Photo/Teacher Weng gossip
Editor/Teacher Weng gossip
Preface
You Benchang was once a famous actor in China, and at the awards ceremony, when he happily said "I'm so happy!", the guests and the audience had tears in their eyes. His smile caused Ma Yili to turn his head and cry, and Hu Ge was also emotionally uncontrollable. Comments poured in on the Internet, and countless people were full of emotion. You Benchang's words revealed more sadness. The monk in the ragged robe had gone away, and now where he was, everyone gradually knew. Er Dongsheng had already revealed the answer.
An experience like no other
You Benchang's childhood was influenced by Buddhism. He was born in 1933 in an ordinary family in Jiangsu. The midwife carefully put him on the bed and exclaimed, "This child is too petite." The father, with a heavy heart, gently picked up his son, but he found him unusually light. At first, parents thought their child was malnourished and didn't care too much. However, when he was five or six years old, You Benchang's life was in jeopardy, as if he was going to die in the next second.
The parents began to get worried, they feared that the child might not survive to adulthood, so it was decided to send him to the hospital for treatment. Despite spending all the family's savings, the child's condition remains unexplained. The local doctor told them that the child was not sick. Faced with the doctor's helplessness, the parents followed the advice of the old man and went to the fortune teller for help. However, the fortune teller's prophecy made them even more anxious.
The fortune teller asserted that the child would not live past the age of 13, but perhaps there would be a glimmer of life if he was sent to Buddhism. In retrospect, it would have been dismissed as nonsense. But in those days, the level of medicine was limited, and people could only comply with the destiny of heaven and seize every opportunity. The parents decided to give it a try. Therefore, You Benchang, who was only six years old, was sent to the temple to be shaved and became a Buddhist disciple.
You Benchang studied in the temple, but did not abandon other forms of artistic pursuits. Whenever he gets out of school, he can't wait to rush to the teahouse to listen to opera performances with his parents. He was fascinated by this form of performance and soon fell in love with the art. Every day, I would squeeze out time to go to the teahouse and listen to a piece of opera. You Benchang loves the art of opera, not only listening, but also reciting lines and learning the performance skills of actors. When he got home, he was always excited to show his parents what he had learned.
In addition, You Benchang's sister often took him to the movies and plays, especially his beloved Chaplin and Shirley Temple. He was fascinated by these film and television works, and was especially deeply influenced by Chaplin's pantomime, and aspired to be an actor on the big screen like them. In 1948, the monks at the temple warned You that if he did not become attached to the Buddha, he would die at the age of 13. Today, however, he has lived to the age of 15 in good health.
In 1951, 18-year-old You Benchang successfully completed high school and entered the Nanjing Arts and Crafts Troupe. Due to his excellent results, he was directly sent to the performance department of the Shanghai Theater Academy for further study in the second year. However, the reality after graduation is harsh. In 1956, You Benchang was assigned to work at the Central Theater, but he thought he would be able to shine on the stage, but he found that he was only playing some inconspicuous small roles.
In his later years, he lost his family and property
You Benchang is an actor with a dedicated, obscure personality but full of love for acting. He has been in the entertainment industry for 29 years and has played 79 small roles. If you were someone else, you might have chosen to give up because you had failed to realize your dream for a long time, but You Benchang is different, he sticks to his inner passion and original intention. He doesn't pander to leadership and compete for roles like everyone else. For 29 years, he has been unknown, but he has also accumulated a wealth of experience as a result.
It was his choice because his love for acting kept him consistent. In these long 29 years, You Benchang has always been supported by strength and has not chosen to take shortcuts. His decision caused him to miss many opportunities, but he never regretted it. He's always looking for an opportunity to show his strength. Until one day, he received a call from his wife, telling him that director Zhang Ge wanted him to audition for "Jigong".
