The Paper's reporter Chen Chen
On the night of the honor of the 4th Pingyao International Film Festival, when reading the award for best actor, Zhou You's heart raised his throat and subconsciously unbuttoned the jacket in his suit. "I don't know why there was such a move, maybe this moment, I waited too long."
When his name was pronounced, he felt "too excited" and "his whole body was numb." In the past few years, when he was bathing at home, he often used the shower head as a microphone, looked in the mirror, and imagined that he would one day receive an honor on a big stage and give an acceptance speech.
Recently, the image of Zhou You, who has been recognized by more people, is the distressing teenager Liu Wenqin in the web drama "The Sky of the Wind Dog Teenager". Although there are not many scenes, the characters are extremely critical. In the play, the cruel ending of the teenager's final death in the years is lamentable, the screenwriter receives a lot of resentment that he wants to be "sent to the blade", and the travel outside the play has also gained more attention and popularity.
Stills of "The Sky of the Wind Dog Boy", Zhou You played Liu Wenqin
It is difficult to imagine that Liu Wenqin, a high school student in the play, will actually be 30 years old soon. Born in 1991, the actor performs convincingly, and the role doesn't make people play. When Zhou You acted, he also believed that he was the teenager who was almost defeated by life, and the teenager could not go back, "I think about what a person should react to when he encounters these things at that age." ”
The role of Liu Wenqin came alive because of Zhou You. In the heartbreaking night of "Liu Wenqin's Off the Line", ze Lin, the screenwriter of "Wind Dog Boy", revealed in Weibo that this role in the original script was only a "tool man" who allowed Li Anran to complete the transfer task, and it was after encountering Zhou You that he gave him a lot of inspiration to fill this character with more flesh and blood and richer experience.
Screenwriters In the eyes of ZeLin, Zhou You and Liu Wenqin.
"Mustang Mane" is Zhou You's first film starring, and many years have passed since 2012, when he first started acting. In the movie, Zuo Kun, who is played by Zhou You, wears a strange hairstyle with a head that is plate inches in the front half and a long and fluttering hair in the back half of the head, like horse's mane. When Zhou You tried on the outfit for the first time, he also muttered in his heart, his face was long, and with such a hairstyle, "Isn't it like a horse?" ”
But indeed, he needs to show a "wild horse" state in the movie, growing wildly, rampage, a kind of half-hanging mixture and unruliness, not yet thinking about and understanding a lot of things, but has gradually knocked out some kind of outline and boundary to the adult world. "The most social person in the school, the most schooly person in the society", is the director Wei Shujun's description of the role of Zuo Kun in the "group message" of recruiting actors for "Wild Horse Mane", in fact, there is a large part of his own shadow. The first time he received a photo taken by Zhou You, Wei Shujun directly vetoed it, "It's too idol-like." Later, under the repeated recommendation of the producer, Wei Shujun met with Zhou You and found that he was not like that at all.
In "Wild Horse Mane", Zhou You played Zuo Kun
The word "society", placed on the character, is a precise adjective, and placed on the body of Zhou You, is that he has profoundly left some painful life experiences. He didn't go to college, he only halfway through high school, and before he became an actor, he did more than a dozen careers. Out of the urgency and anxiety of making money, Circumference does almost everything. Helping people move things, selling goods in the market, selling alcohol in bars, doing lights in the crew, upside down women's clothes... "I haven't thought about any ideals, nor is it a matter of security, it's simply no money, you need money to live, you need money to eat." "Zhou You and reporters talked about the experience of those years, far away and vivid.
"It's been a long time, and I haven't thought about these things for a long time." In the interview, zhou you instinctively prevaricated a little at first, but once the conversation box was opened, there were constantly long-lost situations popping up, he said a paragraph, after a while to talk about other places, remembered a paragraph, and then went back to continue.
He had lived in a damp basement in Beijing for two or three years, the glass of the window was broken and he was reluctant to repair it, and in the winter, in order to block the wind, he used tape to stick the window tightly. In the summer, one day there was a power outage, the room without air conditioning was sweltering and unbearable, but thinking of the hard work of sticking tape in winter, he was reluctant to destroy his "labor results", so he went downstairs to find a cement pier, slept coolly until dawn, and was woken up by the roadside uncle.
