Text: Aomori
Editor|Zhouzhou Film and Television Entertainment Review
Men's clothing is heroic.
Women's clothing is moving.
Once so beautiful that it was indistinguishable between male and female.
The bone physiognomy of Westerners and the skin physiognomy of Oriental people are perfectly combined on one face.
Jin Yong, who has written countless handsome men and beautiful women, praised him: "No one has ever seen how handsome Pan An is, and I think he should look like a dragon to live up to his reputation." ”
At first glance, looking at the photo of Zunlong, many people may still think that he is a handsome boy from a wealthy family with a transnational love union.
However, he is not a son, and he has experienced the warmth and coldness of the world.
He spent most of his life in solitude that no one could understand.
Until now, there is not even an ordinary, simple blood relative.
So what's his story?
Why do you choose to live this life?
01 Born with ups and downs
In the 50s of the last century, Hong Kong saw an influx of refugees from the mainland.
For a time, the social situation was complicated, and gunsmoke was everywhere.
In such an era when everyone is in danger, early winter has just taken over the cold of late autumn, and a baby boy in swaddling clothes is quietly thrown on the corner opposite the hospital by someone without knowing who has it.
No one rejoiced at his presence, no one stopped for him.
Such life emerges every day like locusts.
Perhaps it was fate, and Zunlong, who should not have known where to disappear, ushered in a turning point in his life.
A faltering Shanghai woman who picks up garbage for a living takes him home.
But she didn't do it out of pity or kindness.
Her purpose was simple - to obtain a few silver dollars from the Hong Kong government at that time to give incentives and subsidies for the adoption of abandoned babies.
The parents who abandoned the child did not leave any identification information for the baby boy.
For a long time, Zunlong did not have a name.
He lived in the slums with his adoptive mother, huddled with a large group of homeless people to wash and live.
The days were hard.
Sometimes you even have to rely on rough dough to satisfy your hunger.
At the age when other children were going to school, Zunlong was still roaming the street corners of the slums.
His favorite thing to do at that time was to squeeze into the neighbor's teahouse and watch TV.
The small black-and-white TV is a rare object that can relieve boredom in his childhood.
He could watch it all afternoon, and he didn't want to go home.
Because of her adoptive mother's bad character, she adopted him for money, and she basically had no feelings for him at all.
As long as she has something that doesn't go her way, she uses him as a punching bag.
Not giving food, beating or scolding are commonplace.
If he made any noise, it would only make his adoptive mother even more angry.
So Zunlong, who was only a few years old, could only endure and be silent.
Gradually, as time went on, the dragon grew bigger and bigger, and more and more rice and cloth were needed.
Probably noticing that the child is not ugly.
When he was about ten years old, his adoptive mother decided to send him to the Spring and Autumn Drama Academy in Hong Kong to learn Peking Opera.
In a later interview, Zunlong once said, "She could have sent me to wash dishes or repair shoes, but she sent me to learn drama." Now that I think about it, I'm quite grateful to her for that. ”
But although Zunlong said it so easily when he grew up, his life in the troupe at that time was even more uncomfortable than when he was at his adoptive mother's house.
It is said to be a drama school, but it is actually a traditional Liyuan opera troupe.
Learning drama is free, but as long as you go in, you will be deemed to have signed a "life and death certificate".
At that moment, his life became Master's private property.
Let me beat and scold, whether I live or die, I am left to fate.
Fatherless, motherless, special-looking, never in school and how to contact his peers, Xiao Zunlong, every day seems to be living in hell.
Not only does he have to train hard every day, but he is also an introvert and is often bullied by his troupe disciples.
The older ones called him "Little Johnny", and the smaller ones directly gave him all kinds of ugly nicknames.
Once he was beaten to the point that his head was bleeding and he had no money to go to the hospital, so he had to find a tailor to hold on to the pain and stitch 8 stitches.
Whether it is physical trauma or psychological trauma, it is forever engraved in the soul of Zunlong.
Unlike others, Master Fan Chrysanthemum values this taciturn child very much.
If he can always study drama hard, maybe he will become the second famous Mei Lanfang......
02 艰辛入世
Seven years have passed, and the Hong Kong film industry has flourished.
The 17-year-old Zunlong has become a pillar of the troupe.
Because of his outstanding appearance, he was quickly noticed by the scouts of the popular film company Shaw Brothers, but he refused, and everyone thought he was crazy.
But at that time, Zunlong felt that Hong Kong's development was too fast.
Everyone seemed anxious.
The feeling unsettled him.
Later, an American couple who had seen him perform decided to sponsor him to study in the United States.
At that time, the United States represented prosperity and hope in the hearts of a generation.
When applying for a passport, the name "Wu Guoliang" that he occasionally obtained came in handy for the first time.
But after landing, he changed his English name to "johnnyLONG",
The name "Zunlong" is also a homonym for this English name.
The foreign atmosphere is full of classical Chinese poetry.
In order to quickly integrate into the United States, Zunlong will go to a community adult school at night to learn English.
The rest of the time between classes is spent part-time job.
He grew up with hardships, and he didn't pick any jobs.
At that time, he also met Nina Savino, a girl of mixed Japanese and Italian descent.
Nina opened the heart of Zunlong, who had been lonely since childhood, and the two quickly fell in love.
They married in 1972 and divorced peacefully seven years later.
In the past seven years, the 27-year-old Zunlong's career has also undergone earth-shaking changes.
Because of his unremitting efforts, he was admitted to the American Academy of Arts and Drama to study acting.
Passed the assessment of the troupe with only 2 places in the United States.
