Tong Hua’s novel “Long Lovesickness” has been adapted into a costume myth drama of the same name, currently airing on Tencent Video. The drama tells the story of Xuanxuan, played by Zhang Wanyi, who rises from a reclusive prince to become the emperor of Xiyan. However, in the process, she grows distant from her beloved Xiaoyao, played by Yang Zi. Initially, Xuanxuan’s character was not well-received, but as the plot progressed and with the actor’s skilled emotional expression, the audience grew to recognize and love him.
In a recent interview with The Beijing News, Zhang Wanyi discussed the challenges of portraying the complex emotions in “Long Lovesickness.” He described Xuanxuan as the most emotionally challenging character he has played thus far, having to subtly convey suppressed emotions through his acting. He also mentioned that Xuanxuan’s character undergoes significant changes throughout the drama, and he had to accurately portray each stage of her development.
Prior to his role in “Long Lovesickness,” Zhang Wanyi was known for his roles as Chen Yannian in “Awakening Age” and Qiao Erqiang in “Children of the Qiao Family.” Playing Xuanxuan marked his first leading role in a costume drama. He admitted that he had never considered himself a handsome actor suitable for period dramas, but after this experience, he is open to trying different types of roles and expanding his artistic possibilities.
Zhang Wanyi’s portrayal of Xuanxuan’s elegant performance has deeply moved the audience. Playing such extremely subtle and tolerant scenes was a new experience for him. Xuanxuan’s character goes through various emotional challenges, from being a bereaved grandson to a powerful emperor, and Zhang Wanyi had to carefully analyze each stage of her journey to accurately portray her behavior in different environments.
He revealed that Xuanxuan’s emotional complexity was the biggest challenge in this role. It required him to exhibit introversion, tolerance, and vulnerability, not only in her feelings towards Xiaoyao but also in her professional struggles and familial hardships. Zhang Wanyi expressed his desire to take on more challenging roles with contrasting appearances and inner turmoil, such as Xuanxuan, who holds immense power but carries a sense of loss and sadness deep within her.
Despite the intense emotional scenes, there were few moments of happiness for Xuanxuan in the drama. One such moment was when she comically ate melon seeds while watching a dramatic encounter between Wen Xiaoliu and Ye Shiqi in Qingshui Town. This scene was an improvisation by Zhang Wanyi, who thought it would be a natural reaction for the character. He considered it one of the rare light-hearted moments in the otherwise heavy and melancholic drama.
Zhang Wanyi acknowledged that “Long Lovesickness” has many emotionally challenging scenes, which took a toll on him physically and mentally. Xuanxuan’s character experiences a great deal of sadness and abuse throughout the drama, making it emotionally draining for the actor. He admitted that Xuanxuan is the most difficult role he has played due to her constant suffering and the numerous crying scenes he had to perform.
In terms of his career plan, Zhang Wanyi explained that his preference for costume dramas or modern dramas changes with different stages of his acting career. While he hasn’t had many opportunities to star in costume dramas, he is open to exploring various genres and age groups in the future. He sees his role in “Long Lovesickness” as a valuable opportunity to try roles that are suitable for his age and expand his artistic repertoire.
The costume myth drama “Long Lovesickness” adapted from Tong Hua’s novel of the same name is currently airing on Tencent Video. In the drama, Xuanxuan, played by Zhang Wanyi, steps up from a reclusive prince to the pinnacle of power and becomes the emperor of Xiyan, but in the process, she drifts away from her favorite Xiaoyao (played by Yang Zi). Hyun Hyun’s role was not desirable when he first appeared on stage, but with his complex and real character, as well as the actor’s delicate and accurate emotional expression, he won the audience’s recognition and love as the plot progressed .
The Beijing News recently interviewed Zhang Wanyi, the young actor who plays Xuan Xuan in the drama. He said that the subtle and tolerant emotional complex drama in “Long Lovesickness” was very challenging for young actors to create. Xuanxuan is the most “abuse” he has played so far. When he played “108 kinds of crying”, they were all “suppressed crying” that he didn’t want people to find out. The presentation of each stage of Xuanxuan must be clear and correct. It has changes and requires unity. During the performance process, it is necessary to have a real experience and presentation of the internal emotional changes of the characters based on the correct analysis of the specific situation the play The creation is not difficult.
