Another translation
Li Ronghao interviewed by Wu Lei
Category: Interview
[ENG SUB] Wu Lei & Liu Jiayin Interview with 1905 Movie Network
[ENG SUB] Wu Lei’s Dream Story for “China UP!”
[ENG SUB] Wu Lei x Guokr Interview (2023)
If it’s can not be accessed on Youtube in your country, you can watch it here.
[ENG SUB] Wu Lei x Esquire Interview (2023)
[ENG SUB] Wu Lei (吴磊) interview with China Film Report
[ENG SUB] Wu Lei (吴磊) Interview at Chengdu ZEGNA Event
[ENG SUB] Wu Lei x Weibo Fashion Interview at ZEGNA Event
230915 [Interview] Wu Lei Exclusive Interview with THE BEIJING NEWS
Portraying Hu Ge’s soul companion and mirrored confidant in <All Ears>
The movie <All Ears> is currently in theaters, it tells the story of screenwriter Wen Shan, played by Hu Ge, who makes a living by writing eulogies after going through some setbacks in his life. He meets many people and experiences many things along the way to get a deeper understanding of the meaning and value of life and of humans’ emotions. Wu Lei plays the role of Xiao Yin, a character that Wen Shan hasn’t finished writing in his work and can be described as a spiritual representation of Wen Shan. The solar and straightforward Xiao Yin will appear at critical moments to debate with the slow and sensitive Wen Shan, gradually guiding him to voice out the sound of his own heart. Despite Xiao Yin not having his own chapter like the other characters, he is a key figure who pushes the plot forward.
Xiao Yin is a character that Wu Lei has never portrayed since he first entered the acting industry, and he said he had many deserving reasons to participate in <All Ears>. Not only is it produced by Cao Baoping and directed by Liu Jiayin but there is also the reassuring presence of Lao Hu (Hu Ge). “This is a very quiet and spirited filming crew, even the cue to begin shooting is gentle. I have also given a lot of my own understanding and actions to Xiao Yin. It is a movie that makes people think a lot, especially after the shooting ended, I really wanted to have a little Xiao Yin too. Although he is an abstract character, if it’s possible, I’d like to make him concrete in my life, having him, discussing with him, being in his company would be really great“.
– ABOUT THE ROLE –
Full of mystery, very challenging to portray, existent and non-existent
The first time he finished reading the script of <All Ears>, Wu Lei spent a lot of time digesting it because the story really ‘shocked his mind’. Behind every eulogy Wen Shan has written, there is a heartwarming story. When he put down the script, all his emotions were mixed. He started to have a new way of thinking and examining his own life. Wu Lei frankly said he had no choice but to accept the role this time because this Xiao Yin gave him a feeling of excitement to participate in the creation of the character: “This is a character I’ve never played before and the script has a very original and realistic theme, this movie genre and script are rarely seen. In addition to that, producer Cao and director Liu are very good at their job, most of my scenes are with Lao Hu (Hu Ge), it’s very suitable for me in all aspects“. Wu Lei says that another reason why he wanted to try portraying Xiao Yin, is because this role is full of mystery, stands in a very unique space and represents a state of existence and non-existence : “As Wen Shan’s companion, he accompanied him through each and every deceased. In other words, Xiao Yin also experiences more or less the same things as Wen Shan, he can feel Wen Shan’s feelings and emotions. From my personal perspective, I also want to understand Wen Shan sometimes, whether it’s onscreen or offscreen, we have this in common, how interesting is that!“
In the eyes of his partner Hu Ge, the character Xiao Yin played by Wu Lei is extremely difficult to act. Hu Ge indicates, “The character of Xiao Yin cannot seem to find a pivot point or a psychological foundation, he’s very difficult to play, but from another perspective, he also allows a big creative space. But before the start of filming and table read, everyone just had a rough idea of Xiao Yin, it can be said that Xiao Yin is a character that was built through discussion while filming”. Wu Lei also thinks this character leaves a strong room for creativity, he is in Wen Shan’s heart, his mirror image and his roommate, a straightforward young boy. Although he is relatively young, he is Wen Shan’s partner, like a teacher and a friend, interacting with each other like intimate confidants.
