As the final work of the 2024 Beijing People's Art International Drama Invitational Exhibition, it is adapted from the film of the same name that won four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards. It is directed by Yang Ting and stars Wu Yue, Yu Menglong, and Jiang Yiyi. "Parasite" was

is the final work of the 2024 Beijing People's Art International Drama Invitational Exhibition. It is adapted from the film of the same name that won four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards. It is directed by Yang Ting and stars Wu Yue, Yu Mengyu, and Jiang Yiyi. The play "Parasite" was recently performed at the Capital Theater. In the drama "Parasite", Wu Yue completely reshaped the audience's inherent impression of him as an action star, and instead went deep into the soul of the character, dedicated to showing the delicate emotions and complex psychological outlook. The role of "Kim Ki-taek", whether in movies or dramas, is a father figure with complex psychology and delicate emotions. Wu Yue vividly presented the character's psychological fluctuations and emotional entanglements through his precise and layered performance. The Beijing News conducted a special interview with Wu Yue, a national first-class actor at the National Theater of China, and discussed in depth how he creates characters on different stages and his unique insights into performing arts.

In the drama "Parasite", Wu Yue completely reshaped the audience's inherent impression of him as an action star.

Rooted on the stage, improving film and television performances and self-transcendence

The audience's understanding of Wu Yue largely comes from his performance in action films. From Chen Zhen in the early "Jingwu Hero Chen Zhen" and Di Yun in "The Legend of Liancheng", to Sun Wukong in Zhang Jizhong's version of "Journey to the West", and in recent years, characters such as Cui Jie in "Slaying the Wolf: Greedy Wolf" , Wu Yue's performance was deeply imprinted in the audience's memory. Especially in "Ip Man 4: The Finale", the two exciting duels between the Tai Chi successor Wan Zonghua played by him and Ip Man played by Donnie Yen not only became the highlight of the film, but also made Wu Yue's name famous among movie fans. It left a deep mark on my heart.

In "Ip Man 4: The Final Chapter", the names of Wu Yue left a deep mark on the hearts of movie fans.

Before officially becoming an actor, Wu Yue was a " Wuying-level " athlete in the field of martial arts (the highest level of Chinese martial arts athletes, also known as "Jianjiang"), which can be said to be an honor. Just as everyone was watching the rise of this "martial arts star", Wu Yue made an unexpected decision out of his love for performing arts and his desire to expand his personal development areas: to leave the professional martial arts team and turn to martial arts. Dedicate yourself to acting career. He chose to go to Beijing to further his studies, and was admitted to the Central Academy of Drama in China with his first place in the acting major. "My dream has always been to become an excellent actor and participate in the performance of excellent works. I have a special liking for the stage because it allows me to play roles that I am eager to challenge." Looking back on his original choice, Wu Yue still Frankly express his original ambition.

Wu Yue’s earliest stage memory can be traced back to the graduation drama of Class 97 of the Chinese Opera Department. It was a stage work "Bunana, Come Down from the Tree!" adapted by Ma Shuyun, the class teacher and professor of the Performance Department of the Central Academy of Drama, by the Japanese playwright Tsutomu Minakami. ", Wu Yue plays the second male lead in the play. After graduation, he entered the then-China Youth Art Theater with first place in his major, and later became an actor at the National Theater. In 2012, Wu Yue played the leading role in the costume drama "The Romance of the West Chamber" co-produced by the National Theater of China, Taiwan's "Two Halls" and Taipei University of the Arts, and brought Chinese Kung Fu to the National Center for the Performing Arts for the first time. stage.

Compared with the above two works, the revival of the National Theater Theater's drama "The Gate of the Mansion" in 2016 undoubtedly opened a new chapter for Wu Yue's stage career. His portrayal of the role of "Bai Jingqi" in the play has already It has become the most beloved and memorable stage image in his stage career. In this work, Wu Yue faced a huge performance challenge. He needed to span the character's long life, from the youthful 18-year-old to the waning 86-year-old, delicately and profoundly portraying Bai Jingqi's life at different stages. Personality changes and fateful twists. This not only demonstrates Wu Yue's profound acting skills, but also reflects his deep understanding of the character and comprehensive shaping ability, making "Bai Jingqi" an iconic role in his stage performances.It was also from 2016 that the drama "The Mansion Gate" became a bridge between Wu Yue and the drama audience, and it also allowed the audience to witness his growth and transformation as a drama actor.

Wu Yue plays Bai Jingqi in the drama "The Mansion Gate".

has been in the performance industry for many years, and stage performance has always had an innate attraction for him. As long as he steps on the stage, Wu Yue can find his own ray of light. Through the years of experience in participating in the drama "The Mansion Gate", Wu Yue has a deep understanding that being rooted on the stage enables him to show great tension and significant progress in the film and television works he appears in every year. A very intuitive and profound personal experience.