Another time, he was confused and asleep, his fingers touched the socket at the head of the bed, he was electrified to the point that the whole person almost fainted, and his whole arm turned purple; or one day when he was sick, the hot water bottle next to him suddenly exploded, and the hot water splashed out of his hands and feet were all blisters, along with the wound of the glass ballast, let him drag the sick body to the hospital for bandage, such a scene still feels awkward when I think about it...
"I may not be able to summarize directly what you say about the impact those experiences have had on my performance, but I believe those are definitely gifts. Yes, gift, now I can really say that. "Entering the industry to become an actor is something he can finally determine his likes and loves, and unlike the previous hard work for his livelihood, being an actor mobilizes all his sensitivities, feeling ecstatic vision and humble loss in it."
In the two days in Pingyao, Zhou You said on the road, there are always people who will say "come on", most of them are people who don't know, "I think they should not be considered my fans or fans, there are many ordinary audiences who have seen your works, and there are many people in this industry, they are very kind to me and I said, 'Travel and refuel', let me feel very warm in my heart." Those moments made me feel like I was recognized by the industry. ”
The afternoon before he got the "Best Actor", Zhou You was interviewed by the surging news.
Travel
【Dialogue】
"Mustang" makes up for the regret of missing college, and "Wind Dog" plays the advantage of "social youth"
The Paper: Let's start with the new film "Mustang Mane", how do you understand the role of Zuo Kun yourself, and whether this role has some connection with yourself?
Zhou You: This movie is the first movie I starred in, this character, and my own words are still relatively similar, the similarity is not to say that the story has happened to me, but all the states, emotions, reactions, most of the time, let me almost be in an instinctive state, I am willing to show all my feelings, including feelings for relatives, friends, and lovers, to show everyone. Of course, I may be more restrained than the characters in the film, or a little more intense, it is possible that in the process of the overall shooting, the director gave me a very good and safe space, so that I can enjoy myself.
The Paper: Because half of the character of Zuo Kun is the meaning of the director's youth autobiography, the protagonist Is always in front of you, will it have any impact on the performance?
Zhou You: Actually, these things will be had by the vast majority of boys at that stage, not just an autobiographical type of movie. The things that happened to him, I happened too, the only difference was that I didn't go to college, he went to college. He had an opportunity to study professionally that I didn't, and that was probably the biggest difference. But what you do and think at that stage, and the confusion and panic, are very similar. I don't have to look at the director to find something for me to play the role, and as an actor, I will always pay attention to this in my life, and it will also mobilize the way I look in my early twenties. Maybe some moments on the set, I also subconsciously captured, but more is with the day by day with Zuo Kun, the development of the plot, let me naturally play this character, and did not deliberately design and imitate anything.
The Paper: Did you make up for the regret that you didn't go to college when you made this movie?
Zhou You: I think there is. Maybe when you are young, people in college may also feel unhappy, or criticize some places about it, but after a while, when you experience some things in society, get some pressure in life, and think back to college, you will still be very happy. I think everyone should have a process of going to college, and that process is actually to give you a buffer before you enter society, so that you can slowly start to move from school to the bigger world. But I didn't go to college, and I went straight from school—it wasn't called immature at that time, it was still young—and I would do a lot of unnecessary things and make a lot of unnecessary mistakes in society. Also, I think the most important point is that you should find a girlfriend in college and enjoy campus love.
Stills from "The Sky of the Wind Dog Boy"
The Paper: Recently, you have another character that has attracted a lot of attention, which is Liu Wenqin in "The Sky of the Wind Dog Boy", who is also a youth who overlaps youth and sophistication. So Zhang Yibai and Wei Shujun chose you, are they all looking at your "society"?
