On the day "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils" was completed, Ethan Ruan received a call from Wang Jing after leaving. At that time, Wang Jing was filming Cheng Xiaomei's final scene. After the crying, the sound of people gradually disappeared, leaving only the sound of fighting on the set. He was pulled back there in an instant.
"When you are with a person for a long time, you will have feelings." At this time, he was still preparing to say goodbye to "Chen Guilin". Just like playing other characters, when playing Chen Guilin, he poured "all his experiences and feelings" into Chen Guilin's life, and then this character became a part of his life. As he usually does when he withdraws from a character, he waits for the others in the story to exit, leaving only him and this character alone in the room, "saying goodbye" for a while.
When saying goodbye to some characters, he can say calmly: "See you later." But when facing Chen Guilin, it is difficult. He realized later: "It turns out that saying goodbye to everything you love is not an easy thing."
Chen Guilin and Cheng Xiaomei. Unless otherwise noted, the pictures in this article are all provided by the interviewees
When he first entered the industry, Ethan Ruan, who was a model, was ignorant of acting. When filming "The Weather Is Sunny in Kenting", he felt that he had "enlightened" for the first time. Once, halfway through filming a scene, he looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly felt that the flow of time had slowed down. "You can see the fine dust in the air, and you get goosebumps all over your body, numb all the way from your arms to your shoulders and to the top of your head." At that time, he suddenly felt that "what he did and what he said was all right. ", he just "followed his feelings" and continued acting all the way.
For nearly two decades after
, he relied on this feeling when performing. But he has no way to extend the time of feeling and control "when it comes and when it goes." At the same time, he must be a spectator in life moment by moment, remembering what it feels like in the moment when emotions arise.
After experiencing the popularity of "Monga" and ten years of silence, he accepted it calmly, and Huang Jingfu approached him with the role of Chen Guilin. The director asked: "How have you been lately?" He said: "It's not bad, at least it's much better than before." After hearing this, the director frowned: "I'm afraid I have to trouble you to go back to a time when you thought you were very bad." After a while." He replied: "Don't worry about that, they are always there."
At this time, he no longer relied on that "scalp-tingling" moment when he performed. There are only a few lines in the script. He put his own life experience into it, and the character grew flesh and blood on its own.
In "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils", the most difficult scene to shoot was the scene where Xinshenshe cuts her hair. Hair can only be cut once and must be done in one go. Before filming started, director Huang Jingfu asked: "If Xiaotian's emotions didn't come out at that time, who would call him stuck?" He, Chen Yiwen, and the director looked at each other, and finally, he told them: "Actually, I'm not that nervous."
"Chen Guilin has accumulated four years, and I have accumulated about ten years. I know that at that moment, if I am very attentive, God will give it to me. Because I have tried my best, he has no reason to be empty." The result is also the same. As he expected, it was just one step and it went very smoothly.
In "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils", the hair cutting scene.
Before interviewing Ethan Ethan, I read a lot of reports about him and watched almost all of his movies and variety shows. Like a poor AI, I input the image data about the character, simulated and generated his personality, and talked to him in my imagination. On March 11, before the video interview, I was like an actor who "designed how to perform" as he said. I held my breath and waited to enter the scene, but almost all the answers I received were unexpected.
At least, when faced with some skilled "word games", he created one more than "countless possibilities".
Ethan Juan. Picture source: Ethan Ethan’s Weibo
[The following is our conversation with Ethan Ethan:]
The Paper: You said before, “I want to work hard to find who Chen Guilin is.” For the first time, you felt that you had found Chen Guilin. When was it?
Ethan Juan: I can’t give you a definite time point for .Because I am not a very smart person, the method I use will be a bit more "dumb". There are many fighting scenes and coherent lines in the play. If I am not familiar with them, it will cause a lot of psychological burden when acting, and I will not be able to perform freely in them.
So more than two months before the filming started, I found a martial arts coach and started training bit by bit. Some fighting scenes may seem like just one action to everyone. But from the first day I was exposed to these actions, I stepped into the role of Chen Guilin all the time. I think I have to give my choice a little more time.