– ABOUT THE PARTNER –
Collaborating with Hu Ge once again, becoming more mature and stronger tacit understanding
Hu Ge and Wu Lei both played different age stages of Yang Liu Lang in <The Young Warriors>, sworn brothers Mei Changsu and Fei Liu in <Nirvana in Fire>; and now, they are collaborating a third time for <All Ears>. This time, the characters they portray respectively, Wen Shan and Xiao Yin, seem more like a pair of “soul companions”. When Wen Shan was writing his script, he wrote the virtual character Xiao Yin. He always felt Xiao Yin wasn’t perfect enough and kept talking to him, ultimately finding a comfortable way to coexist. Director Liu Jiayin once stated in an interview, Xiao Yin is Wen Shan’s embodiment of his unfinished task, self-projection and mirrored image of himself. “Many people have this kind of self-dialogue situation in their life. For Wen Shan, Xiao Yin can be a partner, he can bring warmth or exert pressure, he can expose him, question him”. Liu Jiayin also says, that finding Hu Ge and Wu Lei who share a mutual tacit understanding to portray these two profoundly meaningful characters could not have been more suitable.
“To be honest, there’s nothing different. He has always been like this, he has never changed. It’s just that this time, our characters’ relationship is different so naturally the creative experience is slightly different. Plus, I have also grown up, so I see him in a different perspective now. We worked together three times and for each time, our roles varied. The first time (for <The Young Warriors>), I can’t remember if I’m being honest but I have a slight impression of the wrap party when I had dinner with him; the second time, the impression was particularly deep, we were shooting <Nirvana in Fire>; at that time, I had the role of the relatively immature Fei Liu and it was so silly and joyful on set everyday. After I finished reading my lines and after the director explained the plot, we each shot our own parts. In the drama, we had our own distinct channels. This time, it’s more like two men talking, considering I’m also an adult now. It feels similar to how we interacted during <Nirvana in Fire>, he would always ask me if I’m too mature or he’s the one too immature. I replied, ‘That’s definitely your problem, it has nothing to do with me’ (laugh)”. Wu Lei replies while laughing, actually they hadn’t met for a long time before filming <All Ears>, usually they just talk on WeChat, “In the end, after talking and filming together, we realized we are still the same as back then, so it’s a rejoice. He is someone I’m very familiar with so the filming went very smoothly. Once we started shooting, we just cooperated and understood each other. We could say anything very openly, it was very relaxing and it was a very natural creative environment“.
– EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW –
To listen more is the only way to ‘make this trip worthwhile’
Beijing News: Wen Shan has gone through a lot and has met many people. As his companion, Xiao Yin leaves his life at the end of the film, how do you understand this disappearance ?
Wu Lei: At the end of the movie, both have grown up a lot. Xiao Yin is a character written by Wen Shan, he is also another side of Wen Shan’s inner heart. Xiao Yin is actually Wen Shan’s another representation, so at the end of the movie, Wen Shan has already let go, he could finally take his pen to finish writing Xiao Yin’s character so that Xiao Yin could obtain a chance at a new life. From the perspective of a companion, because Xiao Yin and Wen Shan have both undergone personal growth, in a way, they no longer needed each other. Both of them can walk on their own now, so Xiao Yin naturally disappeared at the end and probably went to a world he has always wanted and had to explore.
Beijing News: You are very extroverted, and Director Liu Jiayin is relatively introverted. Can you talk about how you felt during your collaboration?
Wu Lei: Time flew by from the first meeting to the start of filming. Director Liu Jiayin was very straightforward and efficient, she can very accurately tell you what she wants and doesn’t want but sometimes you need to give her time to think, including in the early stage, we discussed how to approach the character of Xiaoyin together. Actually, we were all experimenting at first, we didn’t know what to do. It was only when we started filming that we decided on how to portray the roles, how to shoot. But once we have decided, from an actor’s angle, she won’t give you any opportunity to be confused, she will encourage you ‘This is right, do it this way, be a bit more like that to find the feeling’. She is a very interesting person, and also a teacher in our film academy (laugh).
Beijing News: How do you evaluate Teacher Cao Baoping? It’s your first collaboration with him, he is also teacher at the Film Academy and a well-down director.
Wu Lei: I didn’t think Teacher Cao would be there everyday (on set), I saw him everyday. I remember when I first started shooting, he was monitoring us very tightly. I was actually very nervous seeing Director Liu and Producer Cao sitting there. But Producer Cao is great at storytelling, he knows how to convey his ideas to the actors. When I was unsure of my acting, he would help me strengthen my confidence and make me understand the real motivation behind my performance. Besides, in front of so many cameras, he still could provide excellent suggestions. When one scene wasn’t going smoothly, he could overcome the difficulties with just a sentence or two. I learned a lot from him.