Zhang Wanyi was previously familiar to the audience because of Chen Yannian in “Awakening Age” and Qiao Erqiang in “Children of the Qiao Family” Xun Xuan is his first costume role as a leading actor. He has never considered himself a handsome guy, and he never thought he could play the leading man in ancient costumes, but after playing “Long Lovesickness”, he changed his usual mind and is ready to try more types of works in suitable dress. age and characters, expanding more possibilities for future character shaping and artistic creation.
Zhang Wanyi Xuanxuan’s elegant performance touched the hearts of the audience.
I have never acted in such an extremely subtle and tolerant scene
In the play, Xuanxuan is the eldest grandson of King Xiyan. He and Xiaoyao, childhood sweethearts, experienced the darkest moment of being separated from their relatives during childhood. But at that time, Xuanxuan did not have the ability to protect himself, and Xiaoyao went missing again. When he was an adult, he traveled around the mountains and rivers, but he was actually looking for Xiaoyao all the time. . After the reunion in Qingshuizhen, the two are still in adversity and danger, and must work together to return to Chaoyun Peak. During this process, Xuanxuan had to suppress his feelings for Xiaoyao, but when he finally became the emperor of Xiyan, he realized that he had lost the qualification to pursue Xiaoyao…
From the offspring and grandson whose parents died, to the emperor who walked the road of blood and fire to the peak of power, Xuanxuan is one of the characters with the biggest change in status and status in ” Long Lovesickness”. After Zhang Wanyi received the script, he began to study and distinguish Xuanxuan’s different stages, to understand how he would behave in which environment. “In Qingshui town in the early period, he must not dress luxuriously and have a full mood, but he needs to have a street spirit so that he can blend in; in Haoling in the middle period, he must show his hands and ‘to feet under. the fence; Stop, to show the kind of shame. ” Each stage of Xunxuan has different difficulties in performing – it is difficult to perform the atmosphere of the city so that everyone likes it; to perform tolerance It is another difficulty to resonate with the audience. “You can only feel the different steps and the different scenes with your heart.”
Xuanxuan is one of the characters with the biggest change in status in “Long Lovesickness”.
Zhang Wanyi said that Xuanxuan’s subtle and tolerant emotions are the challenge of playing this role. This kind of introversion and tolerance is reflected not only in his feelings towards Xiaoyao, but also includes his dormancy in his career, and his response to family bullying, etc. “I have acted introverted and tolerant scenes before, but I have never acted in such an extreme one. At least so far, I think the things that are released from the outside are relatively common, and the scenes that go in are more difficult to handle. than those that are released from the outside. Grab it.” He hopes to challenge this type of drama that goes in, and challenges characters with a great contrast between look and heart. Just like Xuanxuan, who later became the King of Xiyan and possessed supreme power, but there was always a sense of loss and sadness in his heart. “It has a contrast, and I think it’s a bit more refreshing when I’m acting.”
Eating melon seeds is one of the few happy scenes, and Xuanxuan is the worst role ever played
During the hot broadcast of “Sauvignon Blanc”, Zhang Wanyi happened to be working and was rushing to film in other crews, but he would take advantage of the rest or make-up breaks to follow the drama with the people around him , and he also pays attention to the comments on the seawall. He was very happy to see everyone sympathizing with the characters he played in the play. At the same time, he also reorganized and thought about his creation from the audience’s point of view, summarizing some creative experience. In the play, when Xuanxuan was in Qingshui Town, she never knew that Wen Xiaoliu in Huichun Hall was the Xiaoyao she had been looking for all along. In order to protect her younger sister Anian, she did something that that hurt Wen Xiaoliu. complaining about his bad looks. Feedback like this made Zhang Wanyi feel very satisfied, which shows that the characters of “Sauvignon Blanc” brought everyone into the drama.
Also in Qingshui Town, Xuan Xuan, the incarnation of the hotel owner “Xuan”, has the mindset of watching a drama about the emotional tension between Wen Xiaoliu and Ye Shiqi. Once, he even licked the seeds of a melon and laughed at the awkwardness of the two. Eating melon seeds is Zhang Wanyi’s natural idea after seeing the props (melon seeds) when he went to the scene. At the time, Xuanxuan did not know Xiaoyao’s true identity and her relationship with Jing. The scene of eating melon seeds was an instinctive reaction of the character in a predetermined situation, and it was also the actor’s design of the character’s thinking logic through the analysis of the play. It is an improvisation created by the actors on the spot. “Let’s talk about the design, yes, but this is based on the feeling of the scene. At that time, a table like a tree root happened where they were sitting. One side, a life-like side.” Zhang Wanyi said that this easy-to-watch drama is one of the few happy dramas in the whole drama, and the other dramas are very sad – “I miss my sister, I am very patient, It is you must be angry, and you have no way to express your grievances.”
