Since becoming a mother, Zhang Xinyi has put the focus of her life on her family.
Although she has reduced her work, she has not stopped. She insists on reading and paying attention to every movie that is released, as well as various popular dramas.
"Being a mother has also made me stronger."
Therefore, when she encountered the drama "I am not Pan Jinlian", she was confident that she could interpret the role of "Li Xuelian" well.
This is also Zhang Xinyi's first time on the stage after graduating from Chinese opera.
Zhang Xinyi, known as the "Second Sister", seems to be rarely anxious about something. She admits that she has the "easy" gene of Sichuan people in her bones, although sometimes she suddenly thinks that "I am 40 (years old), just now. I always felt like a child when I graduated!" Occasionally, there are appearance and age anxiety, but she firmly believes that "the advantage of maturity is that when you have some bad emotions, you know how to eliminate them."
play a drama
Drama is art and should not be linked to any interests
When Zhang Xinyi graduated from university, she caught up with Renyi and did not recruit actors, and the National Theatre did not want a big girl like her, "I can't go to Eryi to play a big tree, right?" So she became a "Beijing Drift". ".
Fortunately, I was lucky, I met many excellent directors and teams, and participated in many highly popular film and television works such as "Give Me a Cigarette", "The New Son-in-law" and "Beijing Love Story".
But she never lost her stage dream, "It's hard to go back after you've been away from an ecosystem for a long time."
In the past few years, the stage play market has been getting better and better, and many dramas with strong commercial attributes have approached Zhang Xinyi, "In my heart, drama is still the kind I came into contact with when I was in college, such as Shakespeare, and traditional Chinese dramas. Drama, these are what I yearn for.” When she went abroad to work before, Zhang Xinyi would also take time to watch foreign classic stage plays, musicals, and even mimes, which she liked very much, “Drama is art, and it cannot be related to interests or other things. things hooked up."
She still remembers that, during her pregnancy, a friend once gave her a stack of play scripts, about 30 or more, but none of them were particularly suitable.
Until she met "I am not Pan Jinlian".
When the crew found her at first, she also hoped to read the script first, and she was attracted by it, "I don't think it looks like a drama script, but rather like a movie, with a great sense of picture. And the lines are loyal to the original, The language style is also very Liu Zhenyun."
Before going to meet Ding Yiteng, the director of the show, Zhang Xinyi also deliberately made up for some of the other's works, including the short plays choreographed by the director when he participated in variety shows, "I think he is very different, talented, and still young. Although several works are It's short, but it's very deep."
They made an appointment in Zhang Xinyi's own bakery, and she chatted with the director and producer for an afternoon, "We talked a lot about art, I told him about my favorite movies and dramas, including what I like to eat, It's a process of getting acquainted."
Zhang Xinyi also asked the director why she has so much confidence in her, after all, she has never been on the stage of a drama since graduation.
Ding Yiteng said that Li Xuelian in his eyes had a strength, and what others said was useless. The truth she believed would be hit like a south wall, but she was not stupid.
And Zhang Xinyi gave him the feeling that she was such a powerful woman, "including talking to him later about my views on some female-themed movies, and my attitude towards things after becoming a mother. The director also hopes that the actors can Infuse the character with something he didn't expect."
physical activity
While rehearsing with a baby, practice a whole body of tendon meat
Since becoming parents, Zhang Xinyi and Yuan Hong have always insisted on taking care of their children, and it was no exception after she took on the drama "I am not Pan Jinlian".
Every morning, after the child wakes up, Zhang Xinyi will play with the child for a while, and then go to memorize the lines.
Li Xuelian has a lot of lines, and she has to ensure that she is thoroughly familiar with it.
Going to the gym after lunch has been a habit for more than a year.
But now, in addition to maintaining body shape, as the lead actor in a drama, I have to run and jump on the stage for more than two hours. Without strong physical fitness and physical strength, it is impossible to persevere, so fitness should also be strengthened.
