Speaking of actor Zhang Tong, you may not be familiar with his name, but when it comes to "Monk Wei" in "Bright Sword" and Li Dazhao in "Awakening Age", everyone must remember it vividly.
What is unexpected is that such an excellent actor has a lot of bitter experiences behind his fame.
He used to sell his house to study, and when he was poorest, he ate dog food to satisfy his hunger, etc.
Although "Bright Sword" became popular and his acting skills were affirmed, some people still questioned his acting skills and suffered unequal treatment, so he suffered from depression and wanted to commit suicide many times.
Fortunately, his wife was by his side when he was sick, and Zhang Tong gradually came out.
01
In 1981, Zhang Tong was born in an ordinary working family in Tianjin, as the only one in the family, Zhang Tong naturally grew up in the favor of his parents.
His parents' expectation for him is that he can grow up healthy, get admitted to a good university, and find a stable job after graduation.
Zhang Tong does not let his parents worry about his studies at all, he has always been a child of other people's families in the mouths of his parents, and his academic performance has always been among the best.
At first, Zhang Tong's dream was to become a police officer, but because the height of his eyes did not match, he finally failed.
Zhang Tong, who is in his third year of high school, has already become a tall teenager who loves basketball.
Once Zhang Tong was stopped by a strange man after playing, claiming to be a talent scout, who was helping the agency to discover some actor seedlings, and after seeing Zhang Tong, he asked him if he was interested in understanding.
It's just that Zhang Tong at that time wanted to be admitted to a good university, so he hurriedly waved his hand and said no, so he rushed to class.
The words of the scout still took root in Zhang Tong's heart and caused a lot of waves.
After graduating from high school, Zhang Tong was admitted to Nankai University with high scores and was admitted to the computer major.
Knowing that Zhang Tong was admitted to university, his parents were happy, and computers were also very popular at that time, so it was not a problem to think that the employment prospects after graduation would not be a problem.
But what they didn't expect was that Zhang Tong, who has always been well-behaved and obedient, would do things they couldn't have imagined after entering the university.
College life is completely different from what Zhang Tong imagined, it is very boring and boring, and he basically relies on himself.
Once, when they were shopping with friends, they met the staff of an advertising agency again, and the words of refusal were still on their lips.
I heard the other party say: "Classmates, you can try it, you can make money by shooting advertisements for a day."
300 yuan.
For children born in ordinary families, it is quite exciting to earn so much money in one day.
After all, it is not easy for parents to go to college in order to support themselves, and if they can earn some living expenses, parents can not work so hard, and they can also reduce family pressure.
After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Tong decided to give it a try, but he didn't expect that after a few hours of shooting, looking at the three hundred yuan in his hand, it felt a little unrealistic.
Years later, he lamented that the feeling of making money for the first time was amazing.
After that, this part-time job slowly developed into his hobby, and it also caused him to deviate from his original life trajectory.
02
At that time, Zhang Tong was also well-known in the advertising industry, and many brokerage companies were optimistic about his potential and wanted to sign him.
In the face of such a lucrative price offered by the performing arts company, Zhang Tong was a little shaken, because at this time, he was not only shooting advertisements to make money, but also falling in love with this industry.
If you want to give up your current major and suddenly change the direction of your life, you will face many uncertain factors.
After a struggle with his own heart, Zhang Tong finally chose to embark on the path of an actor.
When he told his parents that he was going to drop out of school and go to France to study acting, his parents' first reaction was that Zhang Tong had met a liar.
Because they had never been in contact with this industry, it took Zhang Tong to explain for a long time before his parents believed what he said.
Seeing that their son was so determined to study abroad, Zhang Tong's parents finally gritted their teeth and agreed, even if they smashed the pot and sold iron, they would let him study abroad.
Although all the savings in the family were taken out, it was still not enough, so the parents had to ask relatives and friends to borrow to get enough money.
