In 217, Benchang You, an old artist, posted a video on social platforms.
In the video, he said sadly:
"I have lived in a nursing home, and now the evening scene is bleak, and no one has taken care of me."
It looked miserable, but it didn't take a few seconds for the painting style to change suddenly, and people were shocked to feel cheated by this "old urchin".
"The shoes are worn out, the hat is worn out, and the cassock is worn out ..." Whenever this familiar melody rings in my ear, the image of "Jigong" played by Benchang You will come to mind.
So, how is the "Jigong" who has brought me countless memories now?
Why did he disappear after he became popular overnight? What did he experience in these years?
Benchang You was born in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province in 1933. His family is not rich, but there are many children in his family.
As the youngest child in his family, he has six sisters above him. As the only male in the family, Benchang You is naturally favored. < P > Unfortunately, he was sickly since he was a child, which made his parents feel heartbroken.
But even after seeking medical advice everywhere, his health has not improved. Even if he is well fed, he is still skinny.
When Benchang You was 6 years old, a monk came here to beg alms, met him by chance, looked at him for a few times, and said to his parents:
"I'm afraid this child will not live beyond 13 years old, and this matter can only be resolved unless he converts to Buddhism."
After listening to the monk's words, parents were frightened, so in order to ensure the smooth growth of their son,
Benchang You, 6, was sent to the Fazang Temple in Shanghai to learn from his teacher.
That is, from then on, Benchang You's health gradually improved. Not only did he get well, but his body became stronger and stronger, which really made people feel incredible.
Only after he entered the temple, he still had to continue his studies. As a teenager, Benchang You had excellent academic performance and a very flexible brain.
Besides reading, his favorite thing is to listen to storytelling. As soon as school is over, he goes to the bookstore to listen to people telling stories, and what impressed him the most is the drama "Living in the South of the Yangtze River".
He never tires of listening to this joke. He even wrote down all his lines. When he got home, he had to improvise for his parents, and everyone laughed from ear to ear.
When he was older, my sister began to take him to the movies. At that time, Chaplin's pantomime was very famous, and the child star Shirley Deng Boer was also deeply loved by the audience.
Benchang You watched the strange performances in the movies, and he became more and more longing for the performing arts.
At that time, his dream was to become an actor.
In 1951, Benchang You, who graduated from high school, successfully entered the Nanjing Art Troupe. Here he officially stepped onto the stage of his dreams and embarked on the road of art.
Benchang You is the most active one working in the group. He is the last one to leave every rehearsal. He tries his best to leave the best side to the audience even if he is unwell.
With this energy, Benchang You got the chance to walk to the Shanghai Theatre Academy in the second year of joining the league, where he was exposed to real performances.
I have come to understand that to be a good actor, you need a sense of mission, and an actor who can hide himself behind the role is a really good actor.
In 1956, after graduating from college, Benchang You was assigned to work in Beijing Theatre, which started his walk-on career.
But he can't get the leading role, not because he is incompetent, but because he doesn't want to compete with others, and he doesn't like to get involved with others.
He has his own principles and is never bothered by fame and fortune. For him, as long as the play is good, every role deserves to be treated with care.
Even if he is a walk-on, he will read through the script and figure out the characters thoroughly. Even if he has no lines, he is full of plays in the corner where no one is there. This is his persistence in art.
In the rehearsal of the drama Thunderstorm, the serf he played didn't have a line, but Benchang You read 19 books for this role.
At the end of the drama, he had a chance to appear. It was just a tearful picture, but it was memorable.
And his performance is praised as "the most classic walk-on".
In 1966, Benchang You, at the age of 33, was forced to leave the theater and started his life in the countryside for ten years, so the golden age of his life was not spent on the stage.
the reality left him with nothing but wind and sand and scorching sun. In the years of decentralization, he worked as a locksmith, built houses and collected wheat.
He loves acting. Occasionally, in the fields, he will perform such a segment, which is watched with relish by enthusiastic villagers.
at that moment, he was telling his own story in the twilight, and the whole person came alive.
After going to the countryside, Benchang You returned to the theatre, still doing a humble walk-on.
