Cover News trainee reporter Liu Ye
Photo provided by interviewee Liu Kejie who is filming
Either he is gentle, dedicated and rich, or he is cold, dedicated and rich. No matter how he changes, he is always affectionate to the heroine, spends money like water, and will not marry anyone who is not her. This is the "overbearing president" in The Mary Sue plot, or "the boss" for short. Because the characters are good-looking and the plot is easy to understand, whether it is an online article or a short drama, the theme of domination is always in the top three of the most popular female videos.
Liu Kejie, who graduated with a major in acting, is a post-00s generation. He has been starring in vertical screen short plays as a special actor since 2021. So far, he has 25 short play works, 20 of which are the boss roles of female channels. Among the more than 10 short dramas in which he starred, 8 were all villains. What are the requirements for playing the role of Boss? Why is he always playing the role of the villain? On May 1, Cover News interviewed Liu Kejie.
The Development of a Villain and Overlord
Sometimes Crazy and Sometimes Pure Love
"In the beginning I played the male lead, named 'Gu Jingchen', but at that time there were not many short plays and the character image had not yet been finalized. Later, the market responded to The image of the male lead began to develop in a calm and mature direction, and I looked younger, so I decided to take the role of the second male lead." Liu Kejie started to take the path of a villain at the director's suggestion, but in the Ba Zong short drama, the male lead was chosen. The second is often also the boss, and he is a character who is in opposition to the male protagonist: a rival in the shopping mall, a younger brother with a tense relationship at home, a plutocratic young master who also likes the female protagonist... After polishing dozens of short plays, Liu Kejie gradually found The characteristics of the short drama track. "For newcomers like us who have no background, short plays are very popular and are a good springboard. If you perform well, you should first treat it as an opportunity to learn and exercise."
Liu Kejie's so-called "springboard" is through short plays The drama gained attention, and he gradually developed into movies and TV series, becoming a professional actor. But if you want to stand out in the short drama industry where competition for actors is becoming increasingly fierce, you can only "accept more scripts and act more. Only by acting can you have a chance."
Liu Kejie also has her own understanding of how to "play the boss well": "The villain's boss actually has more room for performance, because in different dramas, the villains' personalities are quite different, and some are 'crazy' , some are evil, some are gentle. Compared with the upright boss, his image is more diverse and he has more training in acting. Moreover, the actors he plays with are becoming more and more professional. "But Liu Kejie rarely watches herself. The short dramas I starred in are reviewed. Unlike other film and television works, the post-editing of short dramas often only leaves the parts with the strongest sense of conflict, and the emotions are given very directly. "Because we also have a certain amount of preparation during the on-site shooting, so that the emotions can express naturally. But because of the special nature of the short play, it cuts just the part where the rhythm gradually enters, so I can’t evaluate my complete performance level by looking at the finished product.”
Because the short play is “short, flat, and fast”, it requires actors. Quickly showing characters' personalities also requires higher explosive power from actors. In Liu Kejie's recent short play, he played a crazy villain and overlord, "On the edge of the third floor, next to me is the female protagonist who is tied up. I want to kill the female protagonist and make the male protagonist suffer, so my emotions I was very excited. It was actually very dangerous to stand on the edge and scream, but I was already in the mood and just wanted to destroy everything. Thinking about it now, Liu Kejie is more scared. The "god of pure love" who likes to pay silently for love: a gentle personality is more lovable and more acceptable to the audience.
Photo provided by interviewee Liu Kejie who is currently filming
Short dramas require higher acting skills
Strive for every opportunity to star
"The boss's appearance is characterized by a good-looking jawline, especially when shooting some tricky shots, the jawline must be Obviously." From Liu Kejie's profile, you can see the obvious line from his ears to his chin, which is also one of the necessary conditions for him to be selected for the role of the boss.
But the jawline alone is not tenable on the set.Liu Kejie majored in drama performance at university. The performance methods of stage performances and vertical screen short plays are obviously different. "Drama performances have no editing or close-ups, and they test the basic skills of actors. The performance needs to be life-like, but short plays require explosive power and conflict." Sometimes the movements are too exaggerated and they look off-screen, so I was often scolded when I first started doing short plays, but I gained experience by scolding them.”
For Liu Kejie, who is new to short plays, in addition to the form of performance. It requires adaptation, and the preparation time for the script is also a big problem. The shooting time for short dramas is very limited and can usually be completed in 7-10 days, so the time left for the early stage is relatively tight. "Sometimes there is only one day from accepting a play to starring in it. I can only read the script on the high-speed train and talk to the director and screenwriter about the role during the reading. This is the fastest. It is completely different from the rhythm of slowly polishing our stage plays. Same. "But shoddy short plays are gradually being eliminated. The shooting and production of short plays are becoming more and more sophisticated, and the requirements for actors are getting higher and higher, so more preparation time is provided for actors. "In the past, in order to catch up with the schedule, sometimes we had to shoot all night, but now we are not so nervous. The actors have time to read the script, understand the characters, and also have time to rest, because everyone knows that acting well is more important."
In the early days, the model , Internet celebrities, etc. can all appear in short plays, and the drama producers and management do not have high requirements for the actors' acting skills, so the audience often has stereotypes about the acting skills of short play actors, but Liu Kejie does not mind this, "I am anxious "It's just that there are no dramas. As for being labeled, that's good. At least it means that your acting skills can be seen and evaluated."
Under normal circumstances, in a drama that attracts attention, the male and female protagonists will often get more awards. With more traffic, the value will also rise accordingly. The boss played by Liu Kejie is far inferior to the male protagonist in both the proportion of scenes and the personality setting, so the chance of being "seen" is even lower. "Although I strive to play the leading male role in every drama, I can only play the leading role at the moment." As for the second male lead, I will do it well. At present, my acting is not beyond my age. I need to practice more. There will always be opportunities in the future. "
Because she has not signed an agency, Liu Kejie often obtains scripts through the industry. According to internal recommendations or social news, as his performance experience continues to enrich, his drama appointments have gradually stabilized at more than two movies a month.
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