In the context of the era when fresh meat is dominant, a real tough guy like Hu Jun is a rare treasure.
His body has always had a "human flavor", for the label of "tough guy", Hu Jun does not want to tear off, and has long been glad to accept. Once a person accepts himself, it is difficult for others to embarrass him.
Hu Jun was a lucky man.
After leaving Ren yi and temporarily stepping off the stage of drama, because of Guan Jinpeng and "Lan Yu", he entered the golden age of Hong Kong cinema in the late 1990s, met Zhang Guorong and Mui Yanfang, and also became friends with Lin Qingxia, Liu Jialing and Wu Junru.
Hu Jun once said that he wanted to be an "actor-like star, not a star-like actor."
In his opinion, the actor is his own background.
The 53-year-old Hu Jun knows that being an actor is involuntary, and he is a person who lives in the moment.
In the past, he was angry and Wenqing, and later he lost his anger and only literature and art, and now even the only remaining literature and art have begun to question. Finally, Hu Jun said to himself, "Don't do it, because I know that the result is beyond my control." ”
After all, geng zhi he never staged, "acting is the whole of my life" this kind of sensational drama.
"It hurts me to death, don't leave me here alone."
Hu Jun, who has played countless tough guy images, did not simply show his great shore and noble temperament in the movie "Chosin Lake", but became a tear gas for this film.
Some people said that the hormones that walked back then were old and did not seem to be old.
The "Thunder Daddy" he plays is the oldest soldier in the Seventh Company, who has experienced countless guns and bullets, "let your enemies look up to you, that is called toughness", see the life and death of Lei Dad, but treat the people around you warmly.
Hu Jun made the image of this character vivid and full, so that the final sacrifice on the battlefield made people feel unwilling and tragic.
2021 Movie "Chosin Lake"
Stills of Lei Gong (Hu Jun).
When he was finally about to leave, he did not say some words of national righteousness, but like an ordinary person, he said: "If you hurt me to death, don't leave me here alone." ”
This sentence before the imminent sacrifice made the audience cry.
In fact, this line was changed by Hu Jun himself, originally a large paragraph of instructions for the soldiers to come back alive, starting from the role itself, he would rather change his lines and lenses to less, but also to make the characters more three-dimensional.
Hu Jun made the image of the soldier no longer so single, in addition to bravery and fearlessness, there is also a plain and warm side, "hero" should not be narrowed into some kind of inherent image.
Hu Jun has always been such a flesh-and-blood person, and there is no water mist between him and the world.
Hu Jun himself has a military complex, and he frankly participated in "Chosin Lake", partly because of the influence of his family.
His father had participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, made a third-class meritorious service, and left his own blood-colored youth on the battlefield, which was of special significance to him.
"At that time, he was only 18 years old, he had carried the wounded on the battlefield, made a third-class merit, sang songs for his comrades in the face of the wind and snow, and played a single string."
Hu Jun was born in March 1968 in Beijing into an artistic family, his mother was a drama actor, and he worked as a drama actor in the Beijing Air Force Cultural and Industrial Troupe.
His father, Hu Baoshan, was a famous singer in the 1960s and 1970s, and the song "I Love This Blue Ocean" composed and composed by him has been sung for more than 30 years and has endured for a long time.
The superior literary and artistic family environment could have given Hu Jun enough opportunities to become a singing actor, but the expectations of his fathers did not become a reality.
For singing and playing the piano, Hu Jun did not show a strong interest, and even deliberately ripped off the strings in order to avoid practicing the piano, compared with his peers, he showed more stubbornness and naughtiness.
Hu Jun and his father Hu Baoshan
When he was young, Hu Jun had an ideal of becoming a journalist, and his favorite institution was the journalism department of Chinese Min University, but just when he was eager to try to prepare for the college entrance examination, a sudden acute hepatitis directly affected his studies.
When he was at a loss, the former kindergarten teacher suggested that Hu Jun, who was still in good shape, should apply for the Central Academy of Drama.
In 1987, Hu Jun went to the exam with the idea of trying it out, he sang "My Sun" in the original Italian text, danced a tango with a chair, and easily became a student of the 87-level performance department of Chinese opera.
Classmates include Xu Fan, He Bing, Jiang Shan... In such a brilliant class, Hu Jun is still a prominent figure, always standing in the center of the stage as the male number one, he feels that he has learned useful and is very proud.
The 87-level performance department of the Central Academy of Drama, Hu Jun, Xu Fan, Jiang Shan, Chen Xiaoyi, He Bing and others
In the Chinese opera campus with a strong professional atmosphere at that time, the campus drama began to sprout.
