Preface
Semyon, a man who has been away from the star road for 9 years, his increasingly thin figure, is he still persevering?
He used to shine on the screen, the 9-year-old genius boy who worked with the "God of Gamblers" and "Ghost Horse", and now, when he is 40 years old, is he happy?
At the age of 9, is he the pride of the sky?
In 1993, in a martial arts training class in Beijing, the coach's eyes fell on a little boy with a tiger's head.
The boy's name was Semyon, and he had short black hair and piercing eyes.
This chance encounter changed the trajectory of his life.
Semyon was active by nature, and his parents wanted him to learn to dance, but he was not interested in dance clothes.
As a native of Beijing, his parents both have jobs within the system, and their lives are not poor.
Sending him to learn martial arts is also so that he can consume that excess energy.
When director Wang Jing entered this martial arts training class for casting, his eyes lit up.
This perverse little boy is simply the embodiment of the role of "Hong Wending" in his new movie.
So, Xie Miao was arranged in the movie "New Shaolin Five Ancestors" to play with the popular movie star Jet Li.
There are not many scenes, but he is very eye-catching behind Jet Li.
Because the appearance of the two people is somewhat similar, the crew simply arranged for him to play Jet Li's son.
That year, Semyon was only 9 years old.
After the release of "New Shaolin Five Ancestors", he became popular overnight.
was not a beautiful facial feature, but it burst out with a different brilliance on the screen.
The audience scrambled to discuss this perverse child, praising him for "more like Jet Li's son than Jet Li".
Semyon has become the darling of the entertainment industry.
Wang Jing was optimistic that he had a good foundation in martial arts, so he personally signed him into the company and began to build this cash cow.
On the same stage as the "God of Gamblers" and "Ghost Horse", he is a rising star
Semyon's second film was "God of Gamblers 2" with Chow Yun-fat.
This time, he plays Chow Yun-fat's son Hung Tianxiang.
At that time, Chow Yun-fat was at the peak of his career.
Being able to cooperate with the "God of Gamblers" is undoubtedly a leap in Semyon's acting career.
He doesn't have many scenes, but playing against idols is a rare and valuable experience for him.
"God of Gamblers 2" is popular, not only Semyon.
Hao Shaowen, who starred in Chow Yun-fat's daughter in the same movie, also became famous in one fell swoop, and was called two members of the "child star F4" along with Xie Miao.
In the crew, Chow Yun-fat loved Xie Miao very much, not only gave him a heavy red envelope, but also often laughed with him.
For a child actor who has just debuted, this is undoubtedly a great encouragement.
In between filming, Semyon also got acquainted with fresh meat actor Aaron Kwok.
Aaron Kwok was also in the limelight at that time, and had just finished filming "East Evil and West Poison" with Maggie Cheung.
"At that time, Aaron Kwok used to tease me, and I also learned Runi from him. Semyon later recalled.
The lovable good kid in Vanity Fair
Under the blessing of Wang Jing, Xie Miao has participated in many teen action movies one after another.
He has frequently cooperated with senior actors such as Lu Songxian and Huang Rihua, and his acting skills are constantly improving.
Lu Songxian once commented that he was "a child with great actor potential".
In their collaborative film Peter Pan, Semyon played the son of Lu Songxian.
For this role, he gave up his summer vacation and entered a martial arts class to train for half a year, and finally learned new martial arts moves.
As a pioneer of the post-90s, Semyon became the idol of all children in that era.
With a skinny body and messy short hair, it is very cute.
Every winter and summer vacation screening season, his films can always attract audiences and create a considerable box office.
"If I had a son, I had to make him as lovely as Semyon. Many mothers sighed.
On the set, everyone doted on this lively little boy.
He is often mischievous and mischievous, but he is rarely scolded.
"Miao Miao is like this, you just let him go. The director often said this to the staff.
But just when Semyon's career was in full swing, a bizarre sudden attack.
"God of Gamblers", he chose to give up the peak
In 1997, 11-year-old Semyon completed the filming of "Naked Dragon".
This is another action movie tailored for Wang Jing after "New Shaolin Five Ancestors".
He originally thought that this was just another small stop on his acting path.
But not long after the finale, his parents told him that he would end his life in the entertainment industry and return to school to study normally Xi.
It turned out that during the filming of "Naked Dragon", Xie Miao's parents had consulted Chow Yun-fat and Wang Jing.
Wang Jing, who has always regarded him as his own, advocated that he continue to develop, while Chow Yun-fat suggested that he should be put back on track.
In a dilemma, the parents finally chose to follow Chow Yun-fat's advice.
In order to encourage Semyon to return to his studies, Chow Yun-fat also specially gave him a heavy red envelope.
Wang Jing did not understand this and insisted that this was the best time for Semyon's development.
But under the decision of his parents, Semyon still quit the entertainment industry.
No one knows how much confusion the decision has caused him at just 11 years old.
He was a little proud of what he had achieved, and he was confused about what he was about to lose.
But on second thought, I don't really like acting anyway.
I guess I'll be a lot happier if I let go of that.
After graduating from college, he did not give up his persistence in his dream
After retiring from the entertainment industry, Semyon returned to school.
He calmly completed his secondary school studies and later entered the Beijing Film Academy to learn Xi acting.
During this period, he participated in several college student works, and also tried to contact former directors, hoping to return to the film and television industry.
But he became famous too early, and he has been forgotten by this circle.
In 2005, at the age of 22, Semyon graduated from university.
His acting career did not take off again, he could only accept his family's arrangement to do sales in a company.
Outside of work, he continued to audition.
Many directors still remember him and are willing to give this "old face" a chance.
But no one can give him a role as good as before.
Looking back many years later, Semyon thinks that the exit was a wise choice: "I'm having a dull life now, but I'm also happy.
If I hadn't quit, I might have been ruined by this circle a long time ago. ”
He lived an ordinary but happy life
In 2012, 29-year-old Semyon registered his marriage with an actor girlfriend.
Now he has an ordinary and happy family of three.
His wife did not become famous too early as he did.
She is also an actress and has starred in several TV series.
The life of the two was plain but happy.
Some netizens found that Xie Miao and his wife's Weibo often had heart-warming interactions.
The bits and pieces of their lives together are beyond the reach of many single dogs.
"It's good to be married for so long. Netizens sighed so emotionally.
At work, Semyon is still persistent.
He has acted in a number of movies and TV series, and also worked as an assistant in the crew.
Although there is no golden halo of the past, his love for acting has never diminished.
I have to say that this persistence has finally paid off.
In recent years, he has starred in several movies that have received good reviews.
Especially in 2022's "No One in My Eyes", it was also praised by Internet predator Lei Jun.
"'Hong Wending' back then, now his acting skills have matured. The critic commented.
At the age of 40, Semyon is gradually fading away from his youthful youth and becoming introverted and mature.
He is still fighting for his dreams, but in a low-key way.
Maybe one day, he will achieve what he wants again.
epilogue
Semyon's life has experienced several ups and downs.
Looking at this man who has been away from the star road for 9 years, we can't help but ask:
Is he doing well now? Will he regret his decision? If he is given another choice, will he return to the entertainment industry?
Actually, the answers to these questions don't matter.
Because that's not where we really care.
What we care about is whether he is happy or not.
It's whether his life is full and rich.
It's whether he's holding on to his inner dreams.
Perhaps, Semyon will not become an international superstar.
Or perhaps, the success of his youth was just a footnote on his life path.
But none of this can change the brilliance he once had, nor can it negate his current happiness.