But after learning that the other party wanted to sign a three-year contract with him, Zunlong still gave up this opportunity.
After some careful consideration, he wanted to mix in the entertainment industry.
But at the time, stereotypes about people of color in American society were still deeply ingrained.
Skinny and old-fashioned are synonymous with Asian men.
At that time, in the American film and television industry, basically no one was willing to give Asian men roles and opportunities.
Zunlong once waited in line with countless extras for a whole day in order to get the role of a conductor, and finally returned in vain.
He relied on being a background actor for 8 years.
His outstanding appearance and Peking Opera skills were selected by Broadway director Huang Zhelun.
and personally created the play "F.O.B" for him.
In 1983, the movie "40,000 Years of the Iceman" was planned to be filmed.
The main character, Savage, is an ugly-looking, lineless setting in which almost no actors are willing to play.
Zunlong finally got the opportunity to star through Chinese actor Huang Meiyu.
He didn't care at all about the image, and the superb performance was moving.
The following year, Zunlong starred as a Chinatown gangster in the movie "Year of the Dragon".
Although he is a supporting role, his performance is very eye-catching.
He was nominated for the 1986 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.
And what really made him famous on the road to acting was Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor".
Bernardo interviewed Zunlong at the beginning, but he wasn't sure if there was a better fit.
So he interviewed hundreds of actors from all over the world one after another.
Among them, there are many well-known figures such as Tony Leung, Leung Ka-fai, and Chow Yun-fat.
But after trying it in turn, his eyes returned to Zunlong.
Although Zunlong was born poor, his noble temperament in his gestures made people unable to take their eyes off.
The film won nine Oscars in one go.
And Zunlong is also the brightest light in this huge honor.
jumped from the Golden Globe Award for Supporting Actor to the Leading Actor Award.
03 Escape from the world
A French magazine once commented: "Since the release of "The Last Emperor", Zunlong has ushered in his heyday."
Wu Junmei, who played the role of Puyi's imperial concubine, was asked what was the most memorable during the filming of "The Last Emperor",
"The most memorable thing is his face," she said. ”
The American "Time" magazine once listed Zunlong's face as the most beautiful Chinese actor in the world.
Even though wave after wave of aura began to gather around the dragon.
He didn't forget about himself either.
The little orphan who was bullied on the streets of Hong Kong thirty years ago still seems to be huddled in a corner of his heart.
After a commotion, his mysterious and detached temperament made many people linger.
Among them, there are many female stars who are popular.
For example, Lin Qingxia once said that her friend invited her to play mahjong before she went to bed.
Tired, she just wanted to refuse,
But the other party said that there was a dragon, so she immediately agreed.
The reason is "to see the stars".
Wang Zuxian even publicly stated that he was a fan of Zunlong.
met an idol at an awards ceremony and stared at him without concealment.
However, Zunlong never seemed to care.
"I wanted to call to share my joy, but I didn't know who to call," he said. Can only sit alone with the trophy in his arms. ”
In 1992, Chen Kaige's "Farewell My Concubine" was planned to be filmed.
Chen Kaige's protagonist at the beginning was Zunlong.
As soon as Zunlong, who was popular at the time, saw the script, he responded without saying a word.
even did not hesitate to reduce his salary and pushed down the performances of several masterpieces.
is just because the juvenile experience of the character Cheng Dieyi in the script is too similar to him.
But these honest actions have not been reciprocated.
Even the sincerity was maliciously misinterpreted.
Negative news is overwhelming.
Before Zunlong could figure out the twists and turns, he was replaced.
Zunlong self-report
Later, Zunlong starred in "Butterfly King", which was similar to "Farewell My Concubine".
Play as Madame Butterfly, who is indistinguishable from each other.
But the splash of Farewell My Concubine was too big and swallowed "Butterfly King".
No one can stand still.
At that time, Zunlong was already tired of the film industry.
He said he didn't want to make any films, he wanted to do more.
He wants to be a businessman, selling cosmetics, men's hair wax, making music, holding concerts, releasing albums and all kinds of messy things.
Go through the grass and trees of this world and experience more different things in the world.
After filming Butterfly Jun, he really put his energy elsewhere as he said.
After that, he also filmed some domestic TV series, but the effect was not ideal.
In 2012, the first thing Zunlong, who was over half a hundred years old, did when he returned to China was to reconcile with his adoptive mother.
Seeing that she was toothless and unable to chew.
After all, I can't hate it.
After his adoptive mother's death, he went to Vancouver.
Living with two dogs.
In 2016, international students photographed Mr. Zunlong in a park in Canada
He also recognized two ancient trees in the nearby forest as "grandfather" and "grandmother".
He often stared at the tree in a daze and told his thoughts to the tree.
The tree is his family and his friend.
He didn't get much out of his life.
The only precious things are the precious feelings and memories that I have gained in my mind during the years of suffering.
A reporter once asked Zunlong: "If you pass away one day, what will be written on your epitaph?"
Zunlong just shook his head and said that he would not have a tombstone.
From beginning to end, he chose to come alone and go alone.
Epilogue:
After so many years, the once famous dragon in Asia has also become old.
Someone posted a photo of him at a friend's birthday party.
Who doesn't sigh after watching this: A generation of famous and excellent people is difficult to resist the twilight.
Mr. Zunlong came into the world without a father or mother, and when he reached the age of more than 70, he had no children and no daughters.
But fortunately, he is lonely, but not lonely.
There are also many old friends who can make his old life not so lonely.
The world cannot understand the dragon, just as the world cannot be the dragon.
In this world, only one dragon is enough.