Many people called Zhang Yu an actor with "extremely low visibility".
The film "Siberian Tiger" directed by Geng Jun is currently being shown. This interview took place in June last year, the afternoon after the film "Siberian Tiger" won the Golden Goblet Award for Best Film at the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival. , Zhang Yu seemed to be a lot clearer than before, with an excited look on his face.
When chatting with him, he did not hesitate to laugh, and he spoke very much like the "interesting soul" of the year. You asked him if he was popular, but he said that he felt like he was going to be "yellow".
It is said that Zhang Yu has always felt a sense of alienation from the film industry. As an actor who is more and more well known and paid more attention, has he adapted to this circle more in recent years?
"When I interviewed you in 2018, you said 'being stared at by so many eyes is like walking on thin ice'. Now there should be more eyes and more opportunities in front of you. Have you adapted?" He was silent for a while, After thinking for a while, then patted his head: "That ice is getting thinner and thinner, and it is easier to fall and break."
"On thin ice, will you still insist on being that low-key Zhang Yu?"
"Yes, I will try my best. Besides, I can't make a high profile (laughs)."
A performance
I don't want to play myself, I just want to play someone else
After all, most of Zhang Yu's characters are reluctant to talk, and they are often caught in complicated and unsolved life experiences.
In the movie "I'm not the God of Medicine", there are only a few lines of Huangmao's lines. He doesn't have a hearty smile, but bears the pressure of a sick life; Hu Guangsheng, a robber from the bottom of society in "The Nameless", is a little energetic, but There is no confidence in nature, and he relies on bluffing to strengthen himself; Song Hao in "Calm the Sea" made an irreversible mistake, was devoured by the original sin all his life, and lived in a contradictory and torn father-son relationship... In "Northeast China" Tiger", Xu Dong in the film is faced with the life dilemma of a middle-aged man, full of fatigue and helplessness after the disappearance of passion.
The one on the screen is so real that it makes people wonder if Zhang Yu in real life is also like this - good at deep thinking and taciturn.
"That's so different", "I'm more despicable than everyone I've played! But the biggest advantage of the actor's profession is that I can experience a nobler sentiment than myself by playing someone else's life, hahahahaha. After a burst of laughter, Zhang Yu further elaborated on his "self-awareness": "Really, it's too despicable, I'm unsightly and without scrutiny."
"Why don't you recognize yourself so much?"
"That's why I'm an actor. I want to play someone else, but I don't want to play myself. I don't like myself, and I don't get along very well with myself. I can be quiet, and I'm also someone who often quarrels with myself. There are many problems, to put it vulgarly, some people say you are awesome (powerful), some people say you are stupid (very bad), a bit split, always oscillating between self-affirmation and self-denial.”
B-play
I like the poetry of filling the void with nothingness
Even though he considers himself despicable, Zhang Yu is very grateful to have the opportunity to act and find a character with a sense of identity.
In addition to his feelings for the character, he is more awe-inspiring. After all, he keeps teasing that the character's sentiment is higher than his.
In 2018, he saw the script of "Siberian Tiger", and the three-dimensionality and struggle of the characters in the film attracted him greatly: "I have watched a lot of Geng Jun's works before, and I am a loyal audience of his works. He is a A person who is humorous everywhere is more humorous and wiser than me. His words are a little more than mine, but they are of higher quality than mine." Xu Dong in "Siberian Tiger" is experiencing a "middle-age catastrophe" ": Because his wife Meiling (played by Ma Li) was pregnant, he entrusted his dog Ruyi to the builder Ma Qianli (played by Zhang Zhiyong), but the dog was eaten.
"I fully understand Xu Dong's paranoia. His dog is very interesting. For example, there is a dog walking scene. He can run and jump with the dog, just like life is full of vigor. If marriage makes him Slowly losing interest, he can only live pale and shriveled, and the dog is the factor that can make him run. Later, the dog was eaten and turned into a dog's skin. He lost his motivation, lost his soul, and lost himself. A fresh, young impulse, the dog is like his shadow, he wants to find his original things. Later, he may not know what he is looking for and whether he can find it."
What he felt the most was that director Geng Jun encountered filming treatment in this film that was not there before, and he was also relieved that a caring director had better shooting conditions: "It took about two months to shoot, this is Geng Jun. It's the longest movie in the movie. First, because the weather in Hegang is very short, there is no light at 3:30 in the afternoon. We have very few night shows. After reading the script, I asked him, 'Oh, there are not many night shows in this movie. Show!' He told me that before writing a script, I didn't dare to write a night show, because if I wrote it, I would have to turn on the lights, and I would need this money and that money. There will be two or three shows this time, and it is Geng Jun's most prolific The best one for the money and condition.”
