Audiences who like Taiwanese movies must be familiar with the names Liu Guanting . He is the gangster Caitou in the movie " The Sun Shines ", Wang Dajun, the teacher of Qidi Children's School in "Silent", the stuttering master in the paper shop in " Classmate Manasi ", and the "disappearance of " The bus driver Artest in "Valentine's Day "... In 2020 alone, seven of his movies were released in Taiwan.
Liu Guanting can be regarded as the most representative new generation actor in Taiwan today. In 2020 alone, he has seven movies released in Taiwan. Photo provided by the interviewee
Recently, the drama "Love Happens Three Days Later" starring Liu Guanting and Chen Tingni was launched on Tencent Video . In an exclusive interview with Beijing News reporter, Liu Guanting talked about these Some of his personal experiences as an actor. Liu Guanting has the ability that no matter how big or small the role is, as long as he appears in the work, the audience's attention will be focused on him. He doesn't like repetition, and directors are willing to give him various roles. The director of the movie "The Lost Valentine" Chen Yuxun once commented on him: After playing a role, you can immediately whiten it, change your face and personality to play another role with great contrast. This is the most important trait of a good actor.
He is like a chameleon, attached to different characters, he will become that character.
"Love Happens in Three Days"
Filming emotional scenes is physically and mentally exhausting, even more tiring than physical work
The TV series "Love Happens in Three Days" tells the story of Ning Youzhu (played by Chen Tingni) and Wang Yan (played by Liu Guanting) who fell in love at first sight. , used to get along day and night, but because they didn't answer "Do you love me?" they were separated for eight years. Reunited eight years later, the question "Does love need to be thought about?" once again troubled the two and they had a dispute.
In the drama, there are many scenes of university campuses. Because it had been a long time since graduation, Liu Guanting went back to the university for a walk before filming, looking for memories from the past, seeing the state of college students now, observing their expressions when walking, and feeling the campus atmosphere.
The college scene in "Love Happens in Three Days" was Liu Guanting's happiest experience while filming. (Chen Tingni on the right) Photo provided by the interviewee
The scene during his college years was his happiest experience during the entire filming process. It was also a rare opportunity for him to take a breather. He could get together with his good friends every day. It really felt like he was back in college. era. Looking back at the series, Liu Guanting still often thinks of some of the "idiotic" things he did on the set and finds them funny. It's really like his previous life as a student.
In the drama, Liu Guanting plays Wang Yan, whose marriage to his wife is on the verge of collapse. He reunites with his college sweetheart eight years later, which causes emotional entanglements. For Liu Guanting, filming this kind of emotional scene was not easy. He said that just like some suspense mystery dramas, the drama and conflict of the story itself will make the audience feel deeply involved, but "Love Happens in Three Days" focuses more on the emotional part, and the characters' emotions are very complex. After all, it was difficult for him to describe exactly what it would be like to meet again with a lover he hadn't seen for eight years. He could only try to concentrate on the state of the character, and let the performance happen naturally according to the situation the character encountered. , "So on the set, I feel very tired, even more tired than doing physical work." In the
drama, there was a very intense quarrel scene between Liu Guanting and the heroine Chen Tingni. The two started arguing at the MRT station, and went all the way to the street, and finally even started fighting.
The scene where the male and female protagonists quarreled in the drama took three days to shoot, and Liu Guanting felt physically and mentally exhausted. Photo provided by the interviewee
This scene has several pages of lines. Before shooting, the director went through it with the two actors on the set and spent time making some modifications because some of the lines had to be used in the characters' mouths. Tell it in their own way. Many improvised things were discussed with the director before shooting. However, there was also improvisation during filming.For example, in the middle of the quarrel, Liu Guanting suddenly had an interaction with the onlookers, "Did I just say it was casual?" The onlookers responded: "Yes."
The quarrel scene was filmed for three days. The two people kept arguing. "It was like a nightmare," Liu Guanting said.
Worked part-time during the day and auditioned at night
After graduation, I became a physical education teacher and gained from observing students
Liu Guanting's personality is somewhat similar to Wang Yan in the TV series "Love Happens in Three Days", "quite indecisive, but not as serious as Wang Yan" . In life, he will consciously train himself to make a choice quickly when encountering something, because no choice is perfect. Don't make a choice after thinking everything through. "You spend a lot of time thinking about it because you don't dare to take the risks it brings." Liu Guanting said that as long as you have a little sense of responsibility, it is actually very easy to make a decision.
At first, Liu Guanting chose the acting path, but he didn't think clearly about it.
When filling in his application for the college entrance examination, Liu Guanting chose the Department of Drama at the National Taiwan University of the Arts. Under the education system at that time, everyone was pursuing good grades. He was a little confused. He felt that since he couldn't get into the school his family expected, he might as well make a strange move and go to an art college and take a different path from everyone else.
