Zhang Ruoyun： The performance cannot explain that ＂Celebration of More Than Years＂ has given me room to break through
Zhang Ruoyun
Interview with Zhang Ruoyun
Zhang Ruoyun joined Sina Entertainment’s year-end blockbuster project "The Most Beautiful Performance" for the first time in 2019, starring in two short films with different styles, from a bohemian middle-aged man who was afraid of marriage to a rookie actor who kept moving forward in order to perform his dream. Between the role changes, Zhang Ruoyun also found the initial touch from "acting".
"Qingyu Nian" was on the air, and Fan Xian, a character who revealed a sense of humor in his every move, also had countless fans. The humor on the outside and the loneliness on the inside formed a sharp contrast in this person. To interpret such a role, for Zhang Ruoyun, there is also more room for development. "Fan Xian in" Qingyu Nian "can be different, and the script provides him with many paths, and also gives me the space to break through."
In the two short films "Worldwide Preparation" and "Watermelon", Zhang Ruoyun also found more clues and possibilities for the character beyond the script. In "Worldwide Preparation", Zhang Ruoyun’s reaction of dialing 110 but being seen through surprised the director Gan Jianyu, "I think that reaction was when I was watching in front of the monitor, and I think that was a pretty tense shot."
The greater difficulty of "Watermelon" is to convince the audience of the character’s thinking logic, how to choose between a motorcycle and a girlfriend, how to bear the consequences of the choice, and whether there are more possibilities after the choice? These are all things that Zhang Ruoyun needs to present through the performance.
"The World Prepares": It’s difficult to explain an actor’s preparation
Sina Entertainment: Let me introduce my role in "The World Prepares" first.
Zhang Ruoyun: It is a very ordinary actor. In "The World is Ready", this actor refers to any actor. Any actor has a place where he works hard behind the scenes that others cannot see. The reversal of this script setting is basically like this.
Sina Entertainment: Is it easier or harder for you to play an actor?
Zhang Ruoyun: It’s hard to say, this is my first time playing an actor, and I think it’s quite interesting. The advantage is that the crew, screenwriters, directors, and the entire crew face a variety of different actors every day. We have a very good understanding of actors and the work on the set. It’s not like if it involves other professions, sometimes we need to investigate a lot of things.
On the other hand, to fully explain what an actor’s preparation is, I think it’s very difficult, because I can’t explain it myself, what we have done, if these can be made very clear, then everyone can do it, but in fact, acting is not something that everyone can do, that is, there are many things, if you don’t say it, it will always become a false thing. Before, there was a saying that acting cannot be explained, but there is no way to explain it.
Sina Entertainment: Does the role of such a rookie actor remind you of the experience you just entered the industry?
Zhang Ruoyun: I think this kind of nervousness can bring back a lot of memories for me. Because we have been filming for many years, we are already actors with certain experience, and now it is very difficult to recall when we first debuted and were at a loss in the face of the scene, because many things have become instinctive, but when you look at it yourself, you can see the gap formed by time, how should I capture that initial state.
The last scene in the short film was the first scene we shot this time. It was the scene where I walked into the set. We were watching next to the monitor. I turned my head and asked the director if I was walking too calmly, but I couldn’t help it. It was instinct. Later, I changed to a state of rushing, running slowly, and running into the set.
Sina Entertainment: At the end, the actor stepped into the light of the movie. What do you think initially attracted you to the performance?
Zhang Ruoyun: After all the skills have been in the door for a period of time, you can feel more happiness. At the beginning, it is pain, and the same is true for performance. When a person has not yet been able to understand and deal with the role, it is actually difficult for him to feel the happiness of others. That is, we often say this sentence. If this is what it means, then it means that. This kind of thing is fun, wondering about a person’s psychology, or what the sentence is for, what the subtext is, but the newcomer actor I play is more about not feeling happiness, knowing and maintaining a passion for performance. This enthusiasm is that the director finally gave a set that shines, which is a kind of externalization of the heart, which is the scene in his heart. The shooting of this movie is A sacred thing.
Sina Entertainment: What requirements does the director have for you before starting the camera?
