Interview with Bo Huang ｜ The Color of Actors
Bo Huang, who has been in the business for 22 years, has left many film and television images deeply rooted in the hearts of the audience. He is a simple and reckless thief with black skin in Crazy Stone, a poor and timid broken cow in Bullfighting, and a loyal Wang Pangzi in Searching for Dragons. This time, in the movie "Mozart in Outer Space", Bo Huang transformed himself and became the "overbearing dad" that people love and hate. And this ambitious father also deeply touched him, causing him to breed a lot of emotional resonance.
In Bo Huang’s memory, his parents were as strict as Ren Dawang in the film, hoping that he could study hard and didn’t have much time to understand his hobbies and dreams. At that time, Bo Huang, like many children, stood on their opposite side with a sharp thorn. The establishment of parent-child relationship is actually a subject that every family needs to think about. Bo Huang said that parents should put their children in an equal position to communicate with him, instead of taking control and domination as a matter of course as parents.
However, from another perspective, Bo Huang has more or less the shadow of Ren Dawei. Bo Huang once dreamed of music when he was young. He participated in many singer competitions and worked as a resident singer, but in the end he failed to develop it into his own career. But for this, Bo Huang is very transparent and indifferent. "When we were young, we had a lot of unrealistic ideas. We wanted to go to space and be astronauts, but there were not so many people who could really fulfill their dreams. But even if it is not completed, the dream will always be the best destination in our hearts. When we run hard and fight for it, your body is full of energy. "
Chen Sicheng, the director, once praised Bo Huang for his meticulous design of details. He will put crumpled napkins and money together to show the embarrassment of the little people, and according to his own experience, he will change the ambiguous "piano sound" in his lines into specific "Turkish March". The presentation of these daily details is the most important thing for an actor in Bo Huang. "There is still a difference between the script and the actor’s final performance," Bo Huang carefully analyzed. "As a performer, this is the only opportunity to express and create. If you can make this role even better on the original basis through your own efforts, it is very meaningful for the actor."
In the process of filming for so many years, Bo Huang has been constantly breaking through the comfort zone, looking for more fresh and interesting roles to stimulate his enthusiasm and desire for performance. In addition, he also unlocked the new identity of director and producer, and gained people’s support and recognition with high-level works. In Bo Huang’s view, it’s actually easy to make do with it, but it’s the hardest thing to do well.
QA
ICONSPRO: Ren Dawang, who you played in the film, is called "overbearing dad". What do you think is his overbearing aspect?
Bo Huang:He just wants to impose what he thinks is right on his son, or that sentence that all the dads in the world will say, I am your dad, can I harm you? I did it for your own good. Wait.
ICONSPRO: What impressed you most about Mozart in Outer Space?
Bo Huang:I think it is a relatively relaxed, family-friendly and fantasy genre film, with relatively uncomplicated characters, which is suitable for most audiences to watch. There are also some small inspirations and some small joys for their own lives and education, with their children and with their fathers, and they are also very warm.
ICONSPRO: Are there any similarities between you and Ren Dawang in real life?
Bo Huang:In fact, when I was a child, my parents treated me with the same attitude. It is not allowed to say that you have to accept what they think is right, and so on. But when I was young, it was just the opposite. When I was young, I liked music and art, but my parents didn’t. My parents still wanted you to study hard, or there were more repression and control. (ICONSPRO: Did you resist at that time? When I was young, I resisted. Of course I resisted. After graduating from high school, I led my friends out to perform.
ICONSPRO: Ren Dawang in the film is both a father and a son. Do you think he is qualified as both?
Bo Huang:There is no way to say that it is qualified. This is a matter of opinion. You have to say that for a child’s love, of course, he is qualified, but the way and method are not qualified. Everyone has his own opinion, including that he actually has many traditional parents’ ideas in China, which is relatively strong.
ICONSPRO: How do you feel about partnering with Rong Zishan and Fan Wei this time? Is there anything interesting to share with us at the scene?
Bo Huang:Actually, this is the second time to cooperate with Mr. Fan Wei. The last time was ten years ago. I didn’t expect him to play my father this time. Should I be called Big Brother before? I began to play the father of a child taller than me myself, and the time was quite embarrassing. Zishan is also quite interesting. I think this play is also quite memorable for him. The children to be shown in it are about the same age as him, which is a memory of youth growth. It happened that the child’s voice was changing when he was filming, and his voice was talking in tune, which was particularly interesting and was a particularly obvious symbol of youth.
ICONSPRO: Rong Zishan once said in an interview that you are his idol. What do you think about the identity of this idol?
Bo Huang:I didn’t know it until later, and I can only congratulate him on having a good concept and aesthetics. In the process of filming, I introduced him to meet him at first, and he was quite shy to chat with me. After a while, he wanted to escape, and I could see that he was also nervous. But I didn’t deliberately bring everyone closer and make everyone hot. Because I still hope to keep some of the characters in this play, I didn’t get to know him so well at first. Later, he played my son again, and it will be on soon. It’s a TV series, and it’s actually Mei Ting who plays his mother. I think this play is the pre-history of this play.
