downs, ups and downs, difficulties and setbacks cannot stop the firm belief in my heart.
His experience is an inspiration to all those who struggle in the entertainment industry, and it also makes people understand more deeply that the realization of dreams requires courage, and more importantly, dedication and perseverance.
But life is not only the pursuit of career, behind the success, you also need to find inner peace and tranquility.
Perhaps Du Yiheng's emotional choice is also sending us a similar signal - while chasing fame and fortune, we need to draw some warmth from the years.
May the marriage boat of him and Yu Kexin wander on the river of love and compose an ode to the joy of life together.