Zhang Ruoyun: Before starting the production, I discussed the script twice with the director. I felt that a character should be told, and then the actor would stand the character within a minute or so, which is called acting. In the final analysis, we still create a play, that is to say, this character, he is a small actor, he is in a silent play, he is going to the set, he is very nervous, just a few settings, we can’t try to tell what acting is through this story.
When shooting, it was shot in reverse. After coming over, we will shoot the last part first, and then how intense it will be when it involves a scene with the kidnappers in front. We will probably talk about this kind of problem.
"Watermelon": Those ideas that fly out are the most fun
Sina Entertainment: What role do you play in the short film "Watermelon"?
Zhang Ruoyun: "Watermelon" is so interesting. I watched it for the first time, but I didn’t understand what it was talking about, because it was actually based on a true story. It was about a Beijing boy who used all the money for the decoration of their house to buy a motorcycle before getting married. Then his wife broke up with him and got back together later. It is actually a special Beijing character image. This person may not be four or six for his ideals, but in fact all the feelings are very sincere.
"Watermelon" is actually very difficult to perform, because this person is too flying, and he said that those things are particularly unbelievable. How to turn unbelievable things into believable is a more difficult point in the performance. Director Wei Shujun is also from Beijing, and he also likes this story very much. I think this is also a challenging thing, because it is a one-shot shooting to the end. I am actually not sure how well I finished it, but I actually rushed it many times today. Just for a moment here, I think it is great to make the audience feel that this character is cute and amiable, because that character is so special.
The man in "Watermelon" is all true, his love for motorcycles is true, and his love for his girlfriend is also true. He is a big boy, an idealistic big boy, so twice blessed, he can make himself so miserable, in fact, because all his feelings are real.
Sina Entertainment: There are many lines that are touched at the scene? How did you feel about this process?
Zhang Ruoyun: Because at the beginning of the conversation, everyone was flying over, and there were a lot of lines, such as Freud once said, two wheels, four wheels, etc. When the actors touch, every time they touch a point, everyone thinks the current one is right, but when the real connection is complete, you have to start to be willing, because the director requires one shot to the end, so it is the same as stage art, there is no room to cut the lines, you have to start to cut out what you thought was interesting, but now you think it is not so interesting, and only keep the last core part.
Sina Entertainment: How do you understand this character’s fear of marriage?
Zhang Ruoyun: I think it is a common phenomenon. From my perspective, I would feel more immature, but I don’t think immaturity is the side to be blamed. Fear of marriage is a social phenomenon. Why is fear of marriage a topic? Because fear of marriage involves two people, what if your other half wants to get married?
I think all things can be faced by everyone. If you want to fear marriage, you will see this kind of fear, don’t cover it up, and then say that, everyone will tolerate each other, but there is no way. Where there are people, there must be contradictions, and there are even more contradictions in love. Many men will hide their other ideals, especially when you want to say that young people are at a stage like twenty-seven or twenty-eight, they always feel that they still keep a fire and want to rush to the other side. You say that if ideals and love really conflict, what do you choose? This is a difficult proposition for everyone.
Sina Entertainment: Was the scene of imitating riding a motorcycle practiced many times?
Zhang Ruoyun: When I thought of this paragraph at the beginning, it was my whim. I myself also laid a lot of content in front of me, using a lot of words to pad the last few words. We slipped through the words many times, because each one consumed too much for me, that is, every real shot, the release and release of the whole emotion, etc., obviously that person is too far from my understanding, I have to substitute his logic, my thinking logic is too different from his thinking logic, I have to become him, I use his rhythm to think, the rhythm is right. So everyone has been talking about what is the best when getting the manuscript ready, but in fact it is a process of adding bricks and mortar, and the final play is correct.
The famous scene of "Celebrating Yu Nian" reciting poetry, drunk, filmed for 3 days
Sina Entertainment: How long was the famous scene of Fan Xian’s drunken recitation of poetry filmed?
Zhang Ruoyun: That part of the play was filmed for three days, because Director Sun Hao shot very meticulously, and the amount of ancient poems we actually shot was even larger than what was finally presented, because that scene meant that we didn’t want to miss it. Those three days were the first day to finish all the main scenes, and then the second day, there was the opposite scene and panorama with other actors. It was the part of the opposite scene with the eldest princess and the second prince. The second half of the second day began to shoot poems, and the third day was a whole day to shoot poems. I remember that on the first day, I seem to have taken more than 300 shots, so in those few days, the amount of shots was huge. I don’t want to leave any regrets there. That scene is not easy to recover. Chinese ancient poetry is a very magnificent cultural treasure house. I always feel that there are some that can be used in the story. We actually took more pictures than we cut in the play. What was cut in the play was because later I felt that the state of those pieces and Fan Xian’s state of mind confirmed the best, so I chose those pieces. He actually had a feeling of loneliness in a strange world.
