The Paper reporter Yang Siting
Produced by CCTV, Dreaming Forest Studio, Tencent Video, starring Yang Zi and Xu Kai, the urban emotional topic drama "Chenghuan Ji" is being broadcast on CCTV-8 and Tencent Video, the drama is adapted from Yishu's original work, telling the family and marriage story of ordinary girl Mai Chenghuan.
Among the many urban emotional dramas, the innovation of the play lies in the fact that it focuses more on the discussion and reflection of family and intergenerational relationships;
Stills from "The Legend of Cheng Huan".
Actor Xu Kai has only been in the showbiz for a few years, but he has starred in many dramas, this young actor has grown a lot, for the role of Yao Zhiming in "Cheng Huan Ji", he admitted frankly that when he first came into contact with the script, he was attracted by his complexity, "black belly and poisonous tongue" and "exquisite egoism", these labels are full of attraction to Xu Kai.
After further understanding, Xu Kai has a deeper understanding of Yao Zhiming, "If you have to say that Yao Zhiming is the 'boss', then he may be the most embarrassed 'boss', one is a difficult growth environment, and the other is not taught by his parents and family, he was taught all the way by himself, so he understands very well that only absolute strength is the best solution for living a stable life in the world of the jungle." ”
In the play, the male and female protagonists are in stark contrast in their upbringing and family environment. Yao Zhiming was "free-ranged" by an indifferent family, while Mai Chenghuan was "bound" to death in a warm family. The development of the emotional relationship between the two is accompanied by the discussion of family problems.
Mai Chenghuan's mother really loves her so much that she loses her right to be an independent individual, but Yao Zhiming has no home at all, and he has been alone since he was a child, so when he walked into the life of the Mai family, the feeling of being surrounded by warmth and care made him feel strange and unaccustomed to it, and he was unconsciously attracted. ”
Stills from "The Legend of Cheng Huan".
Whether to "Cheng Huan knees", or "live myself", whether to obey my parents' good arrangements for me, or to go my own way, is the choice that many young people have to face, but Xu Kai feels that he is very lucky, "My parents are very open-minded parents, and they didn't set too many settings for my future development, as long as they are honest, kind, and self-reliant, so I don't have any problems in this regard." ”
In recent years, Xu Kai has a lot of costume works out of the circle, "In fact, the audience and friends should have also discovered that I used to have a young and enthusiastic martial arts dream, so I prefer themes such as ancient costumes and fairy tales, which are far away from real life, and most of the character settings are relatively 'perfect' compared with modern dramas." ”
In recent years, as he has grown older, Xu Kai has gradually become more interested in flawed, more realistic and vivid characters like Yao Zhiming, "Because human nature is complex, different growth experiences and life trajectories will create different people, so what will their lives look like, what choices will they make in the face of different things, if I encounter it, how can I interpret it, it feels like a very interesting challenge, so maybe in the future, in the choice of roles, it will be more grounded." ”
The Paper interviewed Xu Kai and talked about the shaping and thinking of the characters in "Chenghuan Ji".
Stills from "The Legend of Cheng Huan".
dialogue
Extremely thoughtful decision-making skills
is Yao Zhiming's greatest charm
The Paper: What attracts you the most about Yao Zhiming?
Xu Kai: What attracts me the most is the multifaceted nature of Yao Zhiming's character, where sensibility and rationality are in a state where one goes and the other grows. Although he seems to be very scheming, calculating, and speaking mercilessly, a series of operations in the early stage are very similar to villains, but his heart is very eager to be warm. When the soft side of his heart is stimulated, it can be described as reborn.
When I first came into contact with the script, he was a really special person, so after reading the script, I quickly decided that I wanted to fight for the role.
The Paper: Can you talk about the creation process of this character? What do you think is his biggest charm, and what is the most "hateful" place?
Xu Kai: Regarding the creative process, first of all, the character of Yao Zhiming is very charming, when we go to the scene and play against each other, we will also collide together, how to make the characters more in line with the characteristics of the characters, and the plot is more beautiful, everyone has made a lot of efforts for their own roles, and many times everyone hit it off and said, "Yes, yes, yes, I think so too." That's how a lot of interesting details come out.
Yao Zhiming's biggest charm, for me, should be extremely careful decision-making ability, he is really too smart, when he took the first step, he had already thought about the next five, six, seven or eight steps. This is also an ability that even I don't quite possess myself, and it's very powerful.
If you hate it, from my personal point of view, he has nothing to hate, because it is true that he has his motives and starting points for everything, he is not a bad person in nature, so he has his own bottom line, and what should be done and what not to do has his own considerations. Of course, I see that some viewers say that he is mean or something, which is also understandable, Yao Zhiming speaks more directly, I will tell the director when I am filming, I feel that Yao Zhiming will talk like this and make some adjustments in expression.
Stills from "The Legend of Cheng Huan".
