Ruan Jingtian, who has thick eyebrows like crayons, has a male model face that is in line with contemporary aesthetics, but he is not a beautiful man in ancient costumes in the general sense. This makes him stand out among the beautiful men in ancient costumes in the recently popular costume drama "Shake". And when the audience is used to the ascetic and cold ancient costume male protagonists who interpret multiple emotions with one expression, Ruan Jingtian’s interpretation of "Changsun Wuji" opens a new chapter of the relatively lively ancient puppet male protagonist who "has what you think on your face".
Ethan Ruan
Ruan Jingtian, the male model who debuted, was not trained in acting. All the way from MV to idol drama, and then to movies, he summed up his acting skills in practice, and then went through the training of famous directors such as Hou Xiaoxian and Niu Chengze. He has his own set of methods in acting. Characters such as "Monk" in "Blade", "Xiaobao" in "Paradise in the Army", "Xia Jing" in "Assassin Nie Yinniang", and "Fan Ruyi" in "Detective Runaway" have all been shaped by him.
However, after receiving "Shake", Ruan Jingtian, who had never acted in a costume drama, almost overturned all his previous film and television acting experience, starting from scratch. On the one hand, the script length of more than 60 episodes made him very troubled when he was used to memorizing the entire script during the preparation stage. "When I saw the later play, I didn’t remember some of the previous content so clearly. You look back over and over again, look down again, look back again, and it’s still the same effect. If I still read the script the way I used to, I wouldn’t be able to remember everything at all." On the other hand, there was the complexity of the characters. In Ruan Jingtian’s opinion, the "Changsun Wuji", who walked in the power struggle, the justice of the country, and the love of children, had too many faces and too many disguises, "the characters were so complicated that I had a headache." Then there were a lot of action scenes, not only the number of action scenes, but also the requirements of the director were high. "It’s not enough to play beautifully, but to play emotional interaction between the characters."
In "Shake", Ruan Jingtian plays the eldest Sun Wuji.
Facing the challenge, Ruan found a new way of working. Regarding the script and the characters, he grasped the character’s character and principles, "There are things that the characters will definitely do, they will definitely choose, and there are things that the characters must not touch. Grasp these and capture the characters." Regarding action scenes, he consulted the director, his predecessors, and Yang Mi, who has many experience in costume dramas, during the filming. He has his own clear and unique understanding of the "eldest grandson Wuji" in "Fu Yao".
"At the beginning of the contact, I talked to the director and the others, I hope this character is not made into a god. He is just an ordinary person." But how can an ordinary person who is as strong as a god perform such a contradictory role? Ruan Jingtian felt that to show his "difficulties": the dilemma of love, the difficulty of making a wrong step and being doomed, and the difficulty of facing a strong opponent to win hard work. His definition of "strong" is somewhat different: "Like a team, we defeat the opponent without breaking a sweat, that may be because the opponent is not very strong and we are not very strong. But if we play very hard and still win in the end, it means that we are a little bit stronger than the most powerful opponent, then we are really strong."
You say that this definition sounds innocent, but it has some power that makes people’s blood boil. Ruan Jingtian, who is in his thirties, still has the candor and vitality of a teenager.
"In your opinion, what is the standard of a good actor?"
"A good actor is sincere, sincere in every performance. I think I have always been a good actor."
[Dialogue]
Surging News:You have never acted in a costume drama with a similar theme before. What is the most attractive thing about this character in "Shake"?
Ethan Ruan:Changsun Wuji is different from the roles I have played. To put it simply, he has a lot of faces. In the script, it is written that this Wuji prince is exquisite in all aspects, and everyone evaluates him as very scheming. At the beginning when we were talking about this work, I was very anxious to tell the team that I hoped that Changsun Wuji would not be portrayed as a god-like person. His opponents are very strong, and when he faces them, he has to deal with them while wondering what to do. Sometimes he sees tricks and sometimes he strategizes. He swims among his opponents and acts in front of these people. But in the process of acting, his sincerity, such as when he sees Fuyao, the kind of sincerity that cannot be suppressed will be revealed. I think this performance process is very interesting.
Surging News:That is to say, the interpretation of this character, you want to create a more complex and deeper character?
Ethan Ruan:He was so complicated that I had a headache. Really, when we were rehearsing at that time, the director reminded me that he said he didn’t want to see that kind of "expressionless" performance. What impressed me the most was the first scene, which was really NG to headache. Because it was a scene in the palace, I dressed up as the emperor, in front of all the civil and military officials, and finally I arrived. In front of these people, I wanted to have the majesty of the emperor, and then there were ministers in the dynasty who restrained me, and I would look different in front of them. So it was already very complicated, and when Fuyao came in, as soon as I saw her, I leaked a little bit of love for her. So it’s actually very complicated. When I was in the play myself, I probably expected it to be like this, so I really wanted to try it out.
