In the popular TV series "Flowers" on Jiangsu Satellite TV, Chen Long plays the role of Tao Tao, the good brother of the protagonist A Bao (played by Hu Ge) - a happy little boss. Outside the play, entries such as "Hu Ge and Chen Long's six partners", "The person who has the most partners with Hu Ge is actually Chen Long", "Hu Ge Chen Long's thousand-year-old agreement" and other entries also appeared on the Weibo hot search list, and the deep brotherhood between the two was also praised by the audience.
"I was very surprised to take over the role of Tao Tao"
Taking over the role of "Tao Tao" was very unexpected for Chen Long. In June 2020, Chen Long received a call from the casting director and invited him to participate in the audition for "Flowers". Chen Long said: "They may also know that I have a good relationship with Hu Ge, and specially told me that 'Hu Ge also took over this drama'." Actually, I knew about this for a long time, and at first I was thinking to myself, 'Why didn't I get it?' So when I received this call, I was very surprised and very happy. ”
At the appointed time, Chen Long rushed to the crew of "Flowers" and went through four auditions, which lasted a total of three months. "I was nervous when I was waiting for the notification, and I kept thinking, 'Do you need me?' During that time, I often comforted myself, anyway, I already felt the atmosphere of the crew when I auditioned, and I could be regarded as having worked with director Wong Kar-wai, even if I didn't choose in the end, it didn't matter. Having said that, when he received the official notice in September, Chen Long couldn't hold back his excitement and immediately packed his luggage and entered the crew.
When he first auditioned, Chen Long didn't know that he was playing Tao Tao: "At that time, the script was kept secret, and I didn't know who was playing it before I went." After arriving at the scene, the crew gave a script, and after quickly digesting it, it entered the shooting state. When it came to the second audition, director Wong Kar-wai asked me if I would like to try Tao Tao. I was surprised at the time, because I had seen Tao Tao in the original book, and it didn't match my personality at all, but I was still willing to try. To be an actor is to challenge infinite possibilities. ”
"Filming Flowers is a process of reinvention and rebirth"
In Chen Long's past roles, most of them are righteous and strong images, such as the upright and heroic "Mengda Commander" in "Langya Bang", or the jealous and hateful Wu Song in "New Water Margin". He said: "I have been in the industry for almost 30 years, and it is the first time I have tried a role like Tao Tao. ”
In Chen Long's view, Tao Tao is a person who knows how to be happy: "He is not like Bao, he is ambitious and wants to achieve great things. In Tao Tao's eyes, having a good brother like Ah Bao and a career that can afford to support himself is already very satisfied. It's very different from my previous role. Director Wong Kar-wai shattered all the past me and reassembled it. For me, filming Flowers is a process of reinvention and rebirth. ”
Wong Kar-wai once reminded Chen Long that when he read the original book, he would also understand Xiao Mao's character. Chen Long said: "Tao Tao in the original book is a very low-level character with many shortcomings, and the final ending is not very good. The drama version has been appropriately adapted, so that Tao Tao has more characteristics of small hair. You can take a closer look at the seafood stall in the play, where there are a lot of photos of me and Po from the past, including two people squatting in front of bicycles, practicing martial arts in the park, etc. In the novel, Xiao Mao likes to read martial arts novels very much, and has also enrolled in martial arts classes, so this is actually a part of Xiao Mao's personality transferred to Tao Tao. Including the righteousness on Xiao Mao's body, it was also moved to Tao Tao. ”
"I am willing to be the man behind Hu Ge"
In the play, Tao Tao and Ah Bao are a pair of good brothers: when Ah Bao is short of money, Tao Tao takes out all his belongings, and even if he is complained by his family, he has no regrets. Chen Long said: "The two of them are the best brothers, and in Shanghainese, Tao Tao and Ah Bao are the 'red pants brothers'. Tao Tao is wholeheartedly devoted to Bao, and he will give whatever he can without hesitation. ”
Outside the play, Chen Long and Hu Ge have also been good brothers for many years. Chen Long said: "I told Hu Ge before, no matter when you turn back, I will definitely be behind you." And as long as I act with Hu Ge, I am willing to play any role. Now many netizens ridicule me as the man behind Hu Ge, and I think it's okay to say so. ”
This is also the first collaboration between Chen Long and Wong Kar-wai. Talking about the feeling of cooperation, Chen Long concluded: "On the scene, Director Wang will not compromise on his artistic requirements, if he proposes new ideas and reshoots, it shows that you still have room for improvement." For actors, the only thing to do is to believe Director Wang and firmly believe that what he said must be right. ”
After the series was broadcast, "Flowers" received public recognition. He said: "A lot of people say that our film was a success, which makes me feel that the effort is worth it. For actors, it is the greatest happiness to come across a good work, and for myself, how lucky I am to come across "Flowers". I have always regarded "Flowers" as a mirror, as long as you are willing to calm down and put aside the prosperity of the appearance, you will see the deeper core of this work, and see a different "Flowers". ”
文 | 记者 龚卫锋图 | 江苏卫视