Director Huang Jingfu also gave me all the clothes Chen Guilin would wear. He said: "No matter whether the weather is hot or cold, I hope you can wear his clothes and be Chen Guilin."
When I first started "being Chen Guilin", I was really Quite embarrassing. For example, when I'm walking on the road, I have to suddenly pull off my shoelaces and squat on the ground to look at others; I also have to stuff a peanut into the crack of my door and listen to the "click" sound.
These things all add up. I don’t know when it started. I feel like I am Chen Guilin. All I know is that when I entered the set to shoot the first scene, I was still a little nervous. But when I first saw Zhang Guiqing, I realized that I could freely be Chen Guilin.
Chen Guilin's fighting scene.
The Paper: You have said before that when you acted in "The Weather Is Sunny in Kenting", you experienced the feeling of "numbness in the scalp and dust visible" for the first time while acting. From that moment on, you feel "as if you are doing everything right." Do you still feel this way now?
Ethan Ethan: There will be , but I am not as dependent on it as I used to be. In my career of more than 20 years, I have relied on this feeling to give myself the confidence to perform. But you also know that this feeling doesn’t happen all the time. In fact, the most difficult thing is not the intense emotional ups and downs in the character's life. The most difficult part is the ordinary moments, when nothing happens, it is just the process of one's life. But the script gives you the least clues.
Those seemingly meaningless things are extremely important to me and I have to be fully that person. It's like, I'm not "playing this person hard" at all, I'm just slowly becoming him, doing what you want to do in your heart little by little. That is the process of letting yourself become more and more convinced that "I am him".
The Paper: Is this the feeling that emerged when you performed "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils" this time?
Ethan Juan: has gradually become available in the past few years. After breaking away from immaturity, my own understanding of the performance replaced the original "goosebumps" moment, and I couldn't even see it anymore. But that state will not disappear. On some special occasions, it will still appear, but the frequency will decrease. I think that the next performance should not be something I "work hard to achieve", but should appear naturally.
The Paper: So are you an anti-dramatist? You don’t want to spend so many dramatic moments building this character, or building yourself.
Ethan Juan: Look at our lives, whether it’s me, you, or the people around us, most of the time, nothing happens. In drama, things happen every day, but that's not life. Life is more often helpless. Many difficulties cannot be solved immediately by your own strength. You can only live one day at a time, and others will only see certain points in our time. The role that
supports every day has shaped more than 90% of his life. You have to truly live in that role. Director Huang Jingfu once talked to me about something. Have you seen Li Cangdong's play?
The Paper: Which one are you talking about ?
Ethan Juan: "Oasis".
The Paper: I have seen . I remember there was a scene in the middle where two people were dancing together on a fantasy oasis. That scene was very dramatic.
Ethan Ethan: But what’s more interesting is the “coldness” of daily life inside. In the movie, the weather when the story takes place is extremely cold, and people are walking with their bodies curled up.It was a special moment compared to the everyday. We have to remember these moments in our lives.
For example, if someone has a car accident, someone around you dies, or something unexpected happens suddenly, they have come into your life, and you have to continue living, what will you be like? For example, when you are in a bad mood and you are not recognized by everyone, how do you eat and sleep at that time? For example, when the person you care about most is being tortured, will you show the pain on your face? Or will you maintain a normal expression and cover it up with busyness? That pain only exists in my own heart. It looks a little different to others, but I can't tell how it is different.
I want to work hard to put this feeling into my performances in the future or now.
The Paper: So this kind of performance is trying to be restrained, but it can also make people feel the emotions he conveys?
Ethan Juan: Yes. Because I know some people will look forward to "the actors start crying" and "the climax is coming" when they see certain performances. Actually no, the performance process is to suppress you, the movie audience, instead of watching me vent my emotions with other actors. When you see me on the big screen, you can't bear it anymore and you have to endure it until the end. That "bearing it" is the most beautiful moment in it, rather than crying at you, which is meaningless.
The Paper: Your representative characters, from Monk, Jiang Ya, to Chen Guilin, they may all have obsessions in their hearts that are not tolerated by the world, but they will choose to protect them regardless of their own lives. You also described Chen Guilin as "idiotic". Do you think you prefer or are good at such a role?