ICONSPRO: Ren Dawang used to be a rock singer, but later he failed to develop into a career for practical reasons and turned to be an insurance salesman. What do you think of the trade-off between dream and reality?
Bo Huang:People have too many unfinished ideals and dreams, and most of them are unfinished. When I was a child, we had a lot of unrealistic ideas. I wanted to go to space, be an astronaut, dive into the bottom of the sea, etc., but not so many people could really fulfill their dreams. Looking back, I sometimes feel lucky to be able to persist in fulfilling my dreams. But no matter what, even if it is not completed, the dream is worth your efforts to run to it. Everyone may not be able to achieve it in the end for various reasons, but the dream will always be the destination and the beautiful place in our hearts. When we fight for it, your body will be full of energy.
ICONSPRO: Did you get any correct ways to get along with fathers and children by shooting this work? What do you think a healthy parent-child relationship should be?
Bo Huang:Maybe not only in China, but also in many countries and cultures. When a male animal reaches adulthood, it always has a kind of struggle or control. When this kind of struggle meets with control, it will have some problems. Now there have been many changes in views. In fact, many parent-child relationships have gradually become friends. When communication becomes smooth, everything begins to flow smoothly, so the first thing to be solved is to be able to stand in each other’s position and communicate sincerely, seriously and smoothly.
ICONSPRO: Do you think it is more important for parents to respect their children in a healthy parent-child relationship?
Bo Huang:In fact, this sentence is particularly simple, but it is particularly difficult for many people. Because many fathers think this is a matter of course, I gave you all my efforts, I raised you, and so on. He thinks it is a matter of course to control and dominate (children).
ICONSPRO: If Ren Dawang and Ren Xiaotian exchange souls, what do you think is the first thing he will do?
Bo Huang:Lock him up for three days, and then he won’t come down on the piano.
ICONSPRO: I heard that you brought professional sculpture clay to the scene, and you will make clay sculptures in your spare time. How did you cultivate this hobby?
Bo Huang:It’s been a few years, the earliest time was in "Searching for Dragons", because there are many sculptures in the crew, and it can better kill the waiting time on the set. The other one is shaping, and this is the most concrete shaping. It is to shape an image and make it concrete, which is similar to our usual performance of characters.
ICONSPRO: Did you teach other actors on the spot?
Bo Huang:One is that I’m not so good at it, and the other is that I’m interested. I only play if I’m interested.
ICONSPRO: Did you do any special design in the performance, such as putting crumpled napkins and money together to show the embarrassment of the characters? Are there any other small details that you have carefully designed?
Bo Huang:There must be many designs, but I can’t remember so many details. Because this is one of my own performance habits, I will find some life details that may be added in each scene to enrich this character, so that everyone can understand some characteristics and circumstances of this character behind the story through these actions.
ICONSPRO: You said that before each scene, you would look for something to design, which is closer to the role. Are you inclined to improvise on the spot?
Bo Huang:This is also a habit. No matter how perfect and good the script is, as a performer and a creator, all the lines are read from your mouth, and all the actions are expressed through you. After all, it will be different from the script. This is the last chance to express and create. If you can make this role even a little better on the original basis through your own efforts, this is what you should do. So whether it’s details, adding features, or reducing things, it may be some efforts in a good direction.
ICONSPRO: Everyone commented that you have a strong "life spirit", and your performance in your works is natural, without too many traces of performance. Are there any unique skills or methods to share in this respect?
Bo Huang:One is that you should pay attention to the details of life itself. First of all, you should love life. First of all, you should be interested in the people and things next to you. You should be a keen person. The other is the need for your enthusiasm, enthusiasm, enthusiasm.
ICONSPRO: How do you keep your passion for acting during all these years of filming?
Bo Huang:Is to find different types of roles, roles that can make you excited, and find different creations. Painting is also creation, including sculpture as mentioned just now, and constantly looking for something that interests and excites you. In fact, the higher the safety factor, the more boring it will become. But sometimes there is no way, and sometimes it is based on other people’s cognition of you. It is a question whether they are willing to take risks if they find your roles within a certain range.
ICONSPRO: What do you think are the differences between the three identities of actor, director and producer? What are their respective difficulties?
Bo Huang:Each has different difficulties, and I think it is difficult to do it well. Now I think these three jobs are easy to make do if I want to. Do you think it’s difficult to act a play now? Nowadays, there are so many small videos that everyone can perform a performance by himself. It is not difficult. It is easy to mix it up, but it is difficult to perform it well. So is the director. It is more difficult to guide it well, and more abundant horizontal, vertical, macro and objective abilities are needed. The producer is the same. It’s easy to hang high and throw it aside, but it’s not easy to do it well, whether it’s the control of the whole layout, structure or shooting, which can help in different aspects, including the judgment of publicity.
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