China News Service, Beijing, January 21 (Reporter Ying Ni) Counting from the first movie "Officers and Soldiers Catching Robbers" in 1991, Ren Xianqi has been in the film industry for more than 30 years. From an affectionate and good man in the early days, to a policeman who is both good and evil, a cold-blooded and cruel gangster, and then to a down-to-earth ordinary citizen, the wide range of his drama can be seen from this. As he said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Service, "I don't want to be defined."
In the recently released Hong Kong film "The Temporary Heist", Simon Yam and Jack Lam once again teamed up to play a pair of poor and happy thieves who are in trouble. Ren Xianqi plays Murong Hui, which is homophonic to "Wu Yong Hui". In the film, he faces a nursing home that is about to close down and raises his young daughter alone. "A social worker who is too soft-hearted and kind, but lacks ability; timid and fearful but very eager to find a job." To come up with a solution, he is usually half-prompted and half-coerced. When he is desperate and sees the last straw, he wants to grab it, so he is coerced into robbing." In an interview, Ren Xianqi described the role he played.
A still from Ren Xianqi in "The Temporary Heist". Picture provided by the film producer
When talking about why he took the role in this movie, Ren Xianqi said frankly that he has known director Mak Qi-kwong for a long time, "I found the script very interesting. I used to play the role of a ruthless bandit king, who shoots with guns; this time Playing a common man who is so bad that he crawls all over the place. The director probably thought it was a big contrast, and I thought I could give it a try."
His and Lam Jiadong's characters in the film are middle-aged people living in a miserable state. , the troubles of daily necessities, the panic and uneasiness of facing financial difficulties, "If it is a mid-life crisis, how can we break through? Can we do it? If we don't do it well, we have to shoulder all the problems ourselves. From this perspective, I hope Let everyone feel the resonance." In fact, outside of his role, Ren Xianqi admitted that he had experienced a similar crisis. In the past few years, all his concert work had to be suspended, and he would also think about the company's operating issues and how to avoid salary cuts as much as possible. Lay off employees to keep the company afloat.
In 1999, 33-year-old Ren Xianqi starred as the leading actor for the first time in the movie "Star Wish". The film was not only a box office hit, but also nominated for Best Picture at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards. After that, he shifted the focus of his work from the music industry to the film industry. From 2001 to 2010, he appeared in many movies. In 2004, he met his "Bo Le" - director Johnnie To.
At that time, the director was preparing a police film "The Big Incident", and Ren Xianqi was invited to play the supporting role of the gangster Chen Yiyuan. This was the first collaboration between the two. Watching the "calm and calm" Ren Xianqi in the movie, Johnnie To recognized him. In the 2006 "Exile", he specially designed a character for Ren Xianqi holding a cigarette in his mouth and an AK rifle in his hand. He guest-starred as "Superintendent Chen", and his aura of accuracy in the film was even equal to that of Ng Chun-yu; he also customized the role of Inspector Zhang Zhengfang of the righteous and evil police force for Simon Yam in "The Money", and opposite Liu Qingyun in the film play.
Yan Xianqi’s dazzling skills in character creation won him the role of the gangster Ye Guohuan in the 2016 film "The Big Tree" produced by Johnnie To. As soon as he appeared on the stage, Ren Xianqi had a round beard, full of violence, and acted like a gangster. He was completely different from his previous gentle image, which made countless fans and fans sigh, "This is a completely different Ren Xianqi." He was also nominated for Best Actor at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards for this role.
When asked if you regret not winning the Best Actor Award? Ren Xianqi answered very calmly. Whether he won the award or not has a lot to do with the subject matter, the times, and his own performance. What he cares most about is that he doesn't want to be defined, just like he has many songs of different styles, such as "Look at the Girl Opposite", "Heart Is Too Soft", "Sad Pacific", "Ren Xiaoyao", etc. There are love songs and inspirational songs. There are also ballads.
“When I was a singer, I thought I was an actor of voice. As long as I sang correctly, everyone would accept it. It’s the same as being an actor. Put aside acting skills, don’t think so much, and just immerse yourself in the role. If you play a gangster, , after entering the role, I will not go home from filming, because I have to be immersed in the state, and it is fierce every day, and my family is not used to it.During this period, I won’t even meet fans or hold concerts. Sometimes I meet fans during filming. They see my expressionless and cold face, and they don’t dare to talk to me. If I greet the fans as cordially as usual, to be honest, I will get confused and disappear for a while while filming. "
" As for future plans, Ren Xianqi said frankly, "To Qi Feng encouraged me: a good script is my salary." Therefore, my output will not be very large. I am still reading the scripts for movies, and will be more strict in the future, because I do not rely on this to make money. The current principle is to either shoot well or not shoot at all. "He revealed that his work in 2024 will be mainly about concerts, because he only completed half of the tour last year, and there are still many cities he has not visited. He feels sorry for his fans traveling across the city, and hopes to try his best to perform in cities he has never been to. Yes.(End)
