In the second half of 2019, Zhang Liang encountered a big turning point - public drama.
Leaving aside the curiosity about family stories, a man's identity is expressed through his profession, he used to be a model, and now he is an actor. Of course, this change is not easy to be immediately accepted by the public - on the day of shooting, we waited for him in a private restaurant in Chengdu, and with the restaurant Xiao Xiao said: "Oh, it's the old man in "Where Daddy Goes". Zhang Liang, wearing a lemon yellow sweatshirt, appeared on the shooting scene, and another young man at the same time secretly sighed on the side: "Wow, it's that model!" ”
He smiled and greeted the waiter and the already familiar photographer Wei Lai, "Do you sleep well?" "It's good, when I wake up, a lot of people care about what I eat in Chengdu." Maybe it's really good, maybe it's to reassure the staff, the atmosphere that was slightly depressed because of the rainy day was broken by some jokes, so we saw a "high emotional intelligence" Zhang Liang.
Zhang Liang is putting double pepper beef into a hot pot, paired with Hennessy Cognac, which he has recently discovered.
That was the definition of him by the media after his first appearance in the public eye. In the later program "Chinese Restaurant", this label was deepened and reinforced. Once Zhou Dongyu mistakenly used a kettle to boil tea leaves, Zhao Wei was anxious, Zhang Liang broke the siege: "It's okay, just the first time to use, go to the taste of the new pot." Or, he will use euphemistic negation to avoid the extreme use of words, Zhao Wei first tried to make sweet and sour ribs, the taste is not good, Zhang Liang did not directly like ordinary people to evaluate "salty, can you add some sugar?" Instead, he said, "It's not the same as the sweet and sour pork ribs I eat."
This time in front of us, he denied this label himself, "It can't be said that it is high emotional intelligence, I think it should be related to my personality and the profession I have done before, so that I have learned to think in empathy." "Before being widely accepted as a model, he worked as a chef, which was a forced choice. Before the age of 15, the family was still relatively wealthy, and they could lead the whole class to buy things, and a disease of the father directly put the family in difficulty. He remembers that at that time, in order to subsidize the family, his mother got up very early every day, made a dish, cooked a lot, and he and his sister put the dish and soup into the hot rice at noon after school and scalded it for a while. The lack of food made him realize deliciousness, and later he did it again in the show, which was a conscious act, mixing overnight leftovers, hot sauce, and rice for several actors to taste, at this time, the bright stars collided with the saved food, and everyone's expression of food was absolutely real.
After that, he also worked as a salesman for several years, in Beijing's Cuiwei Mall, getting up at 5:30 every day to take the No. 52 bus through the city of Beijing. I had to arrive at 7:40 a.m., and after cleaning up, I stood in a row with the store manager and clapped and shouted slogans. He forced himself to exercise "cheeky", met guests to take the initiative to sell, and slowly found the skills - to pick out the advantages of a guest to praise, do not over-recommend, do not get too close. People who have experienced the work at the bottom will have a relative understanding of the psychological state of each class of people, but some people will choose to trample on it after rising, while other people will choose to give themselves empathy, "because I may have had a situation that I have not been respected before, I know that kind of psychology, so I don't want to make this psychology feel the people across from me." This decent way of treating people, we may be able to find the reason in today's Zhang Liang, it grows gently and without trace on him.
Zhang Liang enjoys Hennessy v.s.o.p ice in the red lanterns of the Pavilion courtyard.
So far, Zhang Liang has been in the longest career as a model for ten years. This time across the border, it is not something he took the initiative to fight for, but an opportunity. From sales to modeling, because he went to a show instead of a friend, he was nervous and afraid of getting into trouble that day, rehearsing it repeatedly in his mind, staring at the pace of others, with the same nervousness as his first appearance at Milan Fashion Week, and his palms kept sweating. Later, he has become a top model, but the first time he appears on TV with a child, the audience will still not recognize him due to professional limitations: "Who is this?" He himself did not expect to receive sudden traffic at the end of the first episode, when he was a little confused and asked his agent whether the sudden increase in Weibo fans was real. A few years later, Zhang Liang, who was sitting in front of us, faded the brightness of the "fire", and at this time we were more interested in how he should digest it after experiencing the "male god" label that was sought after by the heavens at that time, and facing the fleeting freshness of the audience. "Traffic is the new vocabulary in recent years, which is actually attention. Of course, everyone's high attention to artists and actors is good, which will make more people like me, but everything goes naturally, when there is heat, more busy work, and more with the family when the heat comes down. On the other hand, I now like to hide myself a little bit, and if there is too much exposure, it will be difficult for the audience to see the character I have created. His answer is contrary to the expectations of most people in this society, people prefer to hear an angular answer, such as inner discomfort and torture after the heat drops, and Zhang Liang is too comfortable with the encounter, smooth like a straight line.