For the part of drunken poetry, I was drunk for a day and a half, and the next day I left work in the morning. I went there and started drinking at eight in the morning, that is, I was completely in that drunken state for a day, because in that state, you can’t rush up. If you are two points drunk, you can act five points drunk, you are three points drunk, you can act eight points drunk, but if you don’t touch a drop, if you want to act drunk, it will be very fake, so at that time the whole person has to stay in the drunk state.
Sina Entertainment: What do you think the role of Fan Xian brings to you?
Zhang Ruoyun: I think there are a lot of different understandings, because there are many old-timers in this film, including the director who is also very familiar with drama, and the screenwriter who is also very familiar with drama. They told me before that a certain point will be a very critical point, and a certain point will be your future splendor.
In fact, I also thought about it at the time, because I thought reciting poems was very exciting and the plot was very exciting, but was it really necessary to shoot so many poems? I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but I just said that I was also willing to recite those poems and then perform them, but the result came out. Indeed, the audience saw it and said that this was the splendor of the moment.
We actors are also summing up experience and lessons. Teacher Chen Daoming sometimes told me that you should think carefully about a certain sentence, saying that this is the drama of your whole play. Maybe when I first started, I thought the rhythm was divided like this, but he suddenly pointed out that you are the drama of your play, and I went back and thought about it again. After I took this sentence as a drama, I found that it was indeed different, and it was the experience and lesson summed up in it.
Sina Entertainment: Was the filming of "Qingyu Nian" happier?
Zhang Ruoyun: Yes, "Qingyu Nian" has developed a crew atmosphere where everyone is particularly "scheming". For example, in summer, people wear clothes, but you see that they are not wearing them, and I am not wearing them either. You wear the left sleeve, I wear the right, and each person wears half of them, absolutely not better than others. Then, as soon as lunch is over, I say that I have a heatstroke, and the teacher over there also has a heatstroke, but they are all pretending, "I have a heatstroke, let’s shoot who is first", but it is not malicious. I say this, everyone may think it is quite wrong, but because our relationship is too good, it is a state of mutual loss. Because of the story of "Qing Yu Nian", every character in it is poisonous, and there is no special fake model. Everyone writes it in reverse, with cheating on their lips, but with righteousness in their hearts.
As an actor, the role does change the state of the actor for a period of time, and the actor will consciously retain this state. I play Fan Xian, and I have already been infected with a part of Fan Xian’s character, so I will not distinguish it in my daily life. I would rather it stay on me more, I would rather it take root in me more deeply, at least during this drama, I would like Fan Xian to be on me, and I would like to be like Fan Xian in life, talking to them and communicating, so everyone actually brings their characters to communicate in the crew.
Sina Entertainment: Will the characters in the back intentionally avoid the characters of Fan Xiantong?
Zhang Ruoyun: I haven’t finished filming the Fan Xian story yet, and I don’t think it’s possible to have exactly the same, that is, sometimes when I get a similar role, I will think about whether this script provides me with space, allowing me to break through and create a different character. In fact, a good script will give such space.
In fact, Fan Xian can still be different in "Qingyu Nian". The script provided Fan Xian with many paths, but I chose one of them. No matter how tightly the script fits, the actors still have many paths to go in it, but the script is not good, which will force the actors to have only one way to go, because there is no way to act.
Sina Entertainment: With so much experience in acting, what do you think is the most beautiful performance?
Zhang Ruoyun: Performance is not the most beautiful, it can be beautiful, or it can be moving. Performance is a problem of character relationship and character, which is the two biggest pillars. If there is an illusory concept, it is the performance state. There is no need for characters, no need for character relationships, and no need for character states. If a person communicates with anyone else in the play, it should actually be used as a short story to shoot, to create a character. Once you create this character, then this is the most beautiful performance in my heart.