"Celebrities come to money and treat well", it seems to have become the consensus of many netizens.
But in fact? Like I said before: celebrities do earn much more than ordinary people, and the speed of earning money is also very fast, and you can think of many names without giving examples.
However, this only refers to mainland stars, or stars who come to the mainland to develop.
You may not believe it, compared with the millions of film salaries and extravagant lives of mainland stars, some Hong Kong stars are not as mixed as ordinary people, and the current situation of life can even be described as tragic.
I have already talked about the downfall of some Hong Kong stars before, and today I will use the personal experience of a drama-level actor to tell you: How tragic is the real situation of the old Hong Kong stars?
Andy Lau, Zhou Xingchi, Zhou Runfa, Jackie Chan and other big-man level figures, naturally need not say more.
Today I want to talk about an old-fashioned Hong Kong actor who has filmed countless works in the 40 years of his career, you may not be able to call his name for a while, but when you see his appearance, you will definitely feel familiar.
He is Che Paul.
Wu Qihua Lizi's version of the Crane Pen Weng in "Yitian Slaughtering Dragon Record", one of the second elders of Xuan Di; Zhou Xingchi's "Death Judge" in the "Thin Tiger"; Chen Xiaochun's version of "Deer Ding" in the fat head Tuo...
Born in 1959, Paul Che's real name is Wu Mingcang.
From the appearance point of view, the height of 1 meter 9 is as thin as a bamboo pole, and the sunken cheeks and the tall nose make the whole person look seriously malnourished.
However, it is precisely because of this feature that Paul Che has become a "special actor" by Xu Kexiang, and has been praised as "the slenderest person in TVB".
Because of his strange appearance, after filming Xu Ke's "First Type Danger" in the first year of the industry, he came to the fore in the circle and was well known by many viewers and peers.
However, Cheng also looks defeated and looks good, and his tall and thin body makes him stand out quickly but also restricts his play path. Che Paul later starred in many film and television dramas, but he could only play the role of a dragon runner.
Aware of his shortcomings, Paul Che knows that if you want to gain a foothold in this industry, you must seize every possible opportunity.
To this end, he worked acting skills and carefully improved his professional ability. Even if it is a small dragon suit role, he must strive to be worthy of the picture of more than ten seconds and interpret his own characteristics.
"You can't be the most beautiful, just the ugliest." Kung Fu pays off, and the role of Fat Tou Tuo in Chen Xiaochun's version of "Deer Ding" makes him completely red.
Film contracts and advertisements followed, and he played countless "clowns" in those years.
But in the end, the play is too narrow, many people remember the thin tall man who does not play much, but few people remember his name, even the name of the character in the play.
It is also tragic to say that he has shot many famous works since entering the industry, but Paul Che still has not been able to change his life. In other words, there is acting skill and strength, but it is difficult to even support the family.
Over the decades, TVB has produced countless powerful actors.
Some people have worked hard all the way and climbed to the top of the pyramid by relying on their acting skills; some people have acted all their lives and have not been able to live without worry.
They are not hard-working or acting- and the entanglement of fate is impossible to talk about.
Among the veteran Hong Kong actors, there are too many tragic endings, and Che Paul is more like a microcosm.
Beginning in 2003, Paul Che ushered in his own darkest days.
That year, due to the long-term inability to receive the drama, TVB only offered him a contract renewal contract with an annual salary of 2,000 yuan.
You read that right, it's an annual salary of 2,000 yuan. In his words, "This little money is not enough to extract a tooth in Hong Kong." ”
This is not just a disguised "dissuasion", more like a "humiliation" for Che Paul's acting career.
To make matters worse, his beloved granddaughter died in a car accident and he didn't even have the money to do the funeral. In the end, it was the actor Eight Two Gold who helped Zhang Luo's aftermath.
In the face of reality, the dreams and honors of any actor have become irrelevant. People, after all, are going to eat.
After losing his job, Paul tried to apply for various jobs, but most of them ended with similar words like "You are a big star, we can't afford it".
Later, he left his hometown and worked as a security guard and a handyman. He has also tried the development of foreign film markets in the past, and has participated in many works such as "Strange Energy" and "Agent Bean 2".
Just when everyone thought that his acting career was gradually seeing light, Paul Che returned to Hong Kong again.
As for the reason for his return, everyone does not know, but someone once saw him doing logistics handyman in the hospital, and then completely "disappeared" in the eyes of the audience.
When it caught everyone's attention again, it was already 2012.
A news headline titled "Che Paul asks for help to raise money to bury his mother" once again pushed this Hong Kong star who had "disappeared" for many years to the cusp of the storm.
In 2012, Che Paul's mother died, and he was too poor to pay for her burial. In desperation, he asked for help from the outside world through his old owner TVB, claiming that his life was poor and he could not afford to pay 70,000 yuan for funeral expenses.
This incident immediately caused a sensation, and no one expected that the former Hong Kong star would fall into such a field.
TVB's deputy director of foreign affairs has confirmed, "Paul Che is indeed the lowest-income person in Hong Kong, but because he is a departing employee, the company may not support him." ”
He had borrowed 5,000 yuan from an acquaintance he had known before, and the other party not only did not lend him, but also blocked his phone. In the end, with the help of well-wishers, he successfully let his mother into the ground.
"Received two donations, the first was 40,000 yuan from RongGuang Social, and then received a donation of 30,000 yuan from TVB's benevolent artists, a total of 70,000 yuan."
The ups and downs of life made Paul Che lament that the entertainment industry is so cold: "If you fall to the bottom, no one will lend you money, because they are afraid that you can't afford it, so it is difficult to ascend to the sky, and it is even more difficult to ask for people." ”
Life goes on.
Now Paul and his wife and children are crammed into a small house of a few square meters, still optimistic.
"I am poor, but I still have a wife and children who love me, and I will not give up when I am poor, thanks to them, I am very happy." 」
In terms of work, he is still a handyman in his 60s, barely maintaining the daily expenses of the family. For the identity of the actor, he did not give up completely, if there is a suitable role, he will still act.
In a recent interview, he worked as an administrator at a wet market.
Saying that he is an administrator is actually a person responsible for the maintenance of an entire street, air conditioning, traffic control, water pipe siltation, the disappearance of the elderly, thieves pickpockets, and public toilets.
Before that interview, he had just won the first nomination for the film emperor in his life in the 40 years since he entered the industry with the role of Lao Chen in the micro-film "The Old Man and the Dog".
In the interview, when he heard that he had been nominated for the Best Actor at the Taipei Film Festival, his first reaction was: "No reason, is it April Fool's Day?" ”
After confirming the news, he said that he was a little excited and began to imagine "what will happen to me in the future?" How do I meet people? There was even walking the red carpet. ”
After a fantasy, Che Paul suddenly woke up: Forget it, or wash and sleep, the next day at 4 a.m. to continue to work...
When I saw this video, I had mixed feelings.
Throughout the interview, it can be seen that he has experienced the ups and downs of life in the world of cold and warm optimism, not humble, decent and dignified.
From the lonely nameless to the gold medal supporting role, from the most depressed time without money to bury his mother to the 40 years into the industry to nominate the film emperor, his life can also be said to be the decline of the entire History of Hong Kong films, but also the epitome of countless downcast Hong Kong stars.
Maybe that's life.