On weekends, movie screenings in the compound become the hottest entertainment. Gong Lei always stared at the screen with wide eyes, engrossed in the screen, and was deeply attracted by those lifelike characters.
The world on the screen seems to have opened a magical door, allowing Gong Lei to see a broader world than the barracks.
As he grew older, the dream of being an actor in Gong Lei's heart gradually germinated. He began to imagine himself standing on the stage and being the center of attention. This small wish became the driving force for him to move forward.
No one expected that the son of a soldier who loves acting in the barracks would become the "villain brother" in the Chinese film and television industry in the future. What's even more surprising is that he has to wait for 20 years for his acting skills to be truly recognized and bloom.
This childhood experience became Gonglei's spiritual pillar when facing difficulties in the future, allowing him to always maintain his love and dedication to acting during the long wait.
In Gong Lei's memory, the little boy who watched a movie in the army compound always cherished the vision and yearning for the actor's career, which was the direction he pursued all his life.
After graduating from high school, Gonglei dreamed of becoming an actor, and he was admitted to Shandong Art Institute as he wished. However, when he first stepped onto the college campus, reality slapped him hard.
He found that his foundation was too weak, especially his line skills, compared with other classmates, the gap was obvious, and this gap made Gong Lei feel frustrated, but he did not give up his love for acting because of this.
In the face of difficulties, Gong Lei did not flinch, he chose the most arduous training methods, such as reciting with pebbles in his mouth, learning to bark to practice wheezing, and even running to the beach to practice his lines frantically until physiological nausea appeared.
It is this kind of almost crazy effort that makes his line skills leap forward and Gong Lei's persistence and perseverance, laying a solid foundation for him to become an excellent actor in the future.
After graduation, Gong Lei became a drama actor. However, the reality is still cruel, most of the time he is doing logistical work such as stage construction and equipment removal and unloading, especially when performing in the countryside, he is busy for most of the day and can only perform for an hour.
This asymmetry between pay and return causes Gong Lei to often feel frustrated.
In order to make a living, Gong Lei had to act in children's dramas, which was torture for him who was eager for a challenge. Every time he stood on the stage and faced the innocent children, he vowed in his heart: one day, he would stand on a bigger stage and play a more in-depth role.
However, it is this kind of tempering that makes Gonglei's character more tenacious. He always believes that perseverance will one day usher in his own stage. This belief helped him through the most difficult years and laid a solid foundation for his future success in the film and television industry.
Gong Lei often said: "The most important thing in the profession of actor is to persist and accumulate." This sentence is not only his spur to himself, but also a portrayal of his life.
After several years of working in the repertory troupe, Gong Lei decided to go north to resign. This decision made the people around him not understand, but Gong Lei had a strong belief in his heart. He is convinced that only on a bigger stage can he realize his dream of being a drama actor.
With a little savings accumulated over the years, Gong Lei came to Beijing and was admitted to the Central Academy of Drama for further study. This was an important turning point in his life and a bold adventure in his pursuit of an acting career.
The study experience in Chinese opera has given him a deeper and more comprehensive understanding and knowledge of acting.
Gong Lei's good fortune seems to have come, and just over a month later, he received an invitation from the crew of "Love on the Edge of Life and Death". Although it is only a small role, it is undoubtedly a huge encouragement for Gong Lei, who has just debuted.
With excitement, he threw himself into the role, hoping to take the opportunity to show his talents.
Gong Lei never expected that such a run-of-the-mill life would last for 20 years. In the past 20 years, he has experienced countless disappointments and setbacks, and he has also wavered and doubted. However, whenever he stands in front of the camera and feels the character's breath, that feeling of satisfaction from the heart always reinvigorates him.
In the long years, Gong Lei has always loved acting. He often humorously said: "Being an actor is a profession that is constantly unemployed, it is neither noble nor mysterious." This open-mindedness allowed him to persevere in the cold years of 20 years.
Even in the days when there was no filming, Gong Lei was not idle. He can practice calligraphy, play tai chi, write poems, and drink tea, but his seemingly idle hobbies actually enrich his inner world and accumulate rich materials for his future character building.
