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There is such an actor in the Chinese film and television industry: his appearance is ordinary, but he conquers the audience with his superb acting skills; He has worked with many celebrities, but he has always kept a low profile; After he won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor, he voluntarily quit the film industry for 8 years; Now 82 years old, he still insists on performing on crutches.
He is Liu Zifeng, an artist who interprets "the drama is bigger than the sky" to the extreme.
However, why is this textbook-like old artist being ignored by many people?
In 2018, a surprising news spread in the theater circle - Liu Zifeng, who is 82 years old, took over the performance task of the drama "Life is Like a Song".
Many people can't help but wonder if this veteran artist, who is over eighty years old, is still up to the stage performance.
However, Liu Zifeng gave the answer with practical actions. Despite his advanced age and the need to walk on crutches, he still maintains the enthusiasm of his youth. Every day before dawn, he would get up early, carefully study the script, and carefully ponder the role.
At rehearsals, he can often be seen on crutches, practicing his lines and movements over and over again.
Liu Zifeng's attitude towards the role made the young people in the crew sigh to themselves. Not only did he take a lot of notes, but he also often discussed with screenwriters and directors who were dozens of years younger than him to share his understanding of the characters.
"Although I have played many roles, each one is a new challenge," he says. I had to get to know him like an old friend for many years, and get to know him slowly and into his inner world.
During the rehearsal, Liu Zifeng showed amazing concentration and perseverance. Even after hours of continuous rehearsals, he rarely cries out tiredness. Sometimes the director was worried that his body would not be able to bear it and advised him to rest for a while, but he always smiled and said, "It's okay, I can do it a few more times."
This kind of professionalism infected the entire crew. Everyone was moved by the enthusiasm and persistence of this old artist, and they all expressed their desire to learn from Liu Lao. Finally, after countless rehearsals, "Life Like a Song" was successfully staged, and the role of Chen Ah Gong played by Liu Zifeng won unanimous praise from the audience.
In 2019, at the 29th Shanghai Magnolia Drama Awards Ceremony, Liu Zifeng won the Best Leading Role Award again for this role. When he walked tremblingly to the podium on crutches, the audience burst into applause.
This award is not only an affirmation of his performance, but also a tribute to his lifelong artistic pursuit.
Liu Zifeng, who was standing in the spotlight, although his head was full of white hair and wrinkles, his eyes were still bright. He said affectionately: "As long as there is a play to play, I will always be young."
This sentence expresses his infinite love for the performing arts, and also shows the spirit of an old artist who never gives up.
Seeing that the 82-year-old Liu Zifeng can still shine on the stage, many people can't help but wonder how the old artist embarked on the road of acting. In fact, Liu Zifeng's life trajectory is full of accidents and drama.
If you want to talk about Liu Zifeng's dream when he was young, he can't match the actor's eight poles. Born in 1938, he grew up reading magazines like Knowledge is Power and Science Illustrated, dreaming of becoming a scientist or engineer when he grew up.
When he filled in the college entrance examination in 1956, he ranked Tsinghua University, Peking University and other science and engineering colleges in the front, and he never thought that it would have anything to do with performance.
Who would have expected that there would be unforeseen circumstances, and Liu Zifeng actually entered the Shanghai Theater Academy by mistake. This turning point completely changed the direction of his life. After graduating from Shanghai Opera in 1963, Liu Zifeng was assigned to the Children's Art Theater of the China Welfare Association.
At first, he was a little uncomfortable, but he quickly fell in love with acting.
Liu Zifeng takes his work very seriously. Whether playing the leading role or a supporting role, he will study the role thoroughly. From the character to the inner emotion, to the stage effect, he strives to do his best.
In this way, he gradually made his mark on the stage of children's theater.
In 1965 the opportunity came. Shanghai Film Studio wants to put the drama "Little Football Team" on the screen, and Liu Zifeng got the opportunity to participate, which is his first time on the big screen.
Although he is not the main character, his performance is still impressive.
In the 80s, Liu Zifeng's acting career began to take off. He has cooperated with popular stars Zhao Jing and Zhu Lin, and starred in works such as "Two Girls" and "Meet Again in Twenty Years".
In "University in Exile", his role as Lu Zhonghan impressed the audience even more. Liu Zifeng's simple and natural performance style has won the love of the audience.
But what really made Liu Zifeng famous in one fell swoop was the 1985 movie "Black Cannon Incident". In this movie, he plays Zhao Shuxin, who is an introverted and not very easy to figure out character.
In the face of this challenge, Liu Zifeng meditated hard and finally put forward the innovative concept of "fuzzy performance". This idea not only won the approval of director Huang Jianxin, but also became the tone of the whole film.
"The Black Cannon Incident" caused a sensation as soon as it was released. Liu Zifeng's performance is known as a textbook level, and he also won the Best Actor at the 6th Chinese Film Golden Rooster Awards for this role.