For this group of students who love acting, it is their greatest wish to show their talents on stage, and campus drama provides them with soil.
It was the days before the millennium, and everything was still pure.
In 1991, Hu Jun graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, but in fact, just before leaving the Chinese opera, his personal file was transferred to the Beijing People's Art Theater, which is a fateful favor for a young man in his twenties.
For most actors in China, Renyi is the highest temple in the showbiz circle, which is convincing, and the drama of Beijing Renyi is a model of Chinese drama.
At that time, Hu Jun was not a tough guy in everyone's mouth, he was an angry Youth plus Wenqing: "The academy sent a special cow, and after graduation, he entered the Beijing People's Art Theater, so the unit of the cow." ”
He stepped out of the school gate of Chinese opera with great ambition, feeling that the Golden Light Avenue was at his feet, and there were countless possibilities in the future.
However, when Hu Jun really put his feet on the Golden Light Avenue, he found that there was nothing left, and the road ahead was so erratic.
As a beginner, Hu Jun can't get roles that can be remembered by the audience on the stage of renyi, he is always playing some insignificant roles, two or three hours down, at most one line: "Go." ”
In the apartment with a very strong artistic atmosphere, Hu Jun struggled very much in his heart, and he once suspected that he was in the wrong industry, always sitting on the road teeth at night after the performance, drinking alcohol.
On the other hand, although he revered the traditional Beijing-style drama of Renyi, he felt that it was not very suitable for him, but it was those pioneering experiments that attracted him more.
At that time, Hu Jun often played pioneering experimental dramas with Meng Jinghui, Zhang Yibai and others, and held a theatrical spirit in his heart.
They paid for it themselves, acted on their own, and ended up losing a mess.
Later, Hu Jun recalled those days and bluntly said that he could not be paid, but he liked to live on the stage. That vivid feeling made him feel satisfied until he couldn't resist the arrival of that day.
At that time, he only had a salary of 164 yuan a month, and when he performed a drama to the end, he couldn't even eat.
Hu Jun and Guo Tao
Survival or destruction, that's a question.
Faced with the difficulties of life, Hu Jun hesitated and finally decided to bid farewell to the drama stage for the time being.
Throwing away the stage and turning to film and television became a big hurdle in Hu Jun's heart.
After turning from the drama stage to the film and television circle, Hu Jun and Liu Ye cooperated to make "Lan Yu", a film directed by Guan Jinpeng, which has a distinct avant-garde character.
2001 film "Blue Yu"
Stills of Lan Yu (played by Liu Ye) and Chen Handong (played by Hu Jun).
It was a love story that took place in Beijing, and their story began in a dimly lit bar.
The first sentence of the script is Chen Handong's monologue:
"After you left that morning, I kept my heart hanging over for you, and I always felt like you were still by my side, you know?"
Chen Handong, played by Hu Jun, is a successful businessman in the game world, and Lan Yu, played by Liu Ye, has to sell his flesh in order to raise tuition fees.
From the initial simple transaction, to the gradual acquaintance of the two, and later falling in love with each other, it is an inevitable process.
After all, the two are not ordinary partners, in the face of worldly pressure, Chen Handong chose a stable and unorthodox life, giving up Lan Yu, who was as clean as a white paper.
Three years later, the two reunite and fall in love again, but a sudden car accident takes Lan Yu's life.
Chen Handong's feelings for Lan Yu changed from the initial indifference to deep affection, he faced the lover who lost his life, the whole person cried silently to show the deep pain, and at this moment, the theme song "How Do You Give Me Up to Be Sad" sounded:
"The person who loves you the most is me, how can you be sad for me, when I need you most, without saying a word and leaving." 」
Love has nothing to do with gender, Hu Jun once described the emotions in "Lan Yu":
"That kind of purity, even far better than the purity of the emotion between men and women, that sense of dependence, that kind of thing that can't be abandoned, is really touching, I think they are all amazing." 」
"Lan Yu" let the young Liu Ye win the film emperor, as the brother of his ninth master Hu Jun returned empty-handed, but this work became a stepping stone for his acting career.
That year, Hu Jun was 34 years old.
Later recalling the experience, he said that he was a very lucky person who had hardly taken a detour on the road of acting.
Hu Jun, indeed, is very lucky.
Because of Kwan Kam Peng, he entered the golden age of Hong Kong cinema in the late 1990s, met Zhang Guorong and Mui Yanfang, and became friends with Lin Qingxia, Liu Jialing and Wu Junru.
Hu Jun and Lin Qingxia
"They're very nice to me, saying that people like me in Hong Kong are too rare, and actors like me are too rare, almost none."
