Starring Hou Jingjian, Zhang Bo, Wang Weizhi, and Xu Xiaosa, it is the first major revolutionary historical drama to tell the history of the revolution from an economic perspective. It is currently being broadcast on CCTV, ranking first in ratings, and arousing enthusiastic social response. Actor Hou Jingjian, who once played Mao Zedong Running in the Rain in "The Age of Awakening", once again interpreted the image of a chairman with unique charm and unique charm in "The Fire of the Road", which is impressive. Some viewers commented that Hou Jingjian gave a textbook-like performance, which not only showed Mao Zedong's important role and influence in history, but also showed Mao Zedong's charm and emotion as a person.
Hou Jingjian is recognized as the most realistic actor in China who plays young Mao Zedong. This is also the 14th time Hou Jingjian has played Mao Zedong. When it comes to this most familiar sacred role, Hou Jingjian does not feel that he is familiar with it. Instead, he is more in awe and wants to break through and innovate to get closer to reality. He admitted that he would make a little progress every day and slowly get closer to the characters. For this reason, he gave up performance design and truly showed the chairman's status and style through subconscious details of life. During the performance, what Hou Jingjian felt most was Chairman Mao's inner brightness, selflessness and tenacity. And this is exactly what "The Fire of the Avenue" conveys, the light of the road and the power of the fire to face any difficulties. Although the road to truth is difficult, the road is not lonely. If we strengthen this belief and pass on the fire from generation to generation, the light will be lit and shine on the road ahead.
Talking about the new drama: "The Age of Awakening" appeared in the rain. More than 20 years later, Chairman Mao walked into the rain again.
asked: What attracted you to take the role of "The Fire of the Road"?
Answer: First of all, it was because I was with Xu Zhiyin, the chief producer of this drama, has worked several times with the team of producer Fang Yihai Nachuan, and it is very pleasant. Including "Lovely China" produced by Xu Zhiyin, "Diplomacy" and "Midstream" directed by Song Yeming, they are all very exciting works. As a young actor in the main theme drama, I especially hope to work with such a team. to learn from directors and seniors. I cherish having such an opportunity to perform "The Fire"; the second reason is that I saw the script of this play and felt that this part of its history was rarely mentioned and shown in previous works with the main theme. It describes the history of the Soviet area in detail, and it describes it from the perspective of economics and governance. I think this perspective is particularly novel.
asked: How many times have you played Mao Zedong? In your opinion, what is different about Mao Zedong in "The Fire of the Road"?
answered: This is the 14th time I have played the chairman. Speaking of differences, I think in previous dramas and during my filming assignments, I showed Mao Zedong at historical nodes or important moments. These histories are familiar to most viewers. But this time we will cover more details, especially when I act opposite each actor, the state will be different, such as the state with comrades, the state with soldiers, the state with common people, etc., with different groups of people. There are different states. I actually gave up on performance design this time, but instead experienced it with my heart, completing a performance state that was subconsciously conditioned after using telepathy. For example, in the play, when Zheng Hong didn't agree to go to the Security Bureau, I would pour the wine in his glass into my own glass, and then pour him another glass. Including the fact that I buttoned my clothes wrongly, these small details reflect the state of the character at that time.
asked: What are the biggest difficulties and challenges in shaping Mao Zedong in "The Fire of the Road"?
answered: The biggest difficulty is that this role is very sacred. The image of Chairman Mao Zedong is deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people, and generations of teachers are also Keep creating and shaping. Including actors of our generation, such as Teacher Wang Renjun, Teacher Wang Lei, etc., they have all portrayed it. How to restore the image in people's minds is a difficult point. Second, as an actor, you must get close to the characters. But Chairman Mao Zedong, his thoughts, and his glorious spirit actually surpassed me too much. I felt that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reach it, so I could only make a little progress every day and slowly get closer to the character.
But no matter how close we are or how hard we work, there is still a long way to go, so we must have a heart of awe, and on the basis of awe, we must also break some of our inherent performances and find some breakthroughs.It is necessary to make breakthroughs and innovations, but also to respect facts. How to make reasonable adjustments and reasonable breakthroughs in the audience's perception of Chairman Mao Zedong's glorious image is a particularly difficult point.
asked: Which scene in "The Fire" is the most unforgettable for you and why?
answered: Every scene is very unforgettable for me, because every scene we play is the result of the joint efforts of the entire crew. It took a lot of hard work, including working with the director and actors countless times to complete the filming. There are some scenes that are definitely very unforgettable, such as the opening of "The Fire of the Road". We also discussed with the director which form to use for the opening. Finally, we used Chairman Mao to open the skylight for Grandma Xu and find light for the people. Although this scene is simple, it has a profound meaning.