Since then, Liu Zifeng has become a hot and powerful actor in the film industry, and various film appointments have come one after another.
Just when his career was at its most prosperous, Liu Zifeng made an unexpected decision - he took the initiative to quit the film industry and did not take on any film and television works for 8 years.
Liu Zifeng chose to retire at the peak of his career, which really surprised the circle inside and outside. Many people don't understand that they have finally survived, how can they say that they will retreat? In fact, behind this is Liu Zifeng's unique pursuit of art.
In the film and television industry at that time, many actors could turn purple by simply reading their lines. But in Liu Zifeng's view, this is far from enough. He believes that a truly good actor must not only play the role alive, but also dig deep into the artistic value of the work.
How can this be done? Liu Zifeng feels that acting on the set is not enough, and he has to combine acting with life.
In order to achieve this goal, Liu Zifeng made a bold decision - to leave the screen for the time being and devote himself to the study of performing arts. This retirement is a full 8 years.
In the past 8 years, Liu Zifeng has not been idle. He read a lot of books, not only on performance theory, but also on literature, philosophy, and so on. He often said: "To play a role well, an actor must first understand human nature."
In addition to reading, he often goes deep into life, observing various characters and experiencing different lives.
Sometimes you can see Liu Zifeng on the streets. He may have been observing the hawker's shouting demeanor, or he could have experienced the old man's state of mind when he was playing chess.
These seemingly ordinary daily lives are valuable performance materials in his eyes.
Liu Zifeng also regularly communicates with other artists. They discuss the nature of acting, how to make the characters more fleshed out and three-dimensional. Through these exchanges, Liu Zifeng's artistic attainments have been continuously improved, and his understanding of performance has become more and more profound.
When Liu Zifeng returned to the film industry 8 years later, everyone found that his performance had undergone subtle changes. He no longer pursues flashy acting skills, but deeply integrates the character with himself.
Each character seems to be a part of his life, so naturally that people forget that they are watching a performance.
After his comeback, Liu Zifeng starred in "The Third Line", "Good Guy Li Justice", "Modern Family" and other works. In these works, the audience sees a more mature and restrained Liu Zifeng.
His performance is unassuming, but he has a subtle and silent power that can easily touch the heartstrings of the audience.
Looking back on the 8-year quiet period, Liu Zifeng has never regretted it. He often said: "Those 8 years are the most valuable treasure of my acting career." It made me understand that a good performance is not for others to see, but to bring the character to life.
This experience not only made Liu Zifeng's acting skills to a higher level, but also strengthened his pursuit of art. From then on, no matter what play he receives, he will devote himself wholeheartedly and strive to perform every role to the extreme.
After returning to the film industry, Liu Zifeng, although his works continue, his exposure in the media has never been high. This is not because he is not popular, but because of his unique understanding and pursuit of art.
Once someone came to Liu Zifeng with a script and swore that "this play will definitely hit the Cannes Film Festival!" Unexpectedly, Liu Zifeng refused without saying a word.
He explains: "If a work is only for the sake of winning awards, it loses the essence of art. We should focus on building characters and telling good stories rather than making awards a goal.
This attitude is also reflected in his daily work. Once in order to catch up with the schedule, the crew wanted Liu Zifeng to shoot a few more scenes. But he insisted on studying the characters thoroughly, saying: "I'd rather spend more time and bring the characters to life."
The audience's eyes are bright and perfunctory.
Liu Zifeng's dedication to art is not only reflected in his performances, but also influences his life choices. One year, his unit was going to select a leader, and many of his colleagues wanted him to run for election.
After all, with his qualifications and prestige, being a leader is more than enough. But Liu Zifeng politely refused in person. He smiled and said: "I'm just a play, just act well, what kind of official is it."
In 2017, Liu Zifeng won the Special Honor Award of the 16th Golden Phoenix Award of the China Film Performing Arts Society. This award is a recognition of his hard work over the years.
But for Liu Zifeng, being able to continue acting is the biggest reward.
Even in his old age, Liu Zifeng still maintains his love for acting. In 2018, at the age of 82, he took over the drama "Life is Like a Song". Despite the need for crutches, he still insisted on rehearsing every day and figuring out the role with his heart.
This dedication touched everyone on the crew.
A reporter asked him: "You are so old, why do you still work so hard?" Liu Zifeng replied with a smile: "As long as there is acting, I will always be young." Acting is not my job, it's my life.
Although Liu Zifeng's face is old, his passionate eyes still shine with his love for art. His story teaches us that a true artist is not a star who chases fame and fortune, but someone who consistently pursues the true meaning of art.
Liu Zifeng used his life to interpret the meaning of "the drama is bigger than the sky". His experience tells us that success is not about how many applause and awards you get, but about the persistent pursuit of what you love.
In this impetuous era, an actor like Liu Zifeng, who focuses on the essence of art, is undoubtedly a clear stream and deserves our respect and learning.
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