Beijing News: The english title of <不虚此行> (lit. Make this trip worthwhile) is “All Ears” which means ‘to listen’. The movie also tells the story of the listeners, how do you understand the meaning of this title ?
Wu Lei: To listen more can truly ‘make your trip worthwhile’, is it what that means? I don’t have a lot of scenes in the movie but when I think of some lines from the script that were incorporated into the filming process, they were so appropriate. Everyone has to confront their ordinary side. Even though I was very nervous during this filming, there were a lot of moments that were as plain as water. But beneath these plain feelings and words, extremely deep emotions were concealed. Whether it’s for me or for my character, we have to get used to this kind of ‘plain’ and ordinary.
Translation credit to @eowuli. Original article on Beijing News.
230901 [Interview] Wu Lei Run To The Wilderness | L’Officiel Hommes September 2023 Cover Story
In “Nothing But You” Wu Lei, who portrayed Song Sanchuan once said that, tennis is a very romantic thing, a sport associated with all seasons, wind, sunshine, rain and snow. Each ball is a unique encounter. As an actor, he experienced the changing seasons, filming in winter as beautiful as flowers and in summer as cold as snow. While the seasons may be fictional, the works are real, and every character and the moments unique to that character are irreplaceable.
Starting from the age of 5, Wu Lei has always wanted to be an intelligent actor. He has mentioned in interviews multiple times how great it is to describe a newcomer actor. As a newcomer, he had the enthusiasm and longing for this profession, and his initial passion remained strong. After many years in the industry, he was most afraid of becoming a mere performer in his job. He was even more afraid that certain neglects during performances would turn into bad habits because habits become second nature. When something becomes second nature, it becomes difficult to even recognize it as a bad habit, let alone change it.
Therefore, Wu Lei approaches every performance by forgetting the past and starting anew. When a wise person who reflects on their actions takes on the same task with dedication for 18 years, his passion for acting and sincerity as an actor shine even brighter.
1. “Youth must be a swift horse.”
Wu Lei enjoys cycling and horseback riding. During his cycling trip to Xinjiang, he had many interesting encounters with fans. In his “Fly Close to The Ground” project, he shared breathtaking views of glaciers, starry skies, and sunrise while riding in the -30°C cold of Ulan Butong. With vast landscapes, the young man rode alone across the snowy plains, embodying both unexpected romanticism and youthful vitality.
In “Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love” and “Nothing But You” Wu Lei portrayed male leads who were athletes. The harsh and brilliant world of competitive sports, along with the years of training, has left a significant impact on athletes. This is something Wu Lei has been continuously studying and incorporating into his roles.
“Sports bring the most immediate benefits of health and freedom to me. The process of sports certainly comes with its challenges, and solving these problems is also quite interesting. However, professional athletes are a different story; they experience peaks and valleys, are plagued by injuries, so they delve more into researching their competitive state, techniques, and expressions. All of these are crucial when shaping a character, as you need to quickly reach a level where the audience isn’t taken out of the story, which can be quite a challenge.”
When Wu Lei received the script for “Nothing But You” he felt that the phrase “We are all hot blooded fools” described Song Sanchuan perfectly. “Song Sanchuan is someone who maintains sincerity, balance, and boundaries in both his career and his relationships. At that time, I hoped that when people first saw Song Sanchuan, they would think, ‘Hey, this person seems like an athlete,’ and to me, that would mean I had succeeded halfway.”
When officially playing Song Sanchuan, Wu Lei believed finding the right playing style was crucial. He privately studied Rafael Nadal’s matches and playing style because he considered Nadal a very resilient athlete. Song Sanchuan, choosing to switch from badminton to tennis in his late athlete years, repeatedly falling and getting back up, must also possess this resilience. While portraying snooker player Lin Yiyang in “Amidst A Snowstorm of Love” Wu Lei studied active players like Trump and Selby, two prominent snooker players of their time. Finding these anchors and then developing the character around them makes it more realistic and vivid.
Samuel Johnson once said in “The Rambler” to be passionately committed to any endeavor, one must first love life. Wu Lei always vividly remembers the local details and stories beyond filming locations. “When I went to Finland, it wasn’t particularly cold, and I saw many locals going to those outdoor seaside pools and tried to join them. But a few seconds later, I quickly got out; it was too cold. However, the most memorable thing was seeing the aurora there; it was truly breathtaking.”