’s deep love for stage art drives Wu Yue to devote about one-third of his time and energy to the stage every year. In the coming year of 2025, Wu Yue will not only launch his long-prepared self-directed and self-acted non-traditional drama "Xin Qiji", but will also launch a film and stage work based on the martial arts master. In his opinion, the biggest help that stage performance gives him is to improve his personal understanding and expressiveness of performance, because every play is unique and every performance is constantly evolving, which makes Wu Yue more and more immersed. In the joy of performing on stage. "Audiences' expectations and evaluations are often based on an actor's true personality and inner qualities, and I have come to realize that as an actor, it is impossible to play every role perfectly. This realization makes me cherish every experience on stage even more , enjoy the challenge and satisfaction brought by "

". "Xiaoyou Theater Company" provides development opportunities for more young practitioners

In recent years, Wu Yue has demonstrated the depth and breadth of his performances on the drama stage, from "One to Three" in "The Story of the West Chamber" to "The Gate of the Mansion" Bai Jingqi, to Lu Haiyu in "Live Broadcast of the Founding Ceremony", to Kim Ki-taek in "Parasite", he continues to explore and expand his performance areas. At the same time, Wu Yue also founded the "Xiaoyou Theater Troupe" to build a stage for young actors to showcase their talents. The troupe signed a number of emerging action film directors and actors, providing them with abundant growth resources and careers. development opportunities.

Last year, a new Chinese style drama "Yingtai on the Small Island" based on the Chinese folk tale "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" was staged at the Mandarin Pioneer Smart Theater. This is the first work launched by the "Xiaoyou Theater Company" founded by Wu Yue. Xiaoyou Opera Troupe means that a little wealth means peace, a little fullness means perfection, a little purity means purity, and a small amount of wealth means enough. It explains Wu Yue's attitude towards life. Talking about the original intention of founding the troupe, Wu Yue said with emotion, especially in the film and television industry, even actors who graduated from professional schools, if they are not famous or become top-notch, they will still face some difficulties in life, and their income may not even be as good as Some regular crew members. There are so many people working in the acting industry today and competition is fierce, making it very difficult to find the right role.

"Yingtai on the Small Island" is the first work launched by the "Xiaoyou Theater Company" founded by Wu Yue.

Wu Yue took as an example an actor interview conducted not long ago for a stage play by young director Zhang Xiao. During this interview process, the crew interviewed more than 200 actors in one day, and a total of more than 800 actors were interviewed in four days. , including film and television actors and theater actors. In Wu Yue's view, this situation is similar to the competitive pressure faced by the film and television industry, which is to attract audiences and box office. The drama industry is now also facing the need to attract investors through well-known actors in order to better survive and develop. After founding "Xiaoyou Theater", Wu Yue planned to launch a new drama project every year, aiming to provide a stage for young actors to showcase their talents and gain performance opportunities. While the Xiaoyou Theater Company is preparing for its residency in Shanghai, the "Xiaoyou Performance Workshop" co-initiated by Wu Yue, Chang Yuhong and Chen Chang is about to launch, aiming to provide nationwide support for the performing arts. Provide a platform for learning and practice for young people with enthusiasm and dreams.These actions and measures all reflect Xiaoyou Theater Troupe's continuous expansion and deepening of its artistic pursuits. From another level, it also shows Wu Yue's persistence in performing arts and his determination to support young actors.

As the first work of the iQiyi movie "Action Master Season", the movie "Blocking the Horse and Seizing the Sword", produced, supervised and starred by Wu Yue, directed by Feng Xiaojun, starring Song Tianshuo, Zhang Xintong and Zhang Kai, was released this year Premiered exclusively on iQiyi Cloud Cinema in January. The story of the film is based on the classic opera play "Blocking Horses", which combines various elements such as kung fu, suspense, comedy, and opera. It tells the story of the bravery and heroic appearance of the female generals of the Yang family and the daring loyalty of the former soldiers. Although the outside world has different opinions on the box office performance of "Standing in the Way", Wu Yue himself does not care about these rumors and instead laughs them off. He believes that since he chose to invest in this film, it naturally has deep considerations and meanings. This includes their own confidence in the project and careful consideration of investment decisions. In addition, Wu Yueze still values ​​​​more that films can provide more opportunities for young people. "Blocking a Horse to Seize a Sword" is just the beginning. Wu Yue plans to produce a film based on Peking Opera every year to promote traditional culture. To this end, as a film and television investor, Wu Yue has also signed many talented young action film directors and will continue to provide them with certain resources and investment support. Wu Yue firmly believes that although the overall action film market is currently showing a declining trend, he believes that as long as someone continues to invest and innovate, the action film market will eventually usher in a moment of revival.

