Wu Lei, Klara or the Sun?

Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro tells the story of a smart solar-powered robot Klara accompanying the young master Josie in his new book “Klara and the Sun”. Josie was poor in health due to genetic modification and was eventually cured by the sun (Klara thinks so) and Klara completed her mission after Josie entered the university. It seems to have a science fiction shell, as if it is depicting people’s minds, with no distance from reality. Every child who is under the pressure of parents and class, the one who needs a companionship is Josie. And Wu Lei, right next to his fans, sometimes plays Klara and sometimes plays the Sun.

Is he Klara or the Sun?

In 2002, 3-year-old Wu Lei was invited to perform in the first commercial “Golden Partner”. In two years, he performed more than 50 commercials in succession, and his talent was discovered at the same time. From 2005 until now, he has produced film and television dramas every year. There are various counts of how many celebrities he has been the son of and which celebrities he has been embraced by. In 2018, he was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy with the first place in the professional course. From cute to good-looking to handsome, from talented to acting to acting professional, from childish to sensible and comprehensive, these are all with him. If “Wu Lei” is entered on the search engine, these descriptions can be seen everywhere. The little baby gradually grew into a graceful youth and a sunny youth in everyone’s sight. It’s not the kind of child star who was suddenly discovered to grow up. He grew up little by little on TV and on the screen.

Everyone’s requirements for “child stars” have always been harsh, and they often compare the appearance of child stars when they were young with the present time. Wu Lei has never been attacked. He has grown into a model that an idol should have. Everyone likes to use magnifiers to show off “bad deeds” and make a fuss on these self-named children. Wu Lei did not give them a chance, and was wrapped up by the compliments of the predecessors all the way. Qin Hao said, “I like Wu Lei’s performance very much. The performance is very sincere”; Hu Ge said, “I am far inferior to him at his age”; Zhang Yimou said that Wu Lei is modest, low-key, conscientious, and promising…

At the entrance ceremony of Beijing Film University, as a representative of the freshmen, his speech was simple and sincere. He wanted to “keep his feet on the ground (down-to-earth), work with the most modest attitude, and the most authentic enthusiasm for artistic creation, and become a true art professional”. He is determined to professionalize his passion and improve his profession in practice while studying.

On Weibo, he has more than 40 million followers. When asked how he feels about this number, he said it was his responsibility. He said that he used to read Weibo private messages, but he hasn’t read it for a long time, because slowly, he found that he could not deal with all the voices and opinions one by one. More than 40 million is a huge number, and the specific numbers are not important. Whether it is 30 million, 50 million or 10 million, it is a heavy weight, and you have to carry it on your back, reminding yourself that you must treat your profession strictly, you must be sober and do things, and he wants them to be happy.

“Is it unrealistic to please so many people? Is it tiring to let yourself bear this responsibility?” This question should not be the first time he faced this question. He answered with an almost innocent sunny expression and a serious and determined tone, “It is certainly not realistic to make everyone happy, but I treat them as a whole, try not to let them down, and do my best to do well. Because I care about them, working hard for them is equivalent to working hard for myself.”

As an actor, he never admits to his seniority. He always talks about studying and training, but for “fans”, he doesn’t give himself time, “I can conquer the audience little by little, but the fans are already there. In addition to acting well because I like it, I admit that part of it is also for them. Everyone likes it. This matter is very important to me.”

The solar-powered Al robot represented by Klara in the book is the perfect companion. They are good-looking, smart, and have a mission, but each robot is different. They have their own personality and their own ideas. This is also their perfection because only in this way can you become children’s true friends, bring true companionship meals, and relieve loneliness. Klara is particularly outstanding among them. She is friendly, sensitive, daring to observe, strong learning ability, high self-demand and dedication, can provide extremely high-quality companionship, and can almost 100% copy what she observes. With a smile, if she were an actor, she would definitely be able to provide sophisticated performances. The only thing she needs is sunshine. The sun is her totem. She believes that the sun can nourish everything, so for the health of the little master, she always prays to the sun. In the end she also got what she thought was the most perfect result: the sun healed and nourished the little master Josie. In a sense, idols are also intelligent companions, satisfying people’s emotional needs and supporting lonely hearts. The sun is only responsible for commuting to and from get off work on time where it provides a constant supply of energy. What people get from it depends largely on the understanding of the beneficiaries.

Wu Lei abides by his duties and strives to be perfect from appearance to professional skills and public image. Sometimes he is a considerate artist, sometimes he only concentrates on acting. He provides companionship and energy to those who need him.

He is not Klara nor the Sun

On the day of the interview, which was also the shooting scene, Wu Lei used his slightly faster speech speed to solve problems while putting on make-up. The reason why he said he was solving problems was because he was not memorizing standard answers, but solving problems one by one. Although there are many questions that will be repeatedly asked at different times, he obviously has to think about each question. Just like the speed of speech, he is also very fast, and accurately points the answer to the content he wants to express. At that time, during the broadcast time of “The Long Ballad”, it was easy for people to associate him with the character “Sun” in the play. Occasionally, he would also show eagle-like eyes. His eyes, like those of a falcon, would suddenly disappear from the focus and sharpness of his mind.