Ethan Ethan: I must admit that I am very attracted to such a character.
I often say that when you play a character, you put all your own experiences and feelings into the character's life. Because obsession is actually a flaw, and this flaw is very charming. It’s not that I don’t want to, but I can’t be as open-minded as some people. In my past life experiences, obsession has often affected me. I have strong feelings for such characters, and I particularly understand their state.
But those works of directors that I admire, whether it is Lee Chang-dong or Hirokazu Kore-eda, whether it is "Monster" or "Deeper than the Sea", these dramas present more of a normal state. It doesn't have so many intense things accumulated, but it can still affect your emotions and stay deeply in your heart.
But it doesn’t tell you, what is this motivation and what is that motivation?
Later I realized one thing: all the things I might say with my mouth or write with my pen are often not true. What the characters in the movie convey are things that cannot be said.
Chen Guilin before his execution.
The Paper: Do you think this kind of thing that cannot be explained can be achieved through performance?
Ethan Juan: is correct, I think it is okay. Because when you hear or see a person, you will have a feeling, and this feeling is not caused by reading a piece of text. Everyone has a different feeling when seeing a person, not just the arrangement and combination of joy, anger, sorrow and joy. When acting, we can't tell you what to design here and what to design there.
Looking back on the past, I am really lucky and have met many excellent people. When filming "Monga", the director actually had no answer for the monk's emotional state. Does the monk like Zhilong? Yes, he likes it. But you can explain it as brotherly love, or it can be explained as similar to the love between men and women. It really cannot be divided into two. The answer includes their identity and their age. They themselves don't understand it either.
This misunderstanding is because I think that when an actor plays a role, he must tell the audience honestly. Instead of me filling in the answers and telling you about them.
The Paper: Do you think your little boy-like innocence helps you express this "foolish" quality? If you shoot more calm and restrained scenes in the future, will you still retain that sense of innocence?
Ethan Ethan: Every part of me will always exist in every character I create. I can't completely erase myself. Whether it is me or other actors, as long as they devote themselves wholeheartedly to the role, there must be something invisible guiding them, and that is a part of themselves. Just saying, do you deliberately put what you think you are into it, or do you put all your life experiences into it in a natural state?
Ethan Juan's daily life. Picture source: Ethan Ruan Weibo
The Paper: Have you always been the latter?
Ethan Ethan: My method is that I can only trust the people I work with, and I can only put myself in without reservation. This is actually quite uncomfortable.
In fact, many times, I feel that carrying the "role" is so tiring, so tiring, that I can't stand it anymore. However, this is the state of that person (character). Sometimes, I complain afterward: "I really want to pick some happy characters to play." Because when that character is happy, you will also be affected by his happiness, whether you affect him or he affects you.
But in the end, what’s really fascinating are the people who were tortured.
The Paper: You have said before that "being Chen Guilin" was so tiring that you were so stressed that you almost collapsed. At what point did you feel that you couldn't stand it anymore and that you couldn't be Chen Guilin anymore?
Ethan Juan: Actually, it’s not that I can’t be Chen Guilin. I'm very grateful for this breakdown. Looking back on it afterwards, it was just right. The hair-cutting scene at New Heart House was very difficult. It required the cooperation of Brother Wen, myself, the director, and everyone on set. The hair can only be cut once, which put a lot of pressure on everyone. At that time, I thought that as long as I concentrated enough, my emotions would come out.
That shooting went smoothly, but the problem came after the hair cut. When we finished the scene happily, I went home with hair that looked like a dog chewing. Later filming lasted more than 20 days. During these twenty days, I got up every morning and washed myself. When I saw myself in the mirror, I thought: "Oh! God, what on earth am I doing now? How did I become like this?"
Even sometimes, I was at a loss when I arrived at the venue, thinking, "Today is different from my previous performances." Being at a loss will make you lose your sense of security and make you eager to get closer to a safe and secure place. Why is it said that "in retrospect, this panic came at just the right time"? Because that is indeed in line with Chen Guilin's current state of new mind. Otherwise, you think, how could he be deceived by such a person?