"Maybe I'm a little rebellious, and I want to escape a little bit. I think it might be a way to get out of the higher education system." Liu Guanting couldn't figure out why he made that decision at that time, but he was indeed passionate about acting. This passion comes from the fact that he likes to make everyone happy, which gives him a sense of accomplishment.
Liu Guanting's family is not engaged in the entertainment industry. He admits that he was a bit rebellious when he was young, so he chose to study acting. Photo provided by interviewee
Liu Guanting was born in Pingtung County, Taiwan. His parents sold soy milk. When he was a child, Liu Guanting had to help at home every day. He was very envious of the children who could go out and play. When he grew up, he found that when he was a child, he helped his family with business and encountered all kinds of customers. Those experiences were very helpful for him to enter society later.
When he was in college, Liu Guanting's major was open to all courses. When he was a sophomore or junior, he focused all his energy on acting, and won awards in drama competitions held by some departments at school.
After graduating from college and entering the society, Liu Guanting thought about using the major he had learned to make money, but found that it was not that easy. The environment at that time did not mean that one would definitely have a job after graduating from a major. In order to make a living, he found a part-time job as a physical education teacher.
Because the school is located far away, it is already the fifth time of recruitment and still cannot recruit teachers, so the recruitment conditions are relaxed to the point where only a college graduate is required. Liu Guanting also likes sports. After graduating from college, he performed in a play in an experimental theater troupe, which used sports elements to talk about the life of office workers and dabbled in various sports. So during the interview, he imagined that he was playing a physical education teacher, acted out what a physical education teacher would do, and was finally admitted.
At that time, Liu Guanting had to get up at 6 a.m. every morning, ride a motorcycle and then transfer to passenger transportation, commuting to school for about an hour and a half. He also needs to use the time on the bus to check his mobile phone to find audition opportunities, and then go to the audition in the evening. Sometimes, I get a chance to play a supporting role and come to the set. The other party said that this character needed a buzz cut, so he had to cut his hair first. After the editing, I realized that this was not the role I played.
worked part-time as a physical education teacher during the day and went to auditions at night. This state lasted for three years. Liu Guanting sometimes thinks that the career of an actor is too unstable and feels unreliable. He has no plans for the future and it is difficult to imagine what he will be like in five years. But what else can you do if you're not an actor? "I don't seem to know anything, so I have to become an actor." Liu Guanting told the Beijing News reporter.
Liu Guanting cherishes those three years of hard work. He often reminds himself how he got through it before.And as a physical education teacher, he has also gained a lot. He can observe many students, understand their personalities, and often imagine what these students will become when they grow up, which is very precious for an actor.
An actor is like a sushi chef
When he hears some praises from others, he sometimes feels guilty
Liu Guanting's career as an actor slowly became smoother, which started after the 2017 TV series " Sixty-Sixtieth Boy Turns into an Adult" was broadcast. In the play, he played the role of Zheng Huaming, the older cousin in his sixties, and won the 53rd Golden Bell Award for Supporting Actor in a Drama Program for this role.
Lau Guanting won the Golden Bell Award for Supporting Actor in a Drama Program for his role in the TV series "A Boy in Sixties Turns into an Adult".
After this drama, he got more and more roles, and he gradually became popular. He would sometimes be recognized by the audience when walking on the street. "But my appearance in the drama was too prominent, and people didn't know me." What it's like in private, sometimes I still admit my mistakes," Liu Guanting said with a smile.
For most mainland audiences, they know Liu Guanting through the character Caitou in the movie "Sunshine" (2019).
Before "The Sun Shines", Liu Guanting had collaborated with director Chung Meng-hong in the movie "Little Beauty" (2018), but Zhong Menghong was the photographer of the film at the time. At that time, Zhong Menghong found that every time he talked to Liu Guanting, the other party always had a smile on his face and didn't know what was thinking in his head. Later, when he was preparing for "The Sun Shines", he thought of Liu Guanting. Caitou in the movie was imprisoned for three years for injuring others. After he was released from prison, he kept causing trouble for his friends. After getting the script, Liu Guanting consulted a lot of information and read some social news to understand the behavioral motivations of this morbid personality. Although Caitou looks cold, he and his grandmother depended on each other when he was a child, and there is a warm place in his heart. "I looked for the two extremes in this character and the various characteristics of his personality." Liu Guanting said.
In the film, Caitou often speaks with a smile, but it gives people a chill down the spine. This is the advice given by director Zhong Menghong. He likes this kind of performance where he smiles on the surface but never knows what he is thinking in his heart. Liu Guanting won the 56th Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Caitou.
Many mainland audiences know Liu Guanting through the movie "The Sun Shines".