After one o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Xinyi will arrive at the rehearsal hall on time, and he will rehearse here all afternoon and into the evening.
"The director is very good and will let me go home at night before the children go to bed."
Drama has high requirements on actors. In a performance, actors must mobilize all their senses and fully immerse themselves in the role, so there is no chance for you to make mistakes. "Director Ding Yiteng has learned a whole set of systems, the core of which is the body, Many lines not only have to be spoken, but also expressed through the body, so the requirements for the body are very high.”
Zhang Xinyi was under a lot of pressure at first, but fortunately, her physical coordination is not bad, coupled with her diligence, she will soon be able to complete 80% of the director's requirements. She feels that this is also her biggest gain from appearing in this drama.
The choreography design of "I Am Not Pan Jinlian" is very unique. During the more than two hours of performance, Zhang Xinyi has to constantly move on the stage, "It is no exaggeration to say that I am like a monkey every day, jumping up and down the scene. .” She trains eight hours a day, and she describes herself as practicing parkour.
"Once, the rehearsal was too tiring, and I had to take the quick-acting pills." The director was afraid that she would not be able to hold it, and advised her not to try too hard during the rehearsal, but Zhang Xinyi felt that she had to persevere, "I can't waste every opportunity, including I don't give 100 percent to the actors I play against, it's unfair to them."
Not long ago, the two performances of the drama "I Am Not Pan Jinlian" in Guangzhou were successfully held. Many of Zhang Xinyi's friends were startled when they saw her, "I said, I am full of tendons now."
gain and loss
Give up poetry and distance, and leave time to children
If it was before, Zhang Xinyi might have been scared and worried when she saw the script of "I am not Pan Jinlian".
But now, the crushing of life has allowed her to accumulate sufficient abilities, which can burst out when she needs to use them.
"I lived very hard, and life gave me a lot of crushing to become powerful. The power is endless, and when a woman becomes a mother, there is such power."
In the three years after giving birth, Zhang Xinyi has shifted the focus of her life to her family. She knows that early companionship has a great influence on the child's future personality and character.
"My parents were very busy when I was a child, and my grandma brought me up, so I am not used to talking to my mother a lot now." Zhang Xinyi knows where the root of the problem lies, so she hopes that her children can stay with their parents in the future. Closeness, security, no regrets in the face of loss, and no wonder when you have it.
"These all require me to spend time with him and tell him. His dependence and love for me, as well as his self-awareness and self-confidence, also need me to help him build."
This kind of change has also cost her a lot, which is what she called the crushing of life, "Your original poetry and distance, your freedom and ease, will be overturned after you have children. Work and ideals should be overturned. When you give up, you must give up." And as a public figure, she has to face more scrutiny and judgment from the public, "Some people think that your image has collapsed, have you given up on yourself? Not ready to be an actor? no."
When not filming, Zhang Xinyi keeps reading, watching movies, and writing her own scripts.
"I will also receive some scripts, which may be less about the themes of love and love before, and more about the role of mothers. Last year, I played a particularly attractive single-parent working mother, which I like very much."
sense of comfort
Cancel invalid social interaction and do meaningful things
After becoming a mother, Zhang Xinyi's personal experience is that the angle and breadth of looking at things are different.
This has also been projected into her work, "First of all, the performance is more stable, the empathy is stronger, and the understanding of the role is deeper." For example, in the previous filming of a couple arguing, Zhang Xinyi thought it would be noisy, standing quarrel with her own position, but now, she will think why the other party quarrels with her?
Where did he explode?
Such thoughtful performances will also look better than before.
For another example, she played a single working mother not long ago, especially when she played the part of mother and child getting along, she would use her own understanding and performance to enrich the role.
She said she enjoys the process of doing this kind of work.