Despite his inner appreciation for this role, You Benchang was still hesitant. It wasn't until the persuasion of the director team that he decided to act. For You Benchang, salary is not the focus of his consideration, he cares more about being able to play the role he yearns for. So, he resolutely followed the director team to Shanghai.
The 52-year-old You Benchang finally ushered in the first protagonist in his life, which is also his 80th role. Despite decades of acting experience, he is still full of concerns. It was a huge test for him, and he was worried about whether he would be able to play the role well.
Yau Benchang is a versatile artist who has shown outstanding acting and directing talent at different stages. Back in 2009, he began his career as a director, however, his debut film "Mortal" did not attract much attention, perhaps because the market trends at the time did not match it. Still, the work is a reflection of his efforts to pursue his dreams.
At 3:30 p.m. on July 28 of the same year, You Benchang underwent a ordination ceremony at Daguang Temple in Suifenhe City, Heilongjiang Province, and became a monk. This shift didn't take him away from his acting career, but instead allowed him to focus more on the field of art he loved.
It wasn't until 2011 that he once again showed his excellent acting skills in the movie "The Adventures of Li Xianji". In the film, he played Li Xianji, who saved his lover by traveling through time and space many times in his old age, and this role made him widely recognized again. Especially at critical moments, such as his eyes when he closed the car door, he was called a "god" level performance by many netizens, and some people even thought that he "defeated" the other actors in the whole film with his personal charm, pushing the movie to new heights.
What is the status quo now?
In 2023, You Benchang will work hand in hand with director Wong Kar-wai to present a striking role in the movie "Flowers" - Uncle Grandpa. The audience spoke highly of his performance, and he blended into the role perfectly, making it difficult to see the image of "Jigong" that he once played.
At the award ceremony, You Benchang delivered a thought-provoking speech that pointed to some problems in the Chinese film industry. He pointed out that many veteran artists, despite their skills, lacked the opportunity to showcase their talents. This kind of irony makes people feel emotional. This passage profoundly reflects Er Dongsheng's views in "Actors Please Be in Place". He believes that the commercial value of a film is not directly related to the quality of the film, which leads to the director being more inclined to choose a new generation of actors with traffic to ensure the box office.
This reality prevents many good scripts from getting the attention they deserve. Today, You Benchang, who is over 90 years old, still maintains his health and vitality, and he often posts small videos on the Internet, warming people's hearts with the phrase "dear dolls". You Benchang, an old artist who is nearly 90 years old, is still full of youthful vitality. He often shows a handsome image on the cover of magazines, as if he is young.
Recently, he opened a personal account on the short video platform to share his daily life with fans. In the video, he affectionately calls netizens "dolls" like a kind elder and leads everyone to visit various interesting places. Netizens also like him very much, and often leave messages under the video wishing him good health. You Benchang has already lived himself into the image of Jigong in everyone's hearts and is deeply loved by everyone.
epilogue
The years are ruthless, time flies, and the 52-year-old Er Dongsheng plays Jigong, interpreting the fate of this legendary figure in his later years to the fullest. In the plot, Jigong unfortunately suffered from bankruptcy in his later years, all of which seemed to verify Er Dongsheng's earlier remarks, and he was really right.
Er Dongsheng expressed the fate of Jigong in his later years profoundly and movingly. When Jigong was old, his fate was unfortunate and his wealth was lost, which was not only a loss of property, but also a heavy blow to his life course. Er Dongsheng showed Jigong's inner struggle and helplessness with a delicate performance, creating a more three-dimensional and fuller character image.
The interpretation of this role makes people think more deeply about the passage of time and the impermanence of fate. Through his performance, Er Dongsheng aroused people's thinking about life, wealth and destiny, and aroused the audience's resonance and deep thought. The years are urging people to grow old, but Er Dongsheng interprets the role of Jigong deeply in the hearts of the people with his talent and performance. His acting skills are not only the interpretation of the role, but also the interpretation of life and the thinking of fate, which makes people feel the vicissitudes of time and the true meaning of life.