Zhou You: May they feel like I am like a story from my feelings, my looks? Or is there a feeling in my eyes? I think one of my advantages is that I really have the experience of growing up in society, I am a social teenager, I have not finished high school, I have to face these things. Although I may not necessarily be Liu Wenqin Benqin, and I am not necessarily Zuo Kun, I have seen these people in society, and they all have very specific images, passing in front of me, or intersecting with me. So if I'm going to mobilize these experiential feelings, it's actually very easy. As long as I integrate these people well, and then show a certain side of myself, first pull the closest distance with this character, and then later, I may understand the story more and more, it is not difficult for me to do it completely.
The Paper: But isn't the actual age gap with the characters an obstacle? After all, it is a long way from high school, how to get back to the state of youth?
Zhou You: Actually, I don't know. My real feeling is that every time in the process of performing, I don't know what is exactly the right performance, or whether it should be one way or another. But I'm going to think hard about it. But when I shouted "start", all my performances were instinctive. When playing Liu Wenqin, too, I felt that I could very instinctively devote myself to the state of a high school student. Before this, I would also do a lot of homework, imagining that he had experienced all the things along the way, not deliberately grasping the age itself, I grasped what kind of reaction he experienced at that age, what kind of reaction he would have, what kind of work he did in society would make his movements appear, how his attitude towards everyone, or his thoughts on everything, would be expressed. I'm going to try to grab hold of these things, and if I just grab that age, or say something "teenage," it's too single.
The Paper: Is there any difference between "The Sky of the Wind Dog Boy" and the youth film in the general sense?
Travel: The most different is social. In the beginning, I liked this the most, it was a little more complicated than other youth films. Just like the twenty-ninth middle school in the film, even if it is a school, it will be in the commercial district of Chongqing, just to bring the society closer to the school. Maybe the youth film is not just called the youth film in the protective shell of the school, it can be expanded, to describe more of each student's family and growth in some of the problems and troubles, as well as the connection between students and people above the society, in short, it is more comprehensive and richer.
Poster of "The Sky of the Wind Dog Boy"
The embarrassment of life and the psychological "cold" are the best gifts
The Paper: You are not a professional student of acting, but you have a richer life experience than your class background, how do you think about the gains and losses of past experiences?
Zhou You: I have done too many professions, helping people work, selling clothes, retouching pictures on the Internet, working as an assistant in the crew to move things, selling alcohol in bars... At that time, I was poor, needed money, and did whatever I wanted. In order to save money to rent a very cheap house, the windows are not glass, and I take tape myself to paste the windows. If you don't ask today, I probably don't remember these things, and when I think about it, I will continue to think of more things. I think there may be any help in these things, but I can't say what the specific help is, because this kind of life experience has not yet been shown in my works. But some feelings will help me.
The Paper: At that stage, were you sensitive or blunt? How did you see your situation at that time?
Zhou You: I've always been sensitive, and it's true that because of that sensitivity, I've been unhappy in that state for a long time. But now I feel that unhappiness, I call it a "cold", you have a "cold" in your heart at some stage. But I thought it was a gift, a good gift, but there should have been no way to look at it that way at the time. At that time you will be deeply trapped, I believe that in that situation, everyone will "sink" into it without knowing it, but I may have a kind of bone, I think I have to break it, I don't know if it is called resilience or how, although I may also at some point, will give up myself, sink into the survival, livelihood and these things, become numb, but more often, I have thoughts, I will break it, I will break you, I think I want to be in this city, to do what I want to do, Even if what I'm doing now is not what I want to do, it will definitely get better.
The Paper: Then there's the actors traveling around. The experience of being an actor, do you feel that you are smooth? Some people think you have good resources, but there are also many people who like you who feel that you have not been red.
Zhou You: This industry is not too easy for me, probably for a lot of people, and you need a long time to prove yourself, which is important. It also takes a lot of tenacity to wait for an opportunity. It seems that sometimes you will fall into self-doubt, feel as if I am standing still, and sometimes because of the words of others, you can make me more confident, and I feel that I still have a lot to do. In general, there will still be a lot of confusion.
Zhou You won the award for Best Actor in Pingyao.
The Paper: When was the last time I was confused?
