丨This article was first published in the Pippi movie
In 1976, at the age of 40, Wang Tiecheng was still a "dragon set" in the Central Children's Art Theater, receiving a meager salary and holding a position of "actor to be assigned" in the troupe.
Wang Tiecheng would not have thought that his fate would change drastically because of the great man who played Zhou Enlai, and his figure would remain in the long river of Chinese film history forever.
01
Wang Tiecheng, whose real name is Wang Tiecheng, was born in 1936 in the chaos of the war, and is a native of old Beijing.
He especially liked opera when he was young, and sometimes he even forgot to go to school because he listened to it, which shows how obsessed he is.
When his father saw that he was so obsessed with opera, he asked him to worship Xi Xiaobo, one of the four major students of Peking Opera, as his teacher, and the name "Wang Tiecheng" was given by Xi Xiaobo.
Iron into, iron into, no matter what iron will be able to succeed! ——This is the ardent expectation of the elders, and it has also become a prophecy of Wang Tie's future fate.
Later, Wang Tiecheng was admitted to the Acting Department of the Central Academy of Drama, and after graduating in 1961, he was assigned to the Central Children's Art Theater as an actor.
But the arrival of the Ten Years of the Cultural Revolution changed everything, and by the end of the Cultural Revolution, Wang Tiecheng had reached middle age, and at this time he was still unknown and could only play some inconspicuous small roles.
In everyone's opinion, at this age, it has not survived, and this life is probably like this.
02
In 1977, an opportunity fell from the sky: the drama "Turning" was looking for an actor who could control Zhou Enlai, but after searching for a long time, he did not find the right object.
The people of the children's theater recommended Wang Tiecheng to try it, but after putting on makeup, everyone was shocked by wang Tiecheng in front of them.
This appearance, this style, is the prime minister himself!
Many years later, Wang Tiecheng still remembers the day of the official performance, the moment he stepped onto the stage, the audience gave thunderous applause, and many people cried silently, holding the stage to watch Wang Tiecheng's performance up close.
Pig believes that this is the heartfelt true expression of all those who have come from that era.
Later, in the drama "Newsboy", he played Zhou Enlai again, and even Cao Yu was full of praise, holding Wang Tiecheng's hand and saying excitedly: "Thank you for letting us see Premier Zhou again." ”
Wang Tiecheng, who has run the dragon set for more than ten years, is famous, and the drama "Turning Point" has really become a "major turning point" in his life, and he will be remembered by the world for playing Zhou Enlai.
03
In 1978, Wang Tiecheng starred in the movie "The Great River Rushing", which was the first time that the image of Zhou Enlai appeared on the big screen.
Although it is the first time to act in a movie, Wang Tiecheng's performance in the film is not jerky, and his speech and demeanor have the style of Zhou Enlai, and the audience also recognizes Wang Tiecheng's performance.
However, in order to achieve this effect of "both form and god", Wang Tiecheng has made great efforts.
He repeatedly watched the premier's documentaries, consulted the photos and video materials of the prime ministers at different times, and tried to fit the image of the prime minister from all levels such as expressions, movements, and ways of speaking.
As an old Beijinger, he had to completely erase his Beijing accent, learn the accent of the prime minister, and be precise in every word and every syllable.
And Zhou Enlai's wife, Deng Yingchao, also gave Wang Tiecheng some advice on the performance: for example, the prime minister's eyes are always full of radiance, such as the pace of walking is not only fast, but also steady and powerful.
Many years later, Wang Tiecheng could not forget the excitement when he met Deng Yingchao, and Deng Yingchao's affirmation also enhanced Wang Tiecheng's confidence in interpreting the image of the premier.
He will never forget that when he recreated the performance clip in "The Great River Rushing" on the stage, Deng Yingchao leaned forward, stared intently, and watched so intently...
Since then, "Wind and Rain Under The Bell Mountain", "Li Siguang", and "Xi'an Incident" have been released one after another, and through these films, Wang Tiecheng's version of the premier's image has been increasingly recognized and loved by the audience.
Among these works, the 1992 biopic "Zhou Enlai" is recognized as the "work of the gods" played by Wang Tiecheng as the premier.
04
No one can deny that Wang Tiecheng's performance in "Zhou Enlai" has been difficult to surpass in all the film and television works about Zhou Enlai so far.
How deeply rooted is the film? Just look at the sensation when the film was released, and the amazing box office results.
At that time, the average ticket price was 2 yuan, and the film eventually exceeded 200 million yuan at the box office, which would be amazing data if placed today.
Countless people burst into tears in the movie theater, and it was as if they really walked to Zhou Enlai's side and personally witnessed the premier's last decade of hard work.
"Zhou Enlai" won Wang Tiecheng the 12th Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor, and also received "stamp recognition" praised by the people of the whole country.
Makeup artist Wang Xizhong has made some efforts to this, he refers to the appearance of the prime minister in his later years, one by one, and even the age spots on his face are carefully sketched, without ambiguity.
But the most difficult thing is not the shape, Wang Tiecheng has achieved an amazing god-likeness.
When chatting with foreign guests, they are full of spirit, wise words, and humorous.
At the time of the presentation at the meeting, despite the long illness, the speech was still sonorous and powerful, and it was heartening.
Especially at He Long's memorial service, zhou Enlai's old tears in the face of the departure of his old friend made the viewers feel uncomfortable from the bottom of their hearts.
In a trance, it was as if it had become a documentary of the prime minister's life, rather than an actor's interpretation.
Pi Ge felt that Wang Tiecheng had completely erased the traces of the performance, but had instead integrated the soul of the prime minister into his bones.
In order to achieve the emaciated appearance of the prime minister, Wang Tiecheng paid a huge price, dieting, exercising, eating diet pills, and reducing the weight of 130 kilograms to about 90 kilograms.
And Wang Tiecheng suffered a car accident during the filming, he lost a lot of weight during the recuperation time, and he was still haggard after being discharged from the hospital, which allowed Wang Tiecheng to present the role more vividly.
Later, Wang Tiecheng called the car accident "the luck that God brought to himself", which shows that in his heart, being able to play a good role is the most important.
05
The prime minister's personality and temperament also had a subtle impact on Wang Tiecheng's life.
Although his son suffers from congenital dementia, Wang Tiecheng does not regard this as a burden, he believes that it is his son who makes him feel the fullness and warmth of life.
In order to take care of his son wholeheartedly, he and his wife resolutely gave up the plan to have a second child, and even in the busiest years of filming, he never missed his son's life.
On weekdays, he will also actively donate money to poor areas to support the children in mountainous areas to study, but these acts of charity are nothing in Wang Tiecheng's eyes.
Compared with the prime minister who serves the people, what he has done is too insignificant.
Some people will ask Wang Tiecheng if he will feel sorry for only playing the role of prime minister all his life.
But Wang Tiecheng said that if he had not played Zhou Enlai, I would not be anything now, and it was his greatest happiness to be able to play Zhou Enlai.
It is enough to be able to play such a role well in a lifetime and play it in the hearts of the people of the whole country.
Text/Pippi Film Editorial Department: Ah Zhi
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