Actor Ma Yili: As an actor, I don't have a "sense of distinction"

New Weekly

2024-05-31 17:30Published on the official account of Guangdong New Weekly

In the more than 50 days of filming this series, Ma Yili entered the character bit by bit, and became the Zhang Fengxia who "walked step by step".

Author/ Liu Dazhuang

Picture / "My Altay"

"Ouch, I'll go." Zhang Fengxia got up from the simple sofa outside, and the sun shone on her. Once seated, she repeated, "Ouch, I'll go!" Around her was a group of Kazakh women who were teaching them this phrase. And then there was the "Ouch, I'll go!" ”。

This is Ma Yili's first frontal appearance in the drama "My Altay". Maybe you have to be a little more careful, so that you can recognize Ma Yili's shadow from the repeated "ouch, I'll go", "fuck him" and "fuck off" - the woman in front of her is really far from the "Lingzi" in the drama "Flowers" that swiped the screen not long ago.

Others will always be curious: how much effort does it take for an actor to present such a very different image in a short period of time without violating the harmony?

And in Ma Yili's eyes, this problem does not seem to be a problem.

Become "Zhang Fengxia"

Ma Yili became interested in "My Altay" after reading the second version of the script in 2022. Later, producer Qi Kang and director Teng Congcong came to Shanghai to discuss the story and characters with her, and Ma Yili became one of the first actors to be confirmed.

"Actually, I think that if they don't use it to see me, I will take this play."

What moved Ma Yili was the appearance of Zhang Fengxia mentioned at the beginning. In her eyes, "My Altay" is a good drama, and it is "good from the first scene".

In the earliest scripts, the character was named "Zhang Fengxia". When meeting the director for the first time, Ma Yili mentioned that maybe she could change "Xia" to "Xia", and she once met a girl from Sichuan at work, who was this "Xia". The director accepted the proposal, and "Zhang Fengxia" became "Zhang Fengxia".

Zhang Fengxia's strong sense of freedom and freedom was originally presented through light comedy. When we interviewed director Teng Congcong, she mentioned that Ma Yili has a heroic spirit, but she never thought that Ma Yili was so suitable for comedy before, and was even a little surprised by her grasp of comedy. "Sometimes comedy can't be designed, and the more you design, the less comedic it is." Ma Yili said.

In the story, Zhang Fengxia is the owner of a local commissary. If Li Wenxiu represents ideals and the exploration of the future world, then Zhang Fengxia may represent the "original hometown" that can carry and entrust ideals. She respects the customs of the locals, knows how to communicate with them, and with her own ability, she becomes a part of the grassland.

On the first day of the crew, Ma Yili observed the living conditions of the locals and learned the local language while filming. She made friends with the locals in the crew, listened to them tell Kazakh customs and stories, and sang songs while playing dombra. For her, immersing herself in local life is an important part.

In the later part of the series, Zhang Fengxia briefly fell in love with the southern youth "Gao Xiaoliang" played by Jiang Qiming. The independent and free Zhang Fengxia has a trace of tie because of this. Some viewers may question this, but Ma Yili never feels that the character's "love brain" should be criticized.

"Zhang Fengxia can understand Kazakh because she has lived in this place long enough, she can know what these people are saying through her words and expressions, and she wanted to stay here forever. But she met Gao Xiaoliang, and the other party asked her to leave with her. At that time, Zhang Fengxia shook for a moment, thinking, 'Can the choices made before be changed?' ’。 In this case, she had a brief withdrawal from her body and mind. ”

Zhang Fengxia in the play presents a completely different state from Miss Li in "The Myth of Love" and Lingzi in "Flowers", which is not something that Ma Yili needs to "work hard" to do. In the more than 50 days of filming this series, she entered the character bit by bit, and became the Zhang Fengxia who "walked step by step".

"Living things are attractive enough"

From "Dragon City" to "Flowers", and now to "My Altay", and even back to the earlier "Struggle" and "The First Half of My Life", a large part of the characters that make Ma Yili shine come from novels.

Many people think that Ma Yili has a preference for scripts adapted from novels, but she believes that there is no uniform standard for choosing scripts by herself. "Maybe I used to think that the script adapted from the novel must be good, but then I found out that this is not the case, and there are many original scripts that are also excellent." What Ma Yili values is the ability of screenwriters.

So it was natural for her to star in "The Myth of Love" before. She never felt that she was "supporting" each other by cooperating with young directors. "We really need a new director to give us a new source of creativity...... If we are afraid of being changed by new things, it proves that we have no self-confidence. ”

After starring in "The First Half of My Life", most of the scripts Ma Yili received were similar urban themes, but she was reluctant to repeat herself. When asked why "Dragon City", which aired last year, attracted her, she gave a firm answer: "Dongni is a living woman, and everything is attractive enough. There is never a standard for life, and I think that evaluating without prejudice, judgment, or other personal perspectives is the greatest respect for a person. ”

Talking to Ma Yili, I can really feel her obsession with "life" itself. For her, acting should be to experience life without "separation" and devote herself to a story. "Nothing hard to grasp or technically problematic. Our job is to experience, and we don't need any technology to do it. ”

Regarding the performance, Ma Yili's answer is always very neat. She feels that in addition to the story and characters, participating in a film and television project as an actor does not need to have other special considerations, such as whether it is a series or a movie, whether the filming location is difficult, or whether the input and output match. "Do you love something that you need to think about the output of input and return? If you think about it, it's not love. ”

She also devoted herself to "My Altay". Ma Yili doesn't feel like a tourist, she believes she is a Han woman living in the area. She doesn't need to "observe", she instinctively adapts and gives feedback to her surroundings.

Talking about how she sees the animals in Altay, she said, "All animals are part of that place, they are not kept in captivity, they live there." We follow cows, horses, sheep, camels, cats, dogs...... They are all part of the steppe."

Ma Yili emphasized that the local people's concept of animals is also very important. Professor Chen Xiangjun, who has been conducting research in the local area for a long time, mentioned in an interview that the local people attach great importance to the equality of the natural world. Nature is incomplete without wildlife. Even wolves, which appear as an existential threat to herders in the series, are also important members of the natural system, "neighbors" who live in symbiosis with herders, cattle and sheep in the natural world.

Ma Yili, who is unwilling to be a "tourist", and Zhang Fengxia in the story also cherish this land. Ma Yili likened her experience in Altay to a dream away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

In the lens of "My Altay", the free and determined Zhang Fengxia is the long-lost female image on the screen, and it is the best gift that Ma Yili gave back to Altay.

Operations: Ono; Typography: Sweet

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