Xuanxuan is patient throughout the play.
In his opinion, “Long Lovesickness” has too many “abuse” scenes. The scene where Xiaoyao was murdered in Xiyan City, and Xiaoyao, who had low spiritual power, tried his best to keep it behind; But the younger sister could not help remembering the past when they were both abandoned by their relatives since they were young. , and they walked alone all the way, and she couldn’t help but shed tears… “Xuanxuan’s scenes are really offensive, 108 kinds of crying, or the kind of restrained and tolerant I don’t want being discovered by others I really can’t remember any particularly sweet scenes. In general, it’s emotionally dull.” He frankly said that Xuanxuan is the worst among the roles he has played so far. Because Xuanxuan has “a lot of misery”, he has to act in many different sad scenes every day, and is easily physically and mentally exhausted.
【dialogue】
Taking advantage of the 20-year-old tail, shoot roles that should be tried in this age group
Beijing News:Since your debut, you have acted in very few costume dramas. In your career plan, do you have any preference between costume dramas and modern dramas?
Zhang Wanyi:Career planning also changes with different stages. Except for the first drama where I acted the male lead, which was a special case, all the other dramas were done step by step. I have acted in dramas and realistic themes before, and I feel that, given my age, my experience and my creative experience, I am very happy to be able to learn and collaborate with so many excellent senior teachers, not to mention to have a second male, a third male, this kind of relatively heavy youth role, so I always think I’m very lucky as a young actor. Because under the aesthetic influence of film school teachers, I have never classified myself as a handsome guy, let alone trying to win a male lead in ancient costumes to change my way of acting through the benefits of a pure image, so I intend to be an actor down -to-earth, Use your acting skills and strength to take on this job. It’s really a coincidence that I met a male protagonist in ancient costume like “Long Lovesickness”, which expanded more possibilities for the kind of role I was playing, and made it clearer what kind of a role to create at any age Experiment with more genres and characters. Now you can take advantage of a 20-year-old tail and try as comprehensively as possible the roles that actors of this age group should get, so as not to leave creative regrets to the young himself.
Beijing news:After acting in a costume drama, do you have any new ideas?
Zhang Wanyi:Since I didn’t contact him before, I was worried that I would be tied up in costume dramas. But after testing it and making progress in it, I understand that there is no essential difference in creating a performance between it and other themes, it just needs to adapt to different types, ages and styles of creating a shot, that’s all. Regardless of the ancient costumes or realistic themes, actors should live in the play in the way of people and characters.
Xuanxuan proclaimed himself emperor.
Beijing news:What kind of costume and character scripts attract you at this stage?
Zhang Wanyi:Still looking at the completeness of the script. I hope that the scripts I get will match the times in terms of narrative and communication methods, instead of talking about abuse, sadness, or showing sweetness in the popular sense, that would be too superficial. The characters in it behave with a human mind. They must have a self-consistent world view and their own beliefs. Only such characters can really move people and make me very eager to create. I hope to play a live, flesh-and-blood person in a costume drama.
Beijing news:Just like Xuan Xuan in “Long Lovesickness”, even though he finally became an emperor, he still has the weakness of ordinary people and the helplessness of ordinary people.
Zhang Wanyi:When I play such a tall role, I try to lower his figure as much as possible. Because I think that kind of conceptual and superficial things can be imagined by everyone. But given my age and life experience here, it’s impossible to say how good the acting is, to be honest. It can only be said that, within the scope of my ability, I will do my best to test and complete the role well. I think this is also a basic characteristic that an actor should have. In fact, our predecessors, so many good actors, have portrayed too many roles of emperors and generals that are still fresh in people’s memories. As a young actor, to be honest, I’m still far behind them, and I’m still not at the level of the senior teachers, so I hope to use my own life experience and the knowledge I’ve consulted to play the role of the emperor alive, living a bit more in line with my age group.
Beijing News Correspondent, Yang Lianjie
Edited by Tong Na
Proofread Zhao Lin