The Paper: For you, what do you pay the most attention to when creating a character? In terms of preparing for the role and character, taking Yao Zhiming as an example, do you have any small habits of your own? For example, how to practice the lines, how to enter the role?
Xu Kai: The most concerned may be the motivation and presentation of each of the character's actions, for example, Yao Zhiming was originally a workaholic who had no life, and today he would water flowers in the garden, so he must have relaxed in a specific scene because of the tight string in his heart, or was influenced by someone at a certain point, so that he could learn to temporarily put down his work and enjoy life for a while.
I don't have any special little habits myself, but Yao Zhiming has a small habit, every time Yao Zhiming is more relaxed, he will turn his pen, which can be regarded as a small design for character building.
In terms of lines, I do have a lot of deficiencies, for example, my southern accent is still a bit obvious, and I did try my best to correct it when shooting, but maybe some biting habits and tone accents still need to work hard to do better.
Entering the role, I think I entered the state quite quickly, which can be regarded as a small advantage of my own filming.
Stills from "The Legend of Cheng Huan".
"Mak Seunghuan is so special"
The Paper: This time I cooperated with Yang Zi, and the feeling presented in the play was quite joyful and emotional, and the relationship was also a more lively and relaxed atmosphere during the filming?
Xu Kai: In the play, the atmosphere between the two of us is really complicated, for a refined egoist like Yao Zhiming, a person like Mai Chenghuan is really rare, so for him, Mai Chenghuan is so special, he will unconsciously have more exploration and observation of this person, and then be warmed and attracted by her.
When filming on the set, Mr. Yang Zi is a very good and professional actor, and when discussing character creation, he is still more serious, and when he rests, chats and plays, he will joke with each other or something, and he is very comfortable with each other.
The scene that impressed me was the scene where I confronted her in the office, that is, I regarded her as a part of achieving my goal, and used her to give my opponent a fatal blow, which was unacceptable to Chenghuan, who already regarded me as half a family member. My perspective is that she is very rational and trying to find a way to solve the problem, but she is in a state of collapse and disappointment, the atmosphere between the two people is tense, and in the end they break up unhappily, and the confrontation between the two people in that scene is still quite interesting.
Stills from "The Legend of Cheng Huan".
The Paper: Working with Ms. Wu Yanshu, have you observed the working status and performance style of this veteran actor, have you learned anything from her, and how do you interact on the set?
Xu Kai: Ms. Wu Yanshu is really a very, very gentle grandmother, in her, I see a very healthy attitude towards life, and grandma is also very, very serious about work.
I really like to listen to the stories of the older generation, including when I was at home, and I love to listen to the stories of my parents and their generation, and my grandmother told me a lot about what happened to her before, and she got along very much like her own grandchildren.
Stills from "The Legend of Cheng Huan".
The Paper: Since entering the industry, it has been relatively smooth step by step. When you first debuted, what was your understanding of acting, and has anything changed now?
Xu Kai: In the first two plays after I entered the industry, I fell in love with acting, and I felt that I had endless energy, and I wanted to spend it on acting, and because of this, I really wanted to seize every opportunity, so I didn't leave myself time to breathe. I feel that I can try anything, as long as I can have the opportunity to fight for it, I will be desperately busy, and I will keep taking on the role, hoping to make myself more calm and comfortable in this way as an actor.
It was only later that I realized that no one has infinite motivation, I need to stop and feel life, and get more inspiration from life to perform, and now my mentality is more stable and less impatient.
Stills from "The Legend of Cheng Huan".
Chase your own drama
Be sure to open all the barrages
The Paper: Over the years, have there been any seniors or directors who have had an impact on your performance, or have played a big role in helping you, and what kind of growth and inspiration have they brought you?
Xu Kai: Do you want to tell the truth? In fact, the actor I admire the most in my heart is Mr. Huang Bo, I think he is too charismatic, that is, as long as he is a small person who performs, he is very, very real and life, how can I present each role so vividly, I feel as if this person has appeared around me, I feel that this kind of performance realm is really advanced, and he is also the goal and role model of my efforts in this industry.
The Paper: For young actors, will the voice from the public interfere with their recognition and performance?
Xu Kai: For the roles I have played, as long as the broadcast starts, I must open all the barrage to chase the drama, because I really want to see everyone's feelings and feedback on my role, in this process, of course, I will see all kinds of evaluations and hear different voices, so when I see these contents, I will also reflect on myself, where I did it right, where I didn't do it well enough, which sentence I need to absorb, which sentence just look at it, don't take it to heart.
In fact, after so many years, I also have a basic judgment in my heart, what should be corrected, I will work hard to adjust, and let them go with the rest, as long as everyone is happy.
The Paper: In the past few years in the industry, what do you think is the biggest change?
Xu Kai: I think it's because of the big change in mentality, removing some of the previous youthful enthusiasm and impulsiveness, such as what I just said, the future planning and tendencies for your career will be more grounded, and it is also because of this, but the order of important things in life will definitely not change, and family will always come first.
Senior editor of this issue: Zhou Yuhua