There is also the scene after the Ningdu meeting. Chairman Mao Zedong faced many misunderstandings and suffered many grievances. He did not argue anymore and just walked forward alone in the rain. As an actor, I felt very sorry for the chairman at the time when I was performing, and I understood how difficult it was for him. Let the heavy rain hit me. First, I understand the difficulty of the chairman. Second, I suddenly have a sense of responsibility and mission. When the rain hit me, I remembered the state in which I appeared in the rain in "Age of Awakening". Although the two scenes were filmed several years apart, and Chairman Mao was only in his 20s in "The Age of Awakening", he was already in his 40s at this time. More than 20 years later, he walked into the rain again. His responsibility to break through the mud ahead would be greater, but his determination to find the light would also be greater.
Talk about value: Although the road to truth is difficult, but the road is not alone, the light will be lit
Question: "The Fire of the Road" highlights Mao Zedong's literary, Taoist and military strategies in difficult times. What do you think is the greatness of Mao Zedong or what is worthy of our admiration and learning?
Answer: There are too many things worthy of learning from the Chairman. The first is the light in his heart, the innocence and tenacity in his heart. In the face of any difficulties, he has unchanging faith in his heart. Only with faith in his heart can he have strength under his feet. Moreover, he deeply loves this land and its people. With this firm belief, the chairman has made so many achievements that are unimaginable to ordinary people.
and the chairman’s practice yields true knowledge. In addition to having far-sighted thoughts, beliefs and goals, he also has to be down-to-earth. For example, Chairman Mao would keep reading, keep doing inspections, practice, keep accumulating experience, and never let go of every detail. This kind of accumulation is also what we need to learn from.
The last point is Chairman Mao’s selflessness. The reason why he can continue to come out despite so many misunderstandings and so many failures is his inner light and inner selflessness. Faced with the incomprehension of many colleagues in the party at that time. He didn't feel that it was a personal lack of understanding of him. He loves this team, the party deeply, and our comrades deeply. Therefore, with this selfless spirit, he can face every misunderstanding and be broad-minded to complete the great cause.
asked: How do you understand the title of the play "The Great Path"? What is the practical significance and important value of this play today?
Answer: "The Great Path" means that although the road to truth is difficult, the truth is not alone. There will be vitality, and the light will belong to us. The fire of the great road is passed down from generation to generation. I think what is passed down is a kind of spirit. The great road is a kind of belief. We must pass on the belief and spirit of a hundred years ago to the present, and use it in the present. The Chinese nation will encounter different difficulties at every historical time and moment. But as a member of the Chinese nation, we must always remember this spirit and always gather the power of this spark. Because it can be united, powerful, and come together to form this light of the avenue. Only this kind of firepower can continue to help the Chinese nation overcome difficulties and continue to move forward.
Therefore, the red spirit of the Chinese nation, the spirit that a single spark can start a prairie fire, and the spirit that the road is never alone, need us to inherit and carry forward. We must not only learn from the many advantages of great men, especially Chairman Mao, but also learn from the spirit of faith of the entire Chinese nation's five thousand years of culture.
Talking about acting: Constantly updating performance methods, authentically restoring history, showing the charm of great men in a down-to-earth manner
Question: You have played Mao Zedong in dramas such as "The Age of Awakening", "The Great Turning" and "Autumn Harvest Uprising", and you are deeply loved by the audience.In your opinion, what is the most important thing in shaping Mao Zedong?
Answer: I think shaping the Chairman is first of all to restore and restore historical reality. Because actors not only have to complete their own performances, but also pass on some historical responsibilities to restore the history and characters of that time. How to truly restore the great leader in our hearts is first of all my homework; second, the character creation must be extremely down-to-earth and make him more approachable. Chairman Mao came out from the people, and he also wanted to go to the people. Therefore, shaping the image of the chairman is to make him vivid, distinct, approachable, and down-to-earth, and to have his own unique character charm. The Chairman is a very wise man with many great achievements. To shape Chairman Mao, we must show his more unique wisdom and personality charm, but this charm must be down-to-earth.
asked: How do you think interpreting great men can attract young people? What is your performance experience?
answered: Interpreting great men, I think it is a very difficult job in performance. Unlike other roles where you can play freely, playing a great man requires us to understand history accurately. No matter how we design the performance or design some details, we cannot deviate from history. We must strictly understand the characters. This is very important. The second is to constantly update your own performance methods and performance methods, communicate more with today's young people, and communicate more with the audience.
The orientation of literary and artistic creation must be people-centered. Literary and art workers must understand what kind of works and what kind of performances our audiences need, so we must constantly update and constantly seek new ways to open our performances accurately. Especially now that the artistic standards and standards are getting higher and stricter, our art updates will become faster and faster. How to complete the iterative update of performance technology is to continuously deepen our lives, keep close to the audience, and constantly accumulate knowledge. Only in this way can we complete the progress in our performances and keep up with the artistic needs of the times.
