"The Three Brigades" poster
Qin Hao plays Cheng Bing
Our reporter Zhou Yang
"From the perspective of the commonality of people, in fact, everyone is Cheng Bing." The TV series "The Three Brigades" starring Qin Hao ended on the 4th , Cheng Bing's pursuit of the murderer finally came to an end. "Brigade Three" is adapted from the author Shenlan's literary work "Please tell the Director, the mission of Brigade Three has been completed". It tells the story of Cheng Bing (played by Qin Hao) who was imprisoned for 10 years due to an accident during an interrogation. After he was released from prison, he continued to chase his brothers from Brigade Three. Fierce... This is Qin Hao's second time playing a policeman after Yan Liang in "Undocumented Crime" (2017). Over the years, the 45-year-old Qin Hao's interpretation of the police profession has changed, but what has not changed is his pursuit of himself as an actor. Regarding how to interpret different roles, Qin Hao emphasized "life" and "people" most in an exclusive interview with a reporter from the "Global Times": seek yourself inwardly and increase your creative enthusiasm through the understanding of "life"; Empathize with the audience and act as a real "person".
Everyone is Cheng Bing
Global Times: Can you sum up the character Cheng Bing in "The Three Brigades" in one word?
Qin Hao: To describe him in one word - he is a "person". From the beginning of script creation, the most difficult thing was how to make him more humane. When the author Shenlan was working as a police officer, an older police officer told him such a story and characters, and he wrote a documentary of several thousand words. In fact, when we went to the grassroots to talk to some criminal police about this script, many people thought it was incredible to chase the murderer for more than ten years. This lack of understanding also reminded us, how can we make the audience understand and empathize? The only thing we can do is to make Cheng Bing more humane and make the audience believe that he is a person living around us from a daily life perspective. His pursuit of murder is not just based on a word or a belief. In the process of chasing the murderer, he also had moments when his faith collapsed, just like many people in reality.
Global Times: What impressed you most when you finally chose to take on this role?
Qin Hao: This work is not just about a case, it is about the fate of characters under the changing times, which I like. What I want to convey to the audience is not just a Cheng Bing chasing the murderer. From the perspective of the commonality of "people", in fact, everyone is Cheng Bing, but we encounter different difficulties in different fields of work, have different persistence, and struggle to move forward in life. This is what we want to do. something to express.
Global Times: What was the difficulty of this role during the actual filming?
Qin Hao: This is my second time playing a police officer. The first time I played a police officer was in "Undocumented Crime". If I were asked to play policeman Yan Liang now, there would definitely be changes. After all, my life experience, understanding of life, and understanding of the criminal police industry are all different. Now we are playing police again. This time we have in-depth conversations with many criminal police officers to learn more about this industry and the people and things around them.
Actually, there will be a lot of on-the-spot "hang-up" emotions when shooting. For example, in one scene, the script said that I met the old chief after I was released from prison. He said, "Cheng Bing, you are a good policeman," and then I saluted and left. But when I was really immersed in the emotions of this character, especially when I heard the phrase "good policeman" during the scene, I couldn't stand it anymore and quickly turned my face away - this action was not in the script, and it was also A true outpouring of emotion in that moment. Later, I told the director that during the actual shooting, if I turn around, you should follow me... This kind of "hanging out" is very common in this film, and many things do not need to be specially designed. If it can move me live, I am sure it will also move the audience.
Excellent works come from life
Global Times: "The Long Season" was the highest-rated Chinese drama on Douban last year, and "The Three Brigades" also recently set a new record for the popularity of iQiyi's Mist Theater. How did you feel different while filming these two works?
Qin Hao: The character in "The Long Season" makes jokes every day, which is relatively less tiring. Judging from the objective conditions such as shooting time, "Three Brigades" uses the most extreme conditions to make something good, and the challenge is even greater. I never watch my finished films, and I have no habit of glancing at the monitor during filming.I think that after filming a film, the last task should be left to the audience. The audience's feedback is the real end of a work.
Global Times: Have you seen the audience's feedback on "The Three Brigades"?
Qin Hao: Yes. Some of the things I want to express are felt by the audience. I just want to play a living "person", not a facial expression. I am particularly pleased that everyone resonates and empathizes.
Global Times: "Three Brigades", "Undocumented Crime" and "The Hidden Corner" all have elements of crime suspense. Some netizens said that "Qin Hao has his own suspenseful universe". What do you think of this?
Qin Hao: I personally have no restrictions on genres when I take on roles. I value two words - life. All my inspiration and creative enthusiasm come from my experience and understanding of life. As my experience increases, my knowledge and understanding of life will change. I express this knowledge and understanding to the audience - not only about the characters, but also about the script and life. The most basic point is whether the audience believes that I am playing a "person". If the audience cannot believe it, then who should I show it to?
In fact, it is still the old saying - art comes from life, and all excellent works are inseparable from these words. The life I mentioned is not about firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, but the understanding of the relationship between people and the cognition of many things. From ancient times to the present, many excellent works, including costume dramas, present the relationships and emotions between fathers and sons, friends, monarchs and ministers. They are the wisdom extracted from life and the essence of things.
Global Times: You once said that the only person who recognizes your identity and positioning is that of an actor. What do you think of the profession of actor?
Qin Hao: I think the profession of actor is not about skills. Whether it’s the sensibility of the filming scene or the understanding of the characters and scripts, as I just said, these all come from the understanding of life. When an actor fights to the end, what he fights for is life and heritage. If you are separated from life, you will have nothing. So we can see that actors take on different roles at different stages of their lives. For example, if I were to play Cheng Bing 10 years ago, it would definitely not be the expression I have now; if I were to play Yan Liang now, it would definitely be another form of expression. .
The role does not set limits for oneself.
Global Times: After graduating from Chinese drama, you then started acting in art films, and then in recent years, you have made a career on the small screen. Along the way, what aspects do you pay more attention to when taking on a role?
Qin Hao: Whether it is a movie or a drama, our industry is a "collective creation". It is not enough to have a good script or actors. As an actor, when I see a good script, I will definitely wonder if the director can export it, so I still have requirements for the production team as a whole. They do the same in turn, it's a two-way rush, a team effort.
Global Times: Can you reveal the work plan for 2024? What other roles or works do you want to try in the future?
Qin Hao: After "The Three Brigades", "Harbin 1944", a collaboration with director Zhang Li, may be released in the first half of this year. It is also a genre that I have not filmed before. I would like to hear your feedback. When it comes to performance, I don’t like to set limits for myself. The feeling of the moment is the most authentic and best choice.
From August 2022 to now, I have been filming. It’s tiring, but I cherish it. As an actor, when you feel that your understanding and knowledge of life have reached a certain level, you will particularly want to convey this to the audience. Physiologically, people are aging, but their inner cognition is constantly increasing, which is very contradictory. So now, try to take pictures of as many things as you want to express and leave less regrets. ▲