The movie "Seize the Sword" premiered exclusively on iQiyi Cloud Cinema in January this year.

This year, Wu Yue continues to show his versatility in his acting career, and has participated in the ancient legendary drama "Big Businessman" written and directed by Zhang Ting and the movie "Cash Transport Robbery" directed by Huo Suiqiang. When talking about his roles in these two works, Wu Yue's eyes shone with anticipation. He frankly stated that as an actor, he very much hopes to continue to expand his acting and performance methods. Wu Yue has long been widely recognized for his outstanding performances in action films, which has made his image as a martial arts star deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. However, he is not satisfied with this and hopes to try more types of roles. Among the many characters defined by the audience, Wu Yue is more inclined to play some parent-child roles because he believes that he has a complete performance system and is qualified for such roles.

The psychological shaping of "Parasite" is a challenge. I hope that the character will be loved by the audience.

As a first-class actor in the National Theater, Wu Yue has created many characters that are well-loved by the audience on the drama stage. In 2024, he played his father "Kim Ki-taek" in the drama "Parasite", showing his new breakthrough in acting. Wu Yue believes that although Kim Kize is an ordinary little person, he embodies the diversity and complexity of society.

In the process of interpreting the character of Kim Ki-taek, Wu Yue repeatedly thought about a question: "What are small people pursuing in a society where class and humanity are intertwined?" Later, during the creation process, Wu Yue discovered that, in fact, The reason why they appear to be greedy is simply because once they have an opportunity, they want to seize the opportunity to bloom. They will not miss any opportunity that may improve their lives, and there is nothing wrong with that, because everything they do is for their families, for their children, and for everyone to live a better life. They are just trying to survive, trying to survive in this world. "The hearts of little people are not really dark. They actually long to be close to the sun. But under the overall environment of society and class oppression, it is difficult for them to find their own warm light. Therefore, they have to work hard to Adapting and catering to everything that happens around him. Such a role is indeed very difficult to perform due to its complexity and inner drama. "

plays the father "Kim Ki-taek" in the drama "Parasite", showing Wu Yue's performance. new breakthroughs.

Compared with the previous drama "Mansion Gate", which used a "big opening and closing" performance to show the "splendid life" of the protagonist Bai Jingqi, Wu Yue said frankly that this time on the stage of the drama "Parasite", for The psychological shaping of father Kim Ki-taek is indeed a challenge. "Because on the stage, the audience cannot capture the actors' expressions and eyes through close-ups like in film and television works, or see their silent reactions to the situation. The reactions without lines are not easy to detect. Therefore, actors mainly rely on pauses and expressions of lines and changes in body shape to convey emotions on stage, both of which have become important supports for performances." Wu Yue believes that audiences who can understand these performance skills can naturally understand the inner world of the characters. .

During the tour of the drama "Parasite", Wu Yue received a letter from an audience member expressing his views on Wu Yue's performance in the play. Wu Yue recalled that the audience initially thought that the character he played was completely a tragic figure, and felt very uncomfortable when watching it. That feeling even lasted for a month, and it left a deep impression on her ever since. However, after watching the stage play, the audience felt that Wu Yue made her feel more uncomfortable by adding some comedy elements to the character. It was precisely because of the use of the word "gentle" that Wu Yue achieved the character effect he wanted to present. Wu Yue admitted that he did not want the drama to be too heavy, but he also did not deliberately add jokes to please the audience. "My idea is to dig deeper into the real face of the little man in the family. I think he should be an optimistic and even somewhat self-entertaining person. It is this sudden job opportunity that makes him cautious in front of the rich. , nervousness, silence, and even physical stiffness. Based on this feeling, I set the performance state of the character like this. "

Stills from the drama "Parasite".

When talking about personal career planning, Wu Yue said frankly that his planning is usually a cycle every five years. Whether in film, television or drama, Wu Yue now values ​​the journey of artistic creation even more. For the play "Xin Qiji" that he will direct and star in next year, the script has undergone many revisions in the past few years. Although each version of the script has its own unique features, they do not seem to match the artistic conception Wu Yue wants to convey. . Wu Yue said bluntly, "I care about the audience especially, because in my opinion, the audience is like our food and clothing parents. Although I will not deliberately please the audience, I hope that the characters I create can win their love. Only when When the audience resonates with the characters, I can effectively carry out my personal artistic display and emotional expression. This process is crucial to me.”

Beijing News reporter Liu Zhen

editor Xu Meilin

proofreader Liu Jun