In this way, Zhang Tong took his dream and went to study at the Academy of Arts and Drama in Lyon, France.
In order to reduce the pressure on his parents, Zhang Tong goes to work part-time as long as he has time, saving money every day.
His parents also went to odd jobs after work every day, and whenever the market was about to close, they went to buy the cheapest vegetables.
One winter vacation, Zhang Tong's classmates all went home, and in order to save the ticket home, they stayed at school.
In order not to worry about the parents, I told the parents that many students stay in school and there are meals in the cafeteria every day, so you don't have to worry about me, take care of yourself.
But the reality is that the school cafeteria is not open, and he is alone in the dormitory, in order to save money and eat the cheapest instant noodles.
Even though life was so difficult, it still didn't make him give up his determination to learn acting, but made him cherish this hard-won opportunity even more.
In his sophomore year, the school added practical classes and often went to performances, but the cost of clothing had to be solved by himself, so Zhang Tong's expenses increased again.
In order to make up for Zhang Tong's tuition and living expenses, there was really no way, his parents sold the house they lived in, and lied to him that it was the stock they bought before, and they didn't move it for a few years and made some money.
However, the parents' white lies did not last long, Zhang Tong still found out, and he was very touched that his parents paid for him without reservation.
In order to repay his parents, he studied harder and worked harder to earn money part-time.
Sometimes, in order to reduce the cost of living, he will spend a few dollars to buy a large bag of dog food, because a bag of dog food can be eaten for a week.
As the saying goes, only by suffering hardship can you become a master, and these experiences have made Zhang Tong's will stronger.
03
After graduation, Zhang Tong returned to China to become an official actor, hoping to let his parents live a better life as soon as possible.
Although Zhang Tong has a background of studying abroad, the competition in the actor industry is also very fierce.
In order to have more performance opportunities, he persistently sent his resume to each crew, hoping to get opportunities.
Even if it is a small role, he cherishes it very much, and asks to do the best in every line and shot.
The effort is rewarded, and in 2002, Zhang Tong finally saw his name in the TV series "Flowers Bloom and Sound".
In 2005, Zhang Tong ushered in a turning point in his life, he starred in the role of the eagle in "Seven Fairies of Joy", Orange's boyfriend.
Although there are not many shots, his tall figure and handsome appearance make the audience remember him.
In the same year, "Bright Sword" selected actors, and Zhang Tong also submitted his resume, originally the director wanted to find an actor with martial arts skills.
Due to the rush at that time, it happened that Zhang Tong came to the interview, and it was finally confirmed that he would play the role of Monk Wei.
Zhang Tong played the role of "Monk Wei" in "Bright Sword", which has been well received by the audience.
After "Bright Sword" became popular, Zhang Tong became a sought-after actor for a while, but the scripts he received revolved around "Monk Wei".
Zhang Tong's colleagues who worked hard in their careers, love also came quietly, and there were good results.
04
In 2006, Zhang Tong starred in "Chinese Guards" and met actress Guan Siting.
At the beginning, the two would never say a word except for the necessary discussion work.
After the contact of the crew leader, the two became friends who talked about everything.
During the later filming, Zhang Tong accidentally injured his eyes and was uncomfortable, and because of the heavy tasks in the scenes, he did not go out for medical treatment.
After Guan Siting found out, after finishing her shooting task, she went out like a director asking for leave.
When I came back, I brought gifts to everyone in the crew and a bottle of eye drops for Zhang Tong.
The bottle of eye drops given by Guan Siting made Zhang Tong have mixed feelings in his heart, and his good impression of her in his heart deepened a lot.
On the day of the crew's finale banquet, Zhang Tong took advantage of the strength of the wine to confess to Guan Siting, broke the last layer of relationship, and the two were together naturally.
After having a girlfriend, Zhang Tong wants to be popular more than ever, because he not only has to take care of his elderly parents, but also shoulder the future of himself and his girlfriend.