Zhou You: If you asked me to go back to the last time I was confused, it would have been before the filming of "Mustang Mane", it should be the summer of 2018, when I made three movies. I signed the company at the beginning of 2017, and I made three movies in one go, of which "Tomorrow's Youth: Mirror Man" participated in the domestic film nomination and won my own newcomer award, at that time, for me, for the future is still full of expectations, I feel that my dream has begun, and I can shoot all the way. But suddenly in the summer, you can't do anything, once I arrived at a crew, after the makeup was finished, the director is also a famous director, let me go home and wait for the news, when I go home, there will be no more news. There is also a project, I remember after the audition, when I left, someone else sent me to the elevator entrance, and said that we would talk about the next project again, and then there was no follow-up. During that time, I have been holding my breath, in fact, at that time I still thought that I was in a good state, I did not let myself slack off, but it was not OK, after several rounds of stone sinking into the sea, suddenly one day, I was also very confused.
During that time, I often didn't sleep much in the night, and I couldn't fall asleep until six or seven o'clock in the morning, and I kept asking myself, whether it worked or not, why didn't I have an answer? Maybe that stage is like this, and you need to carry through that stage. Sometimes, my mom comes over to play with me for a few days, and I'm constantly adjusting my mindset. Then suddenly one day on the street, our company called and said, meet the individual, only 15 minutes time. I hurried over, it was director Zhang Yibai, chatted for 10 minutes, and decided to let me play "The Sky of the Wind Dog Boy". So that summer, I was particularly impressed.
Afraid of becoming "red", but want to be the "best in the world" actor
The Paper: Recently, because of the popularity of the drama, more and more people know you, and the starring movies have also been shortlisted for Cannes this year.
Zhou You: There are no flowers blooming, I don't want to blossom now, to be exact, I have never wanted to bloom. But what I need is people in this industry, and I want them to know who I am and what I want them to know what I can shoot. What I want more is to let people know that our wave of young directors and young actors is also very good and very strong.
The Paper: What do you think about the "red" thing?
Zhou You: Don't want to be red, I really, really don't want to be red! In fact, during this time I was in Pingyao, and many people told me that you want to refuel, I don't know what this refueling carries, but I am really touched. The most important thing is that because in fact, Pingyao is a person in our circle, I think this moment, has been recognized by this industry, I think it is quite satisfied, but if you want to say that in addition to this role, I will become red, I don't like it, the most important thing is to be afraid. I just said earlier that I am a very sensitive person, since childhood also lived similar to the ideal of traveling around the world, in fact, in the bones, I have become accustomed to a plain life, I do not want to go out will be secretly filmed, I may go crazy, may chase him to grab the camera, or do more things may also be possible, I do not know.
Zhou You won the Best Actor Award at the Pingyao International Film Festival.
The Paper: But to be successful as an actor, you may become a star, and not being able to live freely is the price, and you should have thought about it when you decided to do this business.
Zhou You: I thought about it. But when I think about it, I always think it will be more idealistic, I don't want to be red to what stage, I only hope that every year I can have a good work to meet with everyone, in fact, there are some filmmakers in China, the works they make will be more popular than their people, when it comes to their works, everyone will know, of course, they will also be known, but there are so many concerns in life, not the kind of stars whose personal aura is very strong. This is the state I want most.
The Paper: Has the company helped you find someone to set up, or do you have any kind of actors who have thought about yourself?
Zhou You: I really thought about this question, my image, in fact, most people see it as a special image, some people will say what "movie face", some people think I am not like a good person, there are many people who tell me, think I will definitely be a more partial type of actor in the future, I myself have not thought, I will go to the idol drama, but am I an idol? Two days ago, I watched the film critics of "Wild Horse" and said that I am Xia Yujia Wang Qianyuan, and then I said that I am Zhang Yijia Wang Qianyuan, I think it is actually a very happy and glorious thing to be able to be their actors and take over their shifts, they are all good actors.
The Paper: What kind of actor do you want to be in the future?
Travel around: the best, the best in Asia, the best in the world.
Six hours after the interview, Zhou You won his first "Best Actor" in his life.
Editor-in-charge: Cheng Yu
Proofreader: Shi Gong