In several career changes, he learned to maintain a relative balance with the world: in the preferences of Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine, he chose what he wanted to eat; in the face of cross-border difficulties, he thought it was not difficult, and he could do a good job by rehearsing classes carefully; in the prediction of the future, he would not give himself a clear and grand goal; and he rarely got angry and rarely cried, the last time he cried was to watch a movie, that time everyone was there, and everyone was crying.
Zhang Liang beckons guests to eat fried potatoes at a city food stall in a wide and narrow alley.
All along, he didn't want to fight for anything special and didn't have to give up. Even entering show business is only because someone just thinks he's a good fit for a role. He would also question, "I haven't acted." And the other person replied: "It doesn't matter, I like white paper." He thought for a moment: "Since others believe it, don't shirk it yourself." Every big-span career change is like this, in the belief of others, being "driven to the shelves", some people directly reject this learning process due to timidity, and escape like ostriches, but he is happy to accept and learn to look like a model.
In the beginning, strong lack of self-confidence is inevitable, but not as severe as self-doubt. Think about it carefully, breaking the stuttering barrier in school as a child, tearing off a thick face in the mall during the growth period, and when he grows up, he goes to the international show to show his steps, he has been pushed into the confined space where only one person can solve the problem again and again, repeatedly opened himself, and when faced with the embarrassing situation of sweating again, restraint and propriety have become his behavioral logic.
The most recent "opening" was the daily rehearsal of the stage play "Do You Still Play the Guitar", from 1:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. every day. In the first rehearsal, he did not enter the performance system of the stage play, the sound was too small to be released, and the director kept shouting from the side: "Louder, louder." "It works almost for all people who don't have stage performance experience. But when he adapted to the release of the volume, he faced a new problem, in the stage play, if you want to completely play, mastering the scale requires a certain skill, just like the strings are too full, afraid of breaking, freely controlling the sound also needs time to slowly train.
Nowadays, it is almost impossible to find the model attributes that originally kept the audience fresh, and instead, the actor became his new identity. Only in between shots can we get a glimpse of his former profession: "I can now wear this size suit, I have to wear xl in the brand's previous clothes, and now the cut is more fit." 」 In the face of a mature subject, the photographer's shutter did not hesitate, much earlier than the expected end time. In the intensive filming transition, the hot pot restaurant had already prepared dan dan noodles and fried rice aside, and it was cold, but he continued to show tolerance, enjoying a late lunch with a pleasant expression.
Zhang Liang looked at the distant scenery in the terrace of the Courtyard of the Pavilion.
At nightfall, he will also be given another layer of identity - "Hennessy Rediscovers Chinese Taste" spokesperson, to participate in The Hennessy hot pot feast. In the same way as his professional crossover, Hennessy also wanted to break through another field that had never been opened up before- Hennessy delicately paired with Sichuan hot pot.
And Chengdu has never been a city that guards the Shu Dao and rejects foreign cultures, it constantly embraces this era and accepts everyone's imagination of it. The hot pot is the taste of the city that cannot be abandoned, some people love its spicy, some people love it without putting up shelves and anything can be built. Zhang Liang, who has entered the public eye from different classes, is using a balanced perspective to treat the freshness that has faded from his body, which is by no means mediocre, and in the context of Chinese, he is trying to practice inner peace. And Hennessy is by no means a new invention of Chinese food collocation, after several generations of coastal people's admiration for Hennessy with seafood, how to open a new mix-and-match route, deep inland belly, and show their own inclusive wine personality, is also a proposition they are rethinking.
Unlike the diverse roles that Hotpot and Zhang Liang have evolved in different environments, Hennessy has always been a well-dressed gentleman, and in the face of the spicy era that is in full swing in Chinese dining, he chooses to enter the city culture. In this process, Hennessy of course also has her own hot pot law, adding ice cubes to the cognac to balance the heat of the hot pot, and mixing other drinks in the body to make special drinks, thus showing different temperaments. At the same time, there is an intriguing commonality between hot pot, Hennessy and Zhang Liang, they are experienced, but they still dare to try new fields, and the premise of cross-border seeking new exports is that they are tolerant enough, so that they can maintain their freshness and heat for a long time.
Zhang Liang sat on a bench featuring Sichuan hot pot and enjoyed Hennessy x.o, waiting for the hot pot feast to begin.
q: How many times have you been to Chengdu? What do you know about the city?
a: I can't count, about six or seven times. The first time I came was around 2013, and I still had a lot of fate between Chengdu and me. And it is still very difficult to find a restaurant in Chengdu that is not delicious, and any one of them is quite good. The city is beautifully planned, the climate is comfortable, and there are some quaint buildings that blend well with modern architecture. Every time I have come to work in the past few years, I stay in the hotel and look out at the night view, and I feel that the city has really changed a lot.
q: If you could take something from Chengdu, what would you want to take?
a: Of course, take away the giant panda, if stealing the panda is not illegal.
q: In "Chinese Restaurant", the brine package you made was very well received after being verified by everyone, will you want to open a restaurant in the future?
a: That's the ingredient at the bottom of my pressure box! I have always had good friends around me who encouraged me to open a restaurant quickly, but I am still more interested in the profession of actor and want to focus on learning acting. If you have the opportunity in the future, you are ready to open a private restaurant, a smaller scale, the operation will not be very stressful, you can entertain friends.
q: Do you often cook at home and invite friends to eat?