Therefore, in order to balance the time allocation between life and work, she will choose those more meaningful jobs, and the same is true in life, "I used to go out with friends often and have some social interactions, but now I will try to cancel invalid social interactions. Work. I also choose to do what I really want to do." Zhang Xinyi concluded.
Sichuan people have a sense of comfort in their bones, and Zhang Xinyi admits that she is the same. Sometimes after staying at home with their children for a long time, she will also sigh with her husband Yuan Hong: "This kind of life is very good, I only shoot one or two plays a year, and the rest I spend time with my children, and when both of them go on vacation, my husband also recognizes it.”
outlook on life
Find a cure for bad emotions
Zhang Xinyi, known as the "Second Sister", seems to be rarely anxious about something. "I'm a Gemini, and I have a big heart. I feel that I have nothing to worry about. When I have emotions, I can quickly find a solution." Unlike many female stars, open her Baidu Encyclopedia, and the year of birth is generously written on it. Born in 1981, she entered the ranks of 40+ sisters last year.
She never shy away from mentioning her age, "I sometimes think: Oh, how come I'm 40 (years old) in the blink of an eye? I think I was only in my early twenties when I graduated, and I still feel like a child."
At this age, Zhang Xinyi first hopes that his body can maintain a healthy state, and then the elderly on both sides are healthy.
"We feel lucky that our parents are in very good health. I always encourage my dad to go to the gym, and let my mother dance when I have nothing to do. I also often encourage them to have their own hobbies and be willing to spend money. People can live for decades. , the more you get to this age, the more you want to live your life well.”
In this industry, actresses will have anxiety caused by age and appearance. "I think the advantage of maturity is that when you have some bad emotions, you know how to eliminate them."
For Zhang Xinyi, when she comes home after a tiring day, she can watch a cartoon with her son, take a bath, play with water together, and tell him a story before going to bed. This is the most romantic thing that can cure all her bad emotions, so She cherished such a life.
Sometimes, she also has to pass up some good opportunities, or stand in a position chosen by others, "I will think that it must be a certain aspect of me that is not suitable, and I can do another thing. This is just an opportunity, and There are more opportunities waiting for me, and I still think I am very good.”
Regarding this, Zhang Xinyi is very grateful to her husband Yuan Hong, "In the first year of my pregnancy and postpartum, he always accompanied me, encouraged me, and said to me: You are the best."
dialogue
The Beijing News: You have tried to be a director before, shooting the movie "Miss Puff". If there is a suitable opportunity later, will you consider becoming a director again?
Zhang Xinyi: When my son was over a year old, a screenwriter and I wanted to make a movie about the family of origin. The script was already in the process of creation. When the script matured and the capital recognized it, I would still make a movie.
However, this is my purely personal expression, and it has nothing to do with whether I want to be a director or not.
Beijing News: In the past few years, have you had any unique insights on parenting?
Zhang Xinyi: I figured out a method myself, which is to let the child make his own choices. For example, show him an episode of a cartoon. After watching it in five minutes, he wants to watch the second episode. I said no, and he was very emotional at this time. .
I would say: Then mom let you watch another episode, you turn it off yourself, okay?
He'll say yes, and then he'll watch another episode and turn it off.
He enjoys this right very much.
There are too few things that we can decide when we are young, so I researched through my own experience and felt that letting children make their own decisions, he can do it.
Beijing News: After becoming a mother, will you become more emotional?
Zhang Xinyi: Tears are very low. For example, I don't dare to read social news about losing children.
There is a scene in the drama "I'm not Pan Jinlian". After the divorce of Li Xuelian and Qin Yuhe played by me, the eldest son has been with his father.
I had a space-to-air conversation with my child, to the effect that my eldest son and I didn’t recognize each other when we met now. Every time I got here during rehearsal, I would cry, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see our screenwriter covering his face. , I really can't hear this as a mother.
Now that I have rehearsed a lot, I can finally make my eyes moist and stop crying.
Written by/reporter Zhang Kunyu