Lu Fang, Hu Jun
Liu Jialing, Lin Qingxia
When the film premiered in Hong Kong, Zhang Guorong personally promoted it and wanted to give his song "I" to Kwan Kam Peng to use in the film.
After "Lan Yu", Hu Jun starred in Xiao Feng in Zhang Jizhong's version of the TV series "Tianlong Babu", which was his first heroic role.
2003 TV series "Tianlong Babu"
Stills of Xiao Feng (Hu Jun) and Aju (Liu Tao).
Heroic and courageous, with a bloody hero, the audience called him "Xiao Feng who came out of the original work", and later Hu Jun confessed that this was because he liked to read Mr. Jin Yong's novels when he was in college, and his favorite role was Xiao Feng:
"In my mind, men are supposed to be like this. Wei Xiaobao is cute, right? But you will only watch him. When you read Xiao Feng and Hu Yidao, you will go in and think that you are him. When I was reading the novel, when I saw Xiao Feng slap the dragon with remorse, I was also slapping this slap. ”
The role of Xiao Feng made the 35-year-old Hu Jun famous in one fell swoop, and also became the beginning of his tough guy image.
After that, the roles he created became more and more abundant.
In 2003, it was a bumper year for Hu Jun, and since then he has successively taken over a number of film and television works.
He starred with Chen Daoming and Liu Jialing in "A River of Spring Water Flows East", in which he played the negative man Zhang Zhongliang, which was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Hu Jun is a grateful person.
Regarding mr. Jin Yong, the original author of "Tianlong Babu", he often misses it, and once lamented that he did not expect to celebrate the 90th birthday of Mr. Jin Yong and say goodbye forever.
At that birthday party, the old man, regardless of his wife's persuasion, touched a cup with Hu Jun, "How about I have a drink with my Xiao Feng?"
From left to right: Jin Yong, Zhang Jizhong, Huang Xiaoming, Hu Jun
Speaking of Jin Yong, Hu Jun felt reverence: "Teacher Jin Yong is a great person, he is driving the crane west after completing his task. ”
In the context of the era when fresh meat is dominant, a real tough guy like Hu Jun can be called a "rare treasure".
There are not a few men who can make women feel that they are tough guys, but hu Junding is the first man who can make many male artists in the show business circle feel that they are tough guys.
Chen Daoming once said that he wanted to cooperate with Hu Jun in bed drama and shoot the next part of "Lan Yu".
Zhang Zhen, the god of abstinence, said that when he first saw Hu Jun at the airport, he would feel shy and did not dare to step forward to say hello.
Even a fierce man like Sun Honglei, seeing Hu Jun, will instantly take a bird and cling to people.
Hu Jun said bluntly that although everyone calls him a "tough guy", he is not a martial arts actor, but a very good "literary actor".
At that time, after "Tianlong Babu", many martial arts drama books came to the door, and he explained while pushing them away: "I am not even as good as an amateur martial arts actor, I have no work on my body, I can't turn over, that is, I was bold at that time, I dared to come to anything, and the young and vigorous did not need a stand-in." ”
He did not narrow his play path because of these labels, but tried various roles, including kings and small people.
In 2006, Hu Jun was the domineering Xiang Yu in the TV series "Chu Han Fengyun", and he vividly interpreted the momentum of that teenager.
2006 TV series "Chu Han Storm"
Stills of Xiang Yu (Hu Jun).
Four years later, he first played the role of Zhang Mazi in the film "Let the Bullets Fly" directed by Jiang Wen.
2010 film Let the Bullets Fly
Stills of Zhang Mazi (Hu Jun).
After that, he starred with Zhou Yun in the TV series "Golden Wedding Storm", playing the hero Geng Zhi of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, telling the love story of a couple who had experienced wind and rain.
2010 TV series "Golden Wedding Storm"
Hu Jun Zhou Yun stills
In the play, Jiang Wen guest starred as a military commander, he is very appreciative of Geng Zhi played by Hu Jun, and the love of the older generation is pure and beautiful.
From left to right: Jiang Wen, Hu Jun, Zhou Yun
The actors act realistically, and the story can be convincing.
Hu Jun has the confidence to be an actor, perhaps because of the precipitation of the People's Art Theater in Beijing in the early years.
Active on the big screen, he has not given up dramas, such as Chen Liyi's "Wilderness" and "Hamlet", which has an extraordinary significance for him.
It was the late winter of 2018, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and the premiere of the play "Hamlet" directed by Li Liuyi opened with great anticipation.
Hu Jun is the starring Danish prince "Hamlet", after the performance, some audience members laughed and said: "In the future, there will be such a beautiful flesh as Hu Jun, I choose to buy the most expensive tickets." ”
In Hu Jun's view, the torture of human nature is a question that Shakespeare raised in the drama two hundred years ago, and we have no answer until now, which is what attracts him the most.