So, at that time, my vitality just matched Chen Guilin's behavior. I don't know if I am about to collapse, or if I will collapse immediately. But if I really collapse, you won't hear me talk about "collapse", but I will show you the behavior of the collapse, such as disappearing. but I do not have.
Chen Guilin.
The Paper: When plays such a complex and painful role, do you have the fear of "almost losing yourself"?
Ethan Ethan: There will be at the beginning, but then I discovered one thing. When acting, I don’t just live in my own life. I coexist with them.
The way I perform is that I have to give a certain part of my life to that role. I accepted that my life was filled with these characters, and the things I was afraid of before were slowly accepted by me. This is the change that time brings to people. These characters are bound to become a certain part of my life.
The Paper: So if you play a similar role now, you may not have such a rejection reaction, but you will be more calm?
Ethan Juan: There will definitely be , and there will definitely be similar fears in the future. Just because we have become mature, it does not mean that you will not make mistakes again in the future.It's just that for some more intense situations, you can face it more calmly and accept that it will happen anyway.
The Paper: You have talked about the topic of avatars before, and also talked about the similarities between AI and avatars. The development of AI is particularly booming now. What do you think of AI creation?
Ethan Ethan: I don’t reject substitutes, but I think you have to try to do it, you have to work hard and fight hard. There are some things that are really impossible to do, and you have to use substitutes.
Only when you do those things yourself, will the feeling of doing those things come back to your own life. Human thickness is accumulated bit by bit through daily life. If you want to inherit other people's experience in everything and don't even try, then I really think it's a pity and a good opportunity to experience is wasted.
We can never resist the times and move forward. I think we will definitely have the opportunity to create with AI in the future, whether it is scripts or performances. For example, now, as long as you input enough examples, the picture you will get will be beyond your imagination.
But the most interesting thing about creation is its unknown nature. Computers have countless possibilities. Is it possible that you can create something other than these possibilities? Instead of relying solely on what is randomly given to you in the moment. For example, today's weather, today's wind, what does it feel like when it blows? What's the temperature today? How does it smell on the road? None of these things can be preset by me.
The state in which you woke up this morning, the state in which you encountered everything when you went out, and the state of preparation before you walked into the scene. These things will make a difference in your performance at the scene, and these things are too precious.
The Paper: So you think AI cannot replace the reproduction of human feelings?
Ethan Ethan: may one day replace it, but I don’t think it is now.
Photos taken by Huang Jingfu of Ethan Juan. Picture source: Ethan Ruan Weibo
The Paper News: Through the brief chat just now, I feel that you are extremely sincere. I remember you said something on a variety show to the effect that "sincerity may be the only thing I have left." Is it hard to be authentic at any time, especially during the lows?
Ethan Ethan: One thing I am very proud of is that no matter what I can do or cannot do, every day of my life, I try my best to face every moment honestly.
During my lowest period, I was not ready to share my sadness with others. So I don't want others to think I'm uncomfortable or unhappy. What I'm armed with is laughing. The harder I smile, the better I fool everyone.
Sometimes the biggest hurt is not accusation, but sympathy. During a certain period of time growing up, I did not allow others to express sympathy or pity for me. Regret is more uncomfortable than accusation. When you are accused by others, anger will rise from the ground. This is normal. But the regret is that "even you think I'm pathetic."
The Paper: Do you allow now? What if someone wanted to do this again?
Ethan Ethan: With , compared to before, I have become quite receptive to everyone’s opinions.
In the past, I would put myself very front and very heavy. I thought: "I have worked so hard and worked so hard, why do you turn a blind eye?" Later I discovered that when I take myself too seriously, I don't care much about what I am going to do and what I want. Later, I felt that what I should care more about is the only thing left in me, those people who are still willing to stay by your side no matter the good or bad times.
I will definitely encounter difficulties again and things that I can't overcome, but I am more accepting of them than before. I know I am the one who wants to do this. I am not unlucky at all, I am super lucky.
-----
"Others", The Paper has a new column to focus on in-depth character reports, knock on distant doors, and answer why others are related to me.