He said he cares about appearance, but no matter how the hair stylist fiddled with him, he can’t attract his attention. “Do you care about your appearance?” He took the question very seriously: “I will be very worried if I have acne on my face, but I am afraid the show won’t go well. I want everything to be perfect in the group and less trouble for others. He said that he was not worried about anything. He might not be old enough to worry about it, unless he had a pimple.

In the shooting scene, a set of props was a huge matchstick, so big that it looked like a fire and that made him look like a genie, carrying the matches back into the darkness to light them The wood was rough, and after being “stabbed” in his hand, he calmly stated the facts, but did not ask for props. The stylist put ear cuffs on him. It is difficult to remove it when changing clothes. The stylist is much shorter than him. Although he bends, the stylist is afraid of hurting him. Suddenly he stretched out his hand and pulled off the ear cuff. The staff hurriedly asked if it hurt, and he denied it in a very quick and faint voice.

There is also a scene where he is required to stand on a seesaw. He stepped on it and immediately entered the state to interact with the prop seesaw, wandering in the middle area of the “balance”, looking for balance and exploring the dangerous point of the force-track inclination. Finally, he simply lied down and found the most comfortable and safest state, and blended with the board.

He seems to be able to quickly find the corresponding way of expression for every prop and every suit of clothing, and he almost has the professional ability of a model. In the studio, he was at ease in his own living room, changing clothes and switching scenes at an unhurried pace. There is no need to wait for the staff to gather for the next step. He always knows what to do next. Even without an assistant, he should be able to handle everything by himself without an aide.

In late March and early April, Wu Lei took advantage of the two-day gap to complete the cycling journey between the two cities. He picked up the burger that hadn’t finished breakfast and ate it on the road. He hid in the shadows under the containers on the roadside to cool off, and when he encountered a slope that is not easy to go down. He talked to a rider who happened to be on the road to help him take pictures… He shouted “I love you Xiamen” on the road, and the sound was palpable. Full of blue sky and sea. He said that the speed of riding is not fast or slow. It is the best speed to experience the scenery and the atmosphere of the city. The wind swept through his face and he could think and let go of the air. The scene was a bit fast-forward, but it will not be easy to miss the expressions on people’s faces.

When Wu Lei joins the team, he will definitely take his computer to any door in the gaming world. He said, “It doesn’t have to be playing, but you have to have it. Is it going to be in that place? Just like girls’ dolls, existence is companionship.” He said with a light in his eyes, and there was a hint of excitement and mischief. Between makeup and interviews, he had to play a game tightly and plunged into his own little world. The most irritating expression when dragged out by a person, but the action did not bring a trace of hesitation, and there was no hesitation to switch to work.

That’s how he grew up. Inside and outside the shed are his daily routines, acting, studying. promoting, shooting commercials, recording shows, and accompanying fans to shine… But he doesn’t care about his hobbies, he should be like this at this age. Some enthusiasm, enjoying the fun that should be enjoyed at this age, all of this naturally blends into his own rhythm.

He does what others think of as “Wu Lei” as perfectly as possible, but it doesn’t affect him to be himself. There is no contradiction between the two. He provides companionship and energy to those who need him, and is self-consistent in his own present state.

Q&A

If you were a fan of your own, which role would you like to marry?

Ashile Sun is definitely not good. Now (at the time) it hasn’t finished broadcasting, and I can’t say why it’s not good. Xiao Yan? Li Cu? No, no. Goodbye. None of my characters are suitable for marriage. I am responsible for my fans. I hope that they will not meet those characters in the drama. Either they have a sadistic relationship or have no good end. Thinking about it, I feel sorry for my fans.

In addition to filming and schoolwork, there archive are so many “jobs” for entertainers. Do you have enough time to get along with yourself?

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that I have never felt like I’m lacking this time. I feel that acting itself is a process of getting along with myself. The process of understanding and expressing roles is to mobilize my own understanding, feelings, past experience and cognition. This is the process mirroring and digging into oneself through the people in the script is a process of getting along with oneself deeply.

If you were given a 100-day holiday without working, what would you use it for?

I would have been a little panicked. Although the disruption during the epidemic was not that long, I had a particularly obvious feeling during that period. I was not worried about the lack of filming, or you know what work will be next, or you probably know when you’re back to work, but that when you’re free, you will be flustered and insecure. Maybe I’m used to the rhythm of filming all the time. It’s really uncomfortable to stop and not film for a long time. I still think about filming, so I can feel more comfortable.

Imagine what you will be like when you are 50 years old?

I think I will be like most people, get married and have kids. I am very confident that I will be a good father in the future. Although I don’t know the exact time and place in the future, this is definitely an important item in my life’s list.

Who is the person who has influenced you the most so far?

It’s me. This is not narcissism, but a very real state. I will learn from many predecessors and be encouraged and influenced by many people, but I will also constantly continue to reflect and compare myself to the past. Knowing oneself is particularly important for creating roles. I find that the process of knowing oneself will have a particularly big impact on myself, and the more I feel this, the greater the impact.

Score yourself for influence, professionalism, personal charm, wisdom, and self-drive ability, with a full score of 100. What will these scores be?

The influence is 30, the personal charm is 80, the wisdom is 75, the self-drive is 85, and the professionalism is 59. I will deduct one point for myself to leave some room for growth.

Translation credit to @wuleiarchive.