Despite spending years on set and growing under the spotlight, it hasn’t caused him to lose his keen sense of real-life experiences. Acting ultimately boils down to the study of human nature: interacting with others, engaging in self-reflection, listening to other people’s stories, and portraying one’s own script effectively.
When playing the role of Lu Xiaobei, Wu Lei had a chance encounter with someone in the elevator who had a cast on his leg and was using crutches. He immediately observed how, when one leg is injured, people instinctively shift their weight to the other side. So, he naturally incorporated this detail into his character’s movement habits.
In the highly acclaimed “Love Like The Galaxy” there’s a scene where Ling Buyi swiftly grabs a spear, mounts a horse, and rides off seamlessly. Netizens praised this moment, likening the young general, described in the novel as “silver saddle on a white horse, swift as a shooting star,” to coming to life in that instant. The fluidity in front of the camera was the result of solid training behind the scenes. Whether on set or in his daily training, Wu Lei had his fair share of falls from horses. During the filming of “My Country, My Parents” he once fell from a horse due to the need to shoot while holding a rifle. He calmly got up, stepped away from the horse’s hooves, and immediately told the director, “I’m okay, Brother Jing, I can get back on the horse.” Being willing to remount after a fall is a testament to his admirable courage.
2. “Plants in Spring”
Not long ago, Wu Lei’s film “All Ears” was scheduled to be released on September 9th. The movie focuses on an unique profession, eulogists-Wen Shan (played by Hu Ge), a man who hovers between the deceased and the living, offering solace to others and being comforted in return. This marks the third collaboration between Wu Lei and Hu Ge. In the film, Wu Lei portrays Xiao Yin, a character who exists and yet doesn’t exist, he is himself, but also a reflection and duplicate of Wen Shan.
Wu Lei had a deeper thinking of his role. He said, “Xiao Yin is very special. I have to portray my unique self while also convey Wen Shan’s qualitiess. Xiao Yin and Wen Shan have a contradictory yet unified relationship, and this style of performance is both refreshing and challenging.” Understanding these characters and interpreting their stories provides Wu Lei with new life experiences each time. The journey he shares with the characters also brings him many new reflections about himself and life.
“Dwelling By The West Lake” which wrapped in 2022, is the second film in Director Gu Xiaogang’s “Shanshui Painting” series. Before this, Gu directed his first feature film, “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains,” which became the closing film for the Critics’ Week at the 2019 Cannes International Film Festival and earned him the Best Director award at the 13th FIRST Youth Film Festival.
As a native of Hangzhou, Gu Xiaogang’s work is deeply influenced by his hometown. The English title of the new film is “Dwelling by the West Lake,” and the narrative clearly revolves around West Lake. In the new film, Wu Lei’s character is named Mu Lian, and when combined with the classic folklore of “Mu Lian Rescues His Mother,” one can faintly infer the theme of maternal redemption in the movie.
In Wu Lei’s mind, Hangzhou is a poetic, beautiful city surrounded by greenery and filled with a sense of storytelling. Working with director Gu Xiaogang and other directors he collaborated with before is quite different. “Working with Director Gu, there’s a wilder feeling to it. Many times, you have to rely on more instinctive physiological reactions to perform because he’s very good at creating a ‘natural’ environment for actors. That’s one of the things that sets him apart from the directors I’ve worked with before. For example, Director Fei (Fei Zhenxiang) is very joyful and he knows how to relieve the pressure for actors on set.”
“When I was filming ‘Love Like The Galaxy’ there was actually a lot of pressure, and it was emotionally intense every day. He knew how to make me relax. Director Gu would spend a lot of time in the ‘unseen’ aspects, working hard to create a better emotional journey for us actors and our characters. But much of his efforts are off-camera and for me, these were significant sources of help, unique experiences and valuable learning experiences.”
Nietzsche once said, “What is important is not the eternal life but the eternal vitality.” Seeing Wu Lei is like seeing a vibrant tree. Although he hasn’t grown into a towering giant, he is already lush and thriving. Bathed in sunlight, the marks of growth are concealed beneath the dense foliage, and the tree continues to firmly root itself in the soil and fearlessly grow upward.
Translation credit to @5051sm.
Wu Lei Galaxy 