He used powerful lines to interrogate the contradictions and confusions in the hearts of contemporary people:
"God bless you! Now I'm left alone. Oh, and I'm such a useless villain and fool! ...... Am I a coward? Who calls me a clown? Who broke my head in half? Who's going to pull my beard? Throw a beard in my face? Pinch my nose? Who will punish me for my lies? Who would do that to me? Ha, come on, someone did that to me, because no one does that..."
This drama, full of deep, long, tragic and joyful lines, is also a monologue from Hamlet, which he likes very much.
Recall the 1990 version of "Hamlet", when Hamlet was played by Pu Cunxi, and Hu Jun played the gravedigger in it.
He was 22 years old and thought how nice it would be if he could play Hamlet one day.
Twenty-eight years have passed, Hu Jun is no longer a nameless person in the sea, at the age of 50, he has become "Hamlet", and he and Pu Cunxi meet again on the stage.
This time, Hu Jun is Hamlet and Pu Cunxi is the king, which is like a reincarnation.
From left to right: Pu Cunxi, Lu Fang, Hu Jun
What has changed is not only the characters, but also the real life.
In 1995, the Beijing People's Art Theater rehearsed the drama "Military Train".
Hu Jun played the male lead in this play, which was his first time to play a leading role in the renyi drama, and the actress who played with him at that time was his future wife Lu Fang.
On the stage, their first cooperation was quite tacit, and there was a feeling of seeing each other and hating each other.
Hu Jun and Lu Fang
After four years of dating, Hu Jun and Lu Fang's love affair was married.
In the later "Hamlet" drama, Lu Fang played the roles of Ophelia and the queen, switching roles and emotions in an instant, which was a great test for the actor.
This is the husband and wife duo's second cooperation on the stage of the theater after a gap of 23 years.
They are lovers who appreciate each other and fellow travelers who understand each other.
In the year of starring in the drama "Hamlet", Hu Jun was 50 years old, and he also had confusion in his heart, which was an increasingly shallow and vulgar entertainment era.
The desire for materials, power and money is rising in too many people's hearts, and more and more young people see the profession of actor as a springboard for rapid fame.
In this regard, Hu Jun never criticizes or complains, he said that this phenomenon is something that this circle must experience, but as an actor, he must not go along with it.
"Finally understand that a lot of things can be thrown away, can be ignored, there is no need to fight, to grab."
Watching him rise up the Zhu Lou, watching him entertain guests, watching him collapse the building.
He firmly believes that as long as he acts seriously and does not follow the tide, one day the circle will return to the original point.
In 1988, the 24-year-old Meng Jinghui was admitted to the Directing Department of the Central Academy of Drama to study for a master's degree, and he was deeply influenced by the literary trend of the 1980s and tossed on the stage of drama.
Three years later, Meng Jinghui's graduation work "Waiting for Godot" was performed in the small auditorium on the 4th floor of the Central Academy of Drama, starring Hu Jun and Guo Tao, which is an absurdist drama.
Two men who looked like tramps, in a trance, said inexplicable words, and felt the cycle of nothingness.
"Let's go!"
We can't go.
Why?
We are waiting for Godot
Ah, yes! ”
There is a scene in the play where Hu Jun needs to break the window glass, and every time he rehearses, he really breaks a piece of intact glass, and then puts it on the stage the next day to make a new one.
Fierce and enthusiastic, this is the character of people who engage in drama, and it is also the temperament of that era.
When Hu Jun stood up, it was as high and thick as a solid wall, as if no circumstance could destroy him.
Until the end, he did not wait for Godot.
Nothing happened. No one came. No one went.
They didn't know what they were waiting for, and the confused blue cow read Monterosso's book aloud, thinking that only a life of freedom and resistance to slavery was the exit.
When they understood, they found that there was no need to wait for Godot anymore.
It's a downright absurd drama, with a two-hour work without a coherent concrete storyline. What Meng Jinghui wants to express is nothingness and disillusionment, as if everything in the world is meaningless.
Hu Jun remembers that when he performed the drama "Waiting for Godot", he was going to leave in order to say goodbye to the eighties.
Most of the characters on the drama stage have tragic fates, which is the opposite of Hu Jun himself.
A reporter once asked Hu Jun: "If the years can be turned back, which year do you want to go back to?" ”
He replied without hesitation: "I don't want to go back, I don't want to go back, it's not easy to get to today, I'm tired to go back and walk again." ”
He never deliberately pursues profundity, but he always waits for Godot.
As for who Godot is, only Hu Jun himself knows the answer.