Recently, the major revolutionary historical theme TV series "The Age of Awakening", which is being broadcast on CCTV, has attracted countless viewers to watch, and the ratings have ranked first in the broadcast time period, and the current Douban score is 8.8 points, and more than half of the netizens have given five-star praise.
There are many characters in the play, but the actors' acting skills are all online. In particular, the role of Mr. Lu Xun, which has attracted much attention, was portrayed by actor Cao Lei with great praise.
1. Cao Lei: It is my honor to be so close to Mr. Cao
Under the careful arrangement of director Zhang Yongxin, although Lu Xun did not play many scenes in "The Age of Awakening", each scene was quite exquisite and extremely impressive.
For example, when Lu Xun first appeared, he cleverly integrated many elements of Lu Xun's works such as the self-prologue of "Scream", "Medicine", "A Q Zheng biography" and so on, which made people shoot the case amazingly.
Lu Xun's state when he created "Diary of a Madman", sometimes he pondered bitterly, sometimes he lay on the ground and meditated, sometimes he raised his eyebrows coldly... Cao Lei played a Mr. Lu Xun who was cold on the outside and hot on the inside.
It can be seen that Cao Lei attaches great importance to and cherishes the role of "Lu Xun", it is said that in the process of filming "The Age of Awakening", Cao Lei once had tears flow out unconsciously, which shows the depth of his entry into the play and the depth of his love.
Recently, Cao Lei talked about Lu Xun in "The Age of Awakening" on his personal social platform: It is my honor to be so close to Mr. Liu.
Many viewers said that Cao Lei played Lu Xun very successfully, "this Lu Xun satisfies all my imaginations about Lu Xun" and "This version of Mr. Lu Xun is cool."
2. His parents are both literary and art workers, and he dropped out of the North Dance Examination to play in the Chinese opera
Cao Lei was born in 1977 in Beijing to a literary and artistic family, his father was a cellist of the Beijing Film Orchestra, and his mother was a dancer from Ningxia. Therefore, Cao Lei also returned to Ningxia with his mother for a period of time, and returned to Beijing at the age of 16.
His parents hoped that Cao Lei would be able to engage in literary and artistic work when he grew up. So, when he was young, every day before dawn, his mother would wake Cao Lei up from bed to exercise, and later began to teach him to learn dance.
Cao Lei is practicing dance
Under the strict education of his parents, Cao Lei has been more sensible and assertive than children of the same age since he was a child. I also studied very hard and learned the dance very well.
After graduating from high school, Cao Lei was admitted to the Beijing Dance Academy with excellent results, but after two years, he suddenly became interested in acting, and wanted to enter the Central Academy of Drama, so he dropped out of school without informing his parents, and then danced outside to earn tuition.
Finally, Cao Lei used his sweat to earn enough tuition fees of nearly 100,000 yuan for 4 years, and successfully entered the musical theater class of the Acting Department of the Central Academy of Drama. Only then did he tell his parents about his withdrawal from school to play in the exam.
Cao Lei and Jin Dong returned to their alma mater to participate in the activity
3. He and Jin Dong are classmates of Chinese opera, and began to shoot film and television dramas in their sophomore year
Cao Lei's classmates in the Acting Department of the Central Academy of Drama included Jin Dong, Chen Sicheng, Li Guangjie, etc., and Jin Dong was Cao Lei's classmate and the class leader of that musical theater class.
Cao Lei also has a sister in the family, who was admitted to the medical school and is the "student bully" in the school, and is the top three every year in the 5 years of college. Under the "stimulation" of his sister, Cao Lei, who is not willing to be left behind, also works hard in the Chinese drama.
In the Class of 99 Chinese Opera Musical Theater Class, Cao Lei belongs to the students with excellent grades and receives scholarships almost every year. In his sophomore year, he took over the first play of his life, "Very Citizen", and the collaborators included famous actors Jiang Wenli and Qin Hailu. In this drama, Cao Lei plays one of Puyi's bodyguards, who has an affair with Empress Wanrong and gives birth to a child.
In 2003, Cao Lei graduated from Chinese opera and officially began his acting career. With outstanding acting skills and a sunny and healthy appearance, Cao Lei has gradually become a powerful actor. So far, he has starred in or participated in dozens of film and television drama works, portraying many characters that audiences like, such as Hu Yang in "Youth Walking", Li Pushi in "Jade Fragmentation", Zhang Yucheng in "Jedi Gun King", Wang Aide-de-camp in "No War in Peiping", Chiang Kai-shek in "The Great Cause of Building an Army", Zhu Yingjie in "The Banner of the Father's Generation" and so on.
Many of the works that Cao Lei has participated in are period dramas and war dramas, which can be called "professional households in war dramas". And the roles he plays are mostly positive inspirational characters. No matter what the role, Cao Lei takes it seriously and strives to play "flesh and blood and depth". As a result, his acting skills are getting better and better.
4. Playing Guo Jia in "The League of Military Teachers" was well received and became acquainted with director Zhang Yongxin
In 2017, Cao Lei played Cao Cao's strategist Guo Jia in the historical drama "The Army Division Alliance of Sima Yi of the Great Army Division", and he showed Guo Jia's casual and resourceful personality into three points, leaving a deep impression on the audience.
On January 12, 2018, Cao Lei won two awards for his superb acting skills and excellent actor quality, "Good Actor of Chinese Television" and "Special Contribution of the Public Welfare Film "I Am By Your Side"" for his superb acting skills and excellent actor quality. Years of hard work have finally paid off.
It is precisely because of the drama "The Army Division Alliance of Sima Yi of the Great Army Division", Cao Lei and the director Zhang Yongxin became acquainted. When preparing "The Age of Awakening", Zhang Yongxin thought of Cao Lei and let him play Mr. Lu Xun, a great literary hero who was very concerned in it.
Today, Cao Lei has conquered the audience with his outstanding performance and has not lived up to the expectations of director Zhang Yongxin.
Cao Lei and his wife Deng Li
5, his wife Deng Li is his classmate, the family is happy
Cao Lei's wife, Deng Li, is a classmate of his in Chinese opera, fell in love with each other in college, and is also an actor. Now the two have a child, and the family is living a very happy life.
Cao Lei's calligraphy works
Cao Lei has a wide range of hobbies, likes to ride horses, raises horses himself, and likes fitness, swimming, and playing ball. He also wrote a strong and powerful calligraphy.
Although he has made many film and television dramas and has also been a male number one, Cao Lei has been improving and polishing his acting skills.
In 2019, Beijing Renyi Talents held the "Performance Student Training Class" for the first time, selecting students from 100 miles across the country, including many performing artists such as Lan Tianye, Lü Zhong, Pu Cunxin, Song Dandan, Feng Yuanzheng and so on. After more than a month of rigorous screening, 15 students were selected from 1,043 applicants, including Cao Lei, who was the oldest one, 42 years old.
In Cao Lei's view, being a good actor is his lifelong pursuit, "It is too difficult for good people, good actors, and good actors to gather together, but this is what every actor has to pursue!" ”
Although many film and television dramas have been filmed, including blockbuster dramas such as "No War in Peking" and "Army-Master Alliance", Cao Lei's popularity seems to be not directly proportional to the work, and many audiences are not familiar with him.
It is believed that as the TV series "The Age of Awakening" continues to be popular, Cao Lei's name will be known and understood by more and more audiences. I also wish Cao Lei better results on the road of acting!