The limited conditions seem to be unable to constrain ordinary people's pure desire to create. In fact, before joining the group, Zhang Yu had a lot of worries and doubts, "For example, Ma Li, she must be very suitable for the role of Meiling in terms of image, what I question is the performance. Style, I occasionally ask a question mark, and I also think, can our styles blend together? In addition, the actors in Geng Jun's hands are too strong, Zhang Zhiyong, Xu Gang, Xiao Er, I know their Qiang, I also want to get the tone of the performance together. I am even more questioning whether I can stay in the same picture with them.”
After the first scene, Zhang Yu "shut up" completely, he said: "This is a unique movie, it seems to be stagnant, but in fact it is cunning and terrifying, and it has a strong potential like a gallop; I like it. Soothing the suffering with pain, filling the poetry of nothingness with nothingness. This film may be 'out of place', but it reaches its audience."
dialogue
Zhang Yu: Xiao Er is the "nuclear weapon" of performance
Beijing News: What is the attraction of Siberian Tiger to you?
What is the Siberian tiger in your definition?
Zhang Yu: I just think this movie is very comfortable to act, but if you ask me to generalize it, I can't generalize it.
Siberian tigers, it seems that everyone is accustomed to feeding them in an environment, which means a natural possibility and a real dilemma.
You think, Siberian tigers are all locked in the zoo, and they lie on their stomachs warmly, but there is a certain possibility that it is unrestrained.
Beijing News: In the film, Xu Dong saw that his dog died. The crying scene was very touching and full of emotions. How did you deal with it?
Zhang Yu: Before the shooting, I got to know the dog for many days and got along very well, because I used to have a dog myself, and it was easy to feel a sense of substitution.
When you see the props of the dead dog, you instinctively substitute it. The discomfort you see is the instinctual discomfort.
Beijing News: The scene of "vegetables entering the house" in the movie is very interesting. Are you and Zhang Zhiyong really smashed by frozen radishes?
Zhang Yu: Yes, yes, it was really smashed. The crew made a lot of distance measurements to ensure our safety, but it was still quite dangerous.
If you want to say what you think about (this scene), you have to ask Geng Jun (laughs), it has been refined and cut, and it is also a very nice short film when it is singled out.
Beijing News: The entire production team of the film is very simple. You and Ma Li should be the only business representatives in it. Is this very different from your previous cooperation model?
Zhang Yu: It’s true. In fact, I was under a lot of pressure before joining the group. I know that the actors in Geng Jun’s hands are very good.
For example, his cousin Xiao Er is too strong, so that's a "nuclear weapon", right?
(laughs) Anyone who touches him will be instantly killed. He is too powerful, and I like it too much. When he is acting, I basically watch him, and I can't laugh.
It's a pity that we have almost no rival scenes, but that's because the director loves me, or I'll be given "seconds" by him every minute.
The Beijing News: "Siberian Tiger" gives people a feeling of vague understanding, and it is difficult to define what kind of type it is.
Zhang Yu: It has been defined, it is very dark humor, very Geng Jun.
The label of this film is Geng Jun. It has his fingerprints branded on it. You can feel Geng Jun's very strong personal style, humor, or sadness.
Beijing News: Ever since Huang Mao in "I'm Not the God of Medicine" attracted attention, everyone thought you were very good at acting. What do you think of your performance?
Zhang Yu: What do I think about this question?
It is true that my heart will have a steel scale for my performance. I think I did a good job in "Siberian Tiger", haha.
Beijing News: Some people say that Zhang Yu was born for the big screen. Do you like this evaluation?
Some people say it's hard to imagine you acting in a TV show?
Zhang Yu: Of course I like it!
I love the big screen.
Some TV dramas are too fast-paced, and I may not be able to get them down. Although there are many good TV dramas, because of the fast pace, I am afraid that I (acting) will be uncomfortable, and I am afraid that others (watching) will be uncomfortable.
(laugh)
Beijing News: The roles you play always give people a strong sense of substitution. Can you come out after the performance?
Zhang Yu: I can come out, there is nothing I can't come out of.
But I feel more and more that the matter of being in a play cannot be too established, and I feel more and more that I can't let myself indulge in the role.
Many times, even in the creative process, you have to jump out to see your own performance, which is very important.
I used to be that when painting, you can't stare at what you're painting (content), and when you paint this part, you can't stare at this part, you have to take a few steps back and jump out to see the whole thing.
So there is nothing that cannot come out, it must come out.
The Beijing News senior reporter Zhou Huixiaowan