A: Come, you say! (Pushing next to the agent, she laughed.) In fact, I usually don't have so much time and energy to cook at home, and more often than not, the aunt at home comes back to buy vegetables to do. But some time ago, I also tried to invite everyone to play at home, and the feeling is still very different, which will make friends feel that they are really close to you, and cooking yourself is also the highest courtesy for them.
q: From chef to model to film and television actor to drama actor, will every change have a state of unconfidence or anxiety?
a : Of course there will be this process, after all, it is not a professional acting student, so really in front of the camera, to create another character or worry about not performing well enough. Because it's not like a model, just put on the clothes and then show the outfit to the most beautiful state. Creating a person with a completely different personality from you in a film and television drama is not a moment, not a shutter, it is a continuous state.
Q: Do you look at your own negative reviews?
a: Occasionally watch. I enjoy watching my own TV series and then turning on the barrage and making a lot of funny comments. I know there will be a lot of people looking at their own black material, but why should we care about statements that may not be true? Why care what people who may not know in this lifetime judge you? Just take care of the people around you.
q: Do you like to drink alcohol in your life?
A: Like, in fact, every day before going to bed I like to drink a little, especially when the crew, because it is very sleepy. I'll pour about that much (draw a 5cm distance between the tip of my thumb and the tip of my index finger) and sip it. Pour x.o into a large belly spherical glass and warm it slightly at the temperature of your palm to make the aroma of the wine more pronounced. In the summer, I like to put an ice cube in the wine glass first, and then pour some wine, sometimes there is no ice cube, you can put ice sparkling water, the taste is also very comfortable, of course, I still prefer pure drink. If I can't finish drinking, I put the cup on the bed, I can always smell the wine to sleep, and even use Hennessy as a perfume diffuser, because the wine will emit a lot of fusion aromas, such as flowers, fruits, and even the scent of the forest surface. It's a synaesthesia that makes the senses very comfortable.
Q: Which wine do you prefer among Hennessy x.o, Hennessy v.s.o.p and James? What advice do you have for Hennessy's cuisine?
a: Or the most like Hennessy x.o, usually the most drunk is also this one, the taste is very mellow, full-bodied. Previously, Hennessy x.o specially invited director Ridley Scott, who directed classic films such as Blade Runner and The Martian, to shoot an epic advertising blockbuster "Seven Wonders", which is particularly awesome, and he divides Hennessy x.o into seven tastes: sweet beginning, heat sublimation, spicy temptation, blazing bloom, mellow surge, woody lingering, and leisurely aftertaste. When you see "Woody Lingering", when a tree man dances in the forest, there will be a strong sense of fit, because at the end of the drink, the person will really enter a state of leisurely intoxication, which is the great place of Hennessy x.o. On weekdays, I eat it with beef and seafood. But today is really the beginning of a new chapter of "Hennessy rediscovers Chinese flavor", we changed our usual exploration of southeast coastal cities, this time to Sichuan, you imagine, with Hennessy x.o with hair belly and waist flowers is really very bold.
Q: What do you think of Hennessy's collision with Sichuan hot pot?
A: Actually, when Hennessy communicated this idea with me, I was also surprised. I never thought that one day when I ate Sichuan hot pot, it would be accompanied by Hennessy. The theme of "rediscovering the taste of China" is "rediscovered", and since the southeast coastal cities have been opened up, it is time to come to the inland cities to see, which is more in line with the meaning of the words "rediscovered". On the one hand, it allows more people to appreciate the essence of Sichuan and Shu food culture through the international brand of Hennessy, and record the discovery and development of more food as a cultural landscape; on the other hand, it can overthrow the stereotype that Hennessy is only suitable for seafood, establish a richer food system, and explore the beautiful relationship between wine and people in a wider area, which I think is also the source of Hennessy's inspiration. Tonight I first tried Hennessy x.o with ice and sparkling water with double pepper beef to eat, especially Bashi refreshing! The pouring master is very careful, with the Sichuan characteristics of the long-mouth teapot, in the way of pouring the bowl of tea in the dry ginger water into the Hennessy v.s.o.p, sweet and refreshing, this taste is very suitable with umami ingredients, such as mushroom soup in the bamboo shoots, bamboo, shrimp slippery, you will find fresh on the fresh, will highlight the wine body of the flower and fruit aroma, really refreshed my understanding of food mixing.
Q: Do you like yourself?
A: Actually, I haven't really thought about this question before, and this is the first time I've heard someone ask me this. I think I like 70% of myself and the remaining 30% are particularly liked, haha.