Gong Lei's experience of drifting north is the epitome of the struggle of amateur actors, and it has also witnessed the growth of actors. True perseverance and love have made him achieve good results in this industry.
In the days of Beipiao, most of the roles that Gong Lei received were supporting roles. Among them, the most representative is the role of cooperating with Chen Daoming in the TV series "Black Hole". However, this should have been a turning point in Gonglei's career, but reality gave him a blow to the head.
In the drama "Black Hole", the villain Hakka played by Gong Lei, because of his funny acting skills, many people have projected the insidious cunning in the play onto him, which has also brought a lot of trouble to Gong Lei.
As the partner of a big name like Chen Daoming, Gong Lei should have soared into the sky, but in fact, what he got was endless abuse.
However, Gonglei was not frustrated by this. He clearly knows that a good actor should not be tied down to a single role. As a result, he put in more effort to delve into the art of acting and experiment with a variety of different types of roles.
In "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an", he played the timid and fearful Zhao Senjun; In "Detective Ke Chen", he is the prison warden who has few shots but is righteous and awe-inspiring; In the movie "Miracle · Stupid Child", he successfully portrayed the innocent and kind boxer Zhang Longhao.
In the past 20 years, Gong Lei has always firmly adhered to his principle, that is, no matter how big or small the role, as long as he accepts it, he will give 100% effort. He often said: "Every role I take on, I must first understand it thoroughly, and if I don't have a thorough understanding of the role, I won't accept it."
This ultimate pursuit of performing arts and love for performance has allowed Gonglei to gradually accumulate his own strength with continuous efforts and persistence.
After a careful investigation, Gong Lei has indeed created many roles over the years, and it is more than 20 years of polishing that has given him today's skillful acting skills. Even if there are only a few shots, or just a small supporting role, Gong Lei's excellence allows him to play every role.
In this long waiting process, Gong Lei has always maintained a peaceful mind. When there is a scene, he devotes himself to filming; When there is no filming, he practices calligraphy, plays tai chi, writes poems, drinks tea, and lives a good life.
This indifferent attitude allowed him to persevere in his 20-year career on the cold bench, and finally succeeded after 20 years of hibernation.
In the hit drama "Icebreaker", the role of Lin Zonghui played by Gong Lei has attracted much attention, and he successfully portrayed the role vividly. As one of the main villains and a core member of the criminal syndicate, Gong Lei interprets the image of ruthlessness to the fullest.
The audience was impressed by his delicate performance, especially his seemingly godless but emotional eyes, which left a deep impression.
In "Icebreaker", Uncle Hui is the oldest third room, although his status is not as good as the second room of the big house, he is forced to participate in drug production and trafficking. He still has a conscience in his heart, and he is alone for his daughter, but he puts his two sons in danger.
Gong Lei accurately interprets the inner struggle and helplessness of this complex character: when his third son died, he hugged his son's corpse tightly, his eyes full of murderous intent; When the second son was disabled, his eyes were full of helplessness, and Gong Lei used his performance that was both forbearant and ruthless enough to create the role of "Uncle Hui" with great depth and appeal, so he quickly became popular because of this role.
However, after becoming famous, Gonglei was not complacent because of this. He began to look back on his acting career of more than 20 years and think about why he has not been able to break through. Some people think that he has a poor appearance, and has even been described as "strange".
Gong Lei chose to respond to these criticisms by improving his acting skills.
In the drama "The Long River under Heaven", Nalan Mingzhu played by Gong Lei once again dazzled the audience. He vividly expressed the sleek and extravagant nature of this character, and successfully created a character image with both depth and humor.
Nalan Mingzhu not only showed the scheming of a minister of the South Study, but also gave a wonderful shot of the whiskers and horses, which somewhat brought a bit of comedian flavor This performance made Gonglei completely get rid of the label of "harlequin" and won unanimous praise from the audience and industry insiders.
After Gong Lei achieved a gorgeous turn with these two roles, he successfully grew from an unknown supporting actor to a high-profile powerful actor.