Teacher Zhong Xinghuo is an excellent actor with strong adaptability and a wide range of plays, and what touched me even more was his noble character.
Older fans must know the two characters of Xiwang and Ma Tianmin, one is a simple and simple peasant, the other is a good policeman who serves the people, and in "Li Shuangshuang" and "Today I Rest", the protagonist plays the famous actor Zhong Xinghuo - a good actor who is as simple and upright as the characters in the film, and a movie star of the people. When I was studying, I was a fan of the film, often saving a little pocket money to go to the movies, of course, I knew Zhong Xinghuo, and I also liked the composer Zhang Shu played by him in "Nie Er". I was curious that the somewhat cunning peasant, the simple policeman, and the dashing and handsome musician were actually played by the same actor. Maybe it was an opportunity arrangement, and a few years later, I actually co-starred and filmed in the same movie as Mr. Zhong.
The first time was in 1982 in Li Xiepu's "Little Goldfish", where he played The Teacher Zhong of the Work School, a good teacher who helps students with bad habits to change. I played a physical education teacher in the play. This is my first foray into film. Playing with a famous actor who has been looking up for a long time, it is inevitable that I will be nervous. There was a scene where I went into the office to report to Mr. Zhong that the student had escaped and the sound was very loud. Li Dao frowned and called a halt to reshoot. Zhong Xinghuo talked to me very easily, telling me that the movie is not a drama, that it should be lived in front of the camera, and that it does not have to be loud to speak, just like usual... I instantly eliminated the tension and completed the shooting smoothly.
In 1990, directed by Wu Zhennian and co-produced by Shangying and Zhejiang Film, I served as the assistant director of the play and cooperated with Lao Zhong for the second time. At that time, he had left for retirement, but he did not like to be called "Teacher Zhong", and everyone affectionately called him "Lao Zhong". In the film, he played Wang Fushou, a veteran of the Kuomintang who had been away from the mainland for more than 40 years, and his performance was already calm and fascinating. When filming at Hangzhou Airport, from the aircraft out of the hatch, without a single line, demeanor, demeanor and eyes, it vividly performed the heart of a homesick wanderer. When filming the scene where the Kuomintang troops fled to Taiwan, in order to make a good scene of the extras, I said sarcastically and seriously: "The communist army has come, and we will immediately get on the boat and go to Taiwan..." Unexpectedly, the PLA fighters who performed the group performance all laughed. Zhong Xinghuo rushed over to help me explain the plot together, and by the time he was shooting the shot of his wife holding his daughter and saying goodbye, all the extras were infected. The escape scene was filmed very successfully, the production director praised me for conducting well, and I replied: "It was Lao Zhong's performance of this big actor who created the atmosphere of hundreds of people fleeing..." The film later won the national "Huabiao Award", Xi Meijuan was on the screen for the first time, and won the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Double Award with her outstanding acting skills.
An academic actor once said to me that Zhong Xinghuo's performance was "in the style of Tu Ba Lu", but in fact, he did not know that Lao Zhong had studied in the Literature and Art Department of Shandong University in the Liberated Areas, and he firmly believed that diligence could make up for clumsiness, diligent study, diligent questioning, and diligent exploration. I met him twice at Xinhua Bookstore on Nanjing Road and Middle Yan'an Road. At that time, his former wife died of illness, and there were some minor conflicts in the family. He was very open-minded and cheerful to explain the situation to us, and there was no big star shelf at all. It is precisely because of his hard work and exploration that Zhong Xinghuo has become an excellent actor with strong adaptability and a wide range of plays, and the difficult comedy characters and villain roles are also vividly played. In 1981, Zhong Xinghuo played an important negative role in "The Legend of Tianyun Mountain" - Wu Yao. It is really surprising that the actor who has always played a simple little character actually behaves so amazingly as a hard and helpless high-ranking official who looks like a revolution but is actually dirty in his heart!
I would also like to highlight the noble character of these artists of the older generation.
When "Fake Girl True Feelings" was filmed, one day at noon, the owner of a local brewery came to the filming site and asked Zhong Xinghuo to shoot an advertisement for their factory, and Lao Zhong shook his head and declined. The boss repeatedly pleaded, and explained that the shooting shot was very simple, as long as he took the beer and said it was good, Lao Zhong still smiled and refused. The boss thought that the payment was not enough, and said with an offer, "As long as you spend more than an hour, I will give you ten thousand yuan!" "Ten thousand yuan was a huge amount of money at the time." Lao Zhong replied, "I don't want this money, thank you..." I was right next to them at the time, and the lunch and beer supply that day were sponsored by the boss. Many of our crew remember this as well. Afterwards, I asked Lao Zhong why he didn't make this money, which was not difficult to earn, and he replied, "I want to make money, but I want to be famous!" That's what he said.
Later, I didn't see Lao Zhong much, one day I rode to Fumin Road, heard someone shouting at me, stopped to see, it was Zhong Xinghuo. That day they were shooting a TV series in a small alley, and he had just finished shooting and had free time. Sitting on the curb on the edge of the cement floor on the side of the road, we were blowing like grandfathers and sons. This is the last time I will see Lao Zhong, dear Teacher Zhong Xinghuo! The news of Zhong Xinghuo's death, I learned afterwards, did not catch up to attend his memorial service, after the film studio friends informed the news, I fell to my feet and sighed. Writing the above words today, it is still difficult to avoid confusion. Miss Lao Zhong, my beloved Teacher Zhong Xinghuo! (Wang Zhengyu)