Surging News:Is there any new experience on the set when you appear in such a costume drama for the first time?
Ethan Ruan:You know "Shake" has a total of more than 60 episodes. I really have never operated a TV series with such a long number of episodes, and then the script is so long, and there are so many events and characters. When I read the script for the first time, I couldn’t watch it all at once. Maybe when I saw the next scene, I didn’t remember some of the previous content so clearly. You look back over and over again, look down, look back again, and it’s still the same effect. I feel that if I still read the script the way I used to, I can’t remember everything at all. So the only way is that I can’t remember in chronological order, I have to grasp the characters’ characters and principles, that is, there are things that the characters will definitely do, they will definitely choose, and there are some things that the characters must not touch.
Let me give you an example. When we watched a costume opera in the past, let’s say that the protagonist had high martial arts skills, and then an enemy broke in and killed a group performance next to the male protagonist. That group performance may be a palace maid or a guard, but it is not too important. After killing him, our protagonist did not respond on the field. In the script, it is written that the protagonist has a heart for the world, a heart for benevolence and righteousness, and a benevolent attitude towards the people. He is a wise king, but someone was killed in front of him, but he was indifferent. Are the previous descriptions still valid?
Therefore, it is these details that may not be noticed in the script, so this thing can only be grasped by the actor himself to capture the character and principles of this person, and to take the initiative to create characters, rather than just following the script. Of course, we will follow the general principles of the script, but in the process of execution, there are actually more details that need to be considered and improved.
Surging News:The creation of these details will make it more authentic for costume dramas. But in fact, most of the male protagonists of this type of costume drama will be portrayed in a cold and otherworldly direction, and the role of Changsun Wuji is also quite cold in the original. So how do you handle your performance yourself?
Ethan Ruan:We all know what to say, what to wear, and what to do on what occasions. This principle also holds true in roles. When you are king, you should be aloof and domineering in the face of civil and military officials. But when you face your companions and enemies, you can’t be the same face, can you?
For example, in front of Fuyao, Changsun Wuji will not be cold, and in front of Fuyao, he should be more like a man. You will not fall in love with a boy who is always cold, you will fall in love with a boy who will be tempted by you and happy for you.
For example, when you meet a strong opponent, you can’t perform to defeat him easily, but you should play the process very hard, and show the difficulty of defeating the enemy, but make people more aware of his strength. Just like a team, we defeat the opponent without any effort, it may be that the opponent is not very strong, and we are not very strong. But if we play very hard, but we win in the end, it means that we are a little bit more powerful than the most powerful opponent, then we are really strong.
Surging News:There are many such action scenes in "Shake". How is the experience in this regard? Is there any particular action scene that is particularly impressive?
Ethan Ruan:It was very difficult, because I thought it was a very simple action scene at first, but the director was very thorough and thoughtful about action scenes. When the filming didn’t start, the director said: I don’t want you to just play beautifully, but to put the interaction of the characters in it. For example, I have a lot of fighting scenes with Fuyao in it, and my fighting scenes with her, in addition to playing beautifully, sometimes add emotion. Instead of just flying around, wow, the martial arts look very high. After adding the requirements of emotional communication, there are many things we need to pay attention to.
Surging News:Yang Mi herself has a lot of experience in costume dramas and action dramas. Did you give you some help when working with her?
Ethan Ruan:I think her performance is very accurate, and what I admire most about her is that she actually taught me a lot of the ways I flirt with girls in the play, because she is a woman and she understands women. She is a very straightforward person, and we worked together until the end. In fact, there was nothing we couldn’t talk about, and she was willing to give me some advice. I was really happy.
There was a scene where we were fighting, and I held her in my arms. I was originally acting according to the requirements of the script, but she gave me some suggestions on details, such as using the position, using the distance between two people talking, and some insignificant touch, slowly approaching to create an atmosphere between two people.
Surging News:Nowadays, they are all advocating the creation of realistic themes. In combination with the work "Shake", do you think this kind of ancient costume works can take care of real life and have a realistic temperature?
Ethan Ruan:In fact, this problem has to go back to the drama itself. When we do so-called fantasy-style works, we often think of the characters "too much". In fact, we are not that powerful. All the emotions, all the actions, we have to play the process of the characters’ struggles and difficulties. For example, emotions, even if it is a period costume, the emotions in it should be real. For example, when the male lead is at his most depressed, the imposing man declines and lies on his shoulders like a child. It can also have real feelings, such as cherishing life and being loyal to friendship. So in fact, no matter what type of work we want to show, we still want to show people, not gods. All plays are about people.
关于作者