So he desperately wants to make more scenes so that he can make more money.
Coincidentally, at this time, a rookie director sent him an invitation to work with him.
After reading the script, Zhang Tong felt that the characters in it were very good, and if he could act, his career would definitely be on the next level.
But what he didn't know was that this cooperation almost made him fall into the abyss and couldn't get out.
05
Before Zhang Tong joined the group, he carefully studied the script, consulted a lot of information, and tried his best to satisfy the director.
But what I didn't expect was that no matter how hard Zhang Tong tried, the director was very critical of him, and there was a taste of "picking bones in eggs".
This is not right for a while, which expression is not good for a while, or the lines are not said well All in all, in the director's opinion, Zhang Tong is not good.
In the face of the director's fabrication and inexplicable accusations, Zhang Tong didn't know how to change, and Zhang Tong experienced countless N machines during filming.
And the director's attitude also affected the members of the crew, and everyone naturally treated Zhang Tong with a little more contempt, and they all laughed at him openly and secretly.
The director even said that Zhang Tong's acting ability is similar to that of the freshmen who have just entered Beijing Opera.
The successive blows made Zhang Tong have self-doubt, and when he heard the sentence that Zhang Tong was incapacitated, he was still the lowest.
Zhang Tong completely collapsed, completely lost confidence in his future acting career, and couldn't find a direction.
Fortunately, this kind of day will come to an end, and when the crew is finished, Zhang Tong feels relieved and can finally leave this suffocating place.
After returning home, Zhang Tong fell into deep thought, was very depressed, and often stayed in the room and did not come out.
Looking out of the window and looking at Zhang Tong like this, Guan Siting knew that he must have encountered something bad from time to time.
Accompanied by Guan Siting, Zhang Tong went to the hospital for an examination and was diagnosed with depression, but he refused to be hospitalized.
There was no choice but to go home, so his girlfriend stopped what she was doing and accompanied Zhang Tong as a whole, for fear that he would have an accident.
Guan Siting's worst fear still happened, one day Zhang Tong and Guan Siting said don't worry about themselves, and ran to the window after speaking.
Fortunately, Guan Siting rushed up desperately, hugged him, and said that if you jump down, I will join me!
Hearing his girlfriend say this, Zhang Tong calmed down a lot and actively cooperated with the treatment.
Accompanied by his family and girlfriend, he went to the doctor regularly, and his mood gradually stabilized, and he finally came out of the haze.
06
After this incident, Zhang Tong understood many things, and also felt Guan Siting's love for him.
In 2012, the two ended their multi-year relationship and walked into the sacred marriage hall hand in hand.
After marriage, the two are also very happy, but they have never had a child and live a two-person world.
After experiencing life and death, Zhang Tong has become much more mature, his mentality is more calm, and his acting skills are getting better and better.
In 2016, Zhang Tong received an olive branch from the crew of "Desperate Defender Division".
In order to create this role well, Zhang Tong's script almost never left his hand, and during filming, he was also very humble to consult and communicate with the director.
After the TV series "Desperate Defender Division" was broadcast, the audience remembered his new name "Master Chen".
Zhang Tong also won the Feitian Award with this drama, becoming the first post-80s actor to win this award.
After that, Zhang Tong was invited to star in "The Awakening Age", in which he played the great man Li Dazhao.
After agreeing to play Li Dazhao, Zhang Tong made a lot of preparations, first visited the great man Li Dazhao, and then collected various text and image materials related to him.
After the broadcast of "The Awakening Age", it was well received by the audience.
And Li Dazhao played by Zhang Tong also feels very good to the audience, as if Li Dazhao has come to life.
Zhang Tong also became popular with this role and won many awards.
Today, Zhang Tong and Guan Siting have been married for 12 years, he is very low-key emotionally, and has not had any scandals, but he has not yet had a son or a daughter, and he and his wife live in a two-person world, and they are happy.