When there were no acting opportunities before, Liu Guanting would write an email to the director and recommend himself, but nothing happened. After "The Sun Shines", it seems that I don't have to do these things as much, and acting opportunities will come my way. For Liu Guanting, the recognition from so many people comes not only from his own efforts, but also from those who have helped him behind the scenes.
He said that the profession of an actor is very similar to that of a sushi chef. 80% of the preparation work is done by many people together, and he only plays the role at the end. "I sometimes feel a little guilty when I hear some compliments. It's really not what everyone thinks. I am so good that I can play any role well. But every time I get a role, I will try my best to complete it," Liu Guanting said A reporter from the Beijing News said.
The set is the battlefield
Only when you have done your homework before starting the movie can you feel safe when performing.
Liu Guanting starts to feel anxious before every time a new movie starts. Behind this anxiety is actually his pursuit of perfect performance. Because he wanted to play every role well, he worked hard on every role and left no room for himself.
In the movie "My Classmate" (2020), he plays the role of a paper-tie craftsman who suffers from severe stuttering . Before filming started, he went online to find all the movies about stuttering and practiced in advance. Although there are only a few scenes in the finished film to show his profession, he still went to the papier-mâché workshop to learn the papermaking process and observe the work processes of the masters. He feels that if these movements are not skillful, the audience will not pay for it.
The movie "Classmate Mai Nasi" tells the story of four boys after graduation (from left: Liu Guanting, Na Dou, Zheng Renshuo, Shi Mingshuai).
In the movie "Silent" (2020), which is called the Chinese version of "The Melting Pot", he plays Wang Dajun, a justice teacher at a Qidi school. For this role, he spent more than a month learning sign language from a sign language teacher. In the movie, he has very few lines, but he conveys extremely full emotions through the speed and strength of his gestures.
In the movie "Silence", Liu Guanting (right) plays the teacher Wang Dajun.
"The Lost Valentine" (2020) is his first movie as a leading actor. In the film, he plays the bus driver Artest who is slower than others in everything. For this play, he learned to drive a bus. Many of the bus driving scenes in the film were done by him personally.
In order to star in the movie "The Lost Valentine", Liu Guanting (right) specially learned to drive a bus. (On the left are Li Peiyu )
Having done enough homework before turning on the computer will give Liu Guanting a certain degree of security. Because the audience can tell at a glance whether he knows sign language or not. If stuttering is not practiced beforehand, it will delay the entire crew's time on set. "If you have done enough homework, you will probably have a basic score there, but the real decisive battle is still on the set." Liu Guanting said that after integrating all the homework you have done before into your body, you will be more relaxed and comfortable after arriving on the set. If the whole state is tight, you will not be able to perform.
has filmed so many works. The roles played by Liu Guanting are basically not too repetitive. On the one hand, he will filter out some roles. On the other hand, many directors believe that he can complete different roles and are willing to hand over roles with various personalities. into his hands.
Performance and life
Let nature take its course when filming, without deliberately slowing down
For Liu Guanting, the most attractive thing about acting is that he can look at a thing from his own perspective. When the character encounters a problem, what will he do? What he chooses and what he says is what he finds interesting about acting. And every new crew is a new journey. Working with different people, what kind of work will be completed is also what he looks forward to most before the start of each drama.
After each drama is completed, Liu Guanting feels like he will be lost for a while after attending a graduation ceremony. People who get along with each other day and night, everyone completes one thing together, and when they finally go their separate ways, the parting will make him a little painful. Sometimes, when he stays at home alone, he feels strange, as if something is missing. Because the character has stayed with him for a long time, it is necessary to remind him through some details of life so that he can slowly return to his daily life.
In 2020, Liu Guanting's seven works were released in Taiwan, and he was called a "model worker" by the audience. He explained: "Some of the scenes were filmed in the past few years, and they were all released in one go at that time, so it seems that my output was very high that year, but it was actually accumulated from before."
In the past two years, Liu Guanting has not filmed as many movies as before. He said that he didn't deliberately slow down, it just happened to be like this, so he just let nature take its course and tried to stay focused on everything he did. He is now turning more to life. "I often think about some big propositions, such as what is the meaning of life?"
Liu Guanting said that he did not deliberately slow down his work, but just let nature take its course. Photo provided by the interviewee
When he is not filming, he plays badminton, reads books, occasionally plays mahjong with friends, and makes coffee. This is what he must do every morning. On the contrary, he has been unable to go to movies or TV series recently. He thinks this is a kind of professional burnout. "When I see other people acting in such good dramas but I can't, I will be very jealous."
If given the opportunity, Liu Guanting also hopes to come to mainland China to film and cooperate with mainland filmmakers. "With a good director, a good script, and the right time, place and people, of course I hope to cooperate."
Beijing News reporter Teng Chao
chief editor Wu Dongni
proofreader Zhao Lin