But he has been performing hard, and because of his admiration for Chaplin, he also fell in love with pantomime.
However, pantomime is not very popular compared with the drama with both sound and emotion. At that time, Benchang You didn't have many audiences and didn't make much money.
But truly talented people will shine one day, and opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared.
In 1984, in a pantomime performance, Benchang You was photographed by Huang Yihe, the general director of the Spring Festival Evening, and got the opportunity to enter the stage of the Spring Festival Evening.
That year, his mime sketch "Shower" also became a classic in many people's hearts.
Without a line or any props,
He stood alone on the stage, facing the air, but he performed the actions of falling, undressing and turning on the tap vividly.
That's when Benchang You finally got a name in the audience's mind.
Moreover, after 28 years of running as a walk-on, he finally ushered in his 8th role, and this time he finally became the protagonist.
But when the director first found him, Benchang You refused without hesitation. So what happened?
After decades of struggle, Benchang You, 52, is still a little actor, running around for a living.
So when he received a phone call from his wife, he was so distracted for a moment. At that time, he was still filming in other places, but his wife called and said,
"There are people from Shanghai who want you to play Jigong. He is a leading role."
Benchang You was very excited when he heard that he was going to play Jigong, but he didn't promise at the first time. Instead, he asked his wife to tell him that he would think about it for a few days.
Just because he heard that his apprentice, Yan Shunkai, wanted to play this role, he was afraid that if he replaced this role, he would turn against each other, so he didn't dare to take it rashly.
Later, he learned that Yan Shunkai was the cast of a provincial TV station.
The one he played was made by Hangzhou TV station, but there was no conflict, so he accepted the role with peace of mind.
In order to play this role well, he really put a lot of effort into it. After reading a lot of classics, he decided to start with dressing up.
The original frock of the crew was clean and tidy, which Benchang You felt was not in line with the image of Jigong.
So he cut the clothes and sewed them again, only to change a new dress into rags. As for the broken fan, he scratched it with steel wire himself.
In order to be close to the role, he deliberately staggered and painted his teeth black himself.
An unkempt image of Jigong is vividly presented to the audience.
In the filming process, Benchang You has always attached great importance to depicting details. For example, there is a scene in the script in which Ji Gong and a corrupt official call each other brothers.
He thought it was very inappropriate. Ji Gong was crazy but had his own principles, so he revised the script.
Let people see the picture of Jigong making a scene in the Prime Minister's Mansion and voicing grievances for the people, and Jigong's character of specializing in human grievances is more deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Later, there was a picture of Jigong stealing steamed bread. He thought that eating for free made Jigong look like a rogue, and this kind of stealing behavior was likely to lead to bad children.
So after he took the steamed bread, he designed a piece of magic to blow the copper plate in front of the vendor.
Ji Gong's image of cynicism and adherence to principles is thus shaped little by little.
In addition to being true to the plot, he is also very dedicated in the filming process. As the protagonist, he has never enjoyed special treatment, but has suffered a lot.
At that time, he had to conceive and study the script every day before filming, and after filming, he had to sum up his reflection and try to improve it. He could only rest for 4 or 5 hours a day.
And in many shooting details, he is never vague. For example, there was a scene where he was hit by a board, and he was shot 12 times before and after, and he didn't know how many times he was hit.
Even the actor who played the official was extremely distressed, but he casually asked to continue. Although he had protective gear on him, he still couldn't stand up after the filming.
Ji Gong, who lives in the heart with wine and meat, often drinks and eats meat in the play, but when people envy Benchang You for eating and drinking at public expense, he doesn't enjoy it so much.
When Ji Gong was filming, it was in the hot summer. The elbow he bought the first day basically stinks the next day.
But when the director directed him to eat the elbow, he chewed it regardless, and it looked delicious.
It was not until the director called for a card that he finally couldn't help spitting it out.
Later, this picture was written into the textbook of Nortel to encourage the next generation of actors.
Benchang You, who spent half his life in filming, didn't get much pay. At that time, he only got 12 yuan for filming an episode, and the director gave him 15 yuan for the last episode.
The drama "Jigong" was shot for eight episodes, and he only took more than 1, yuan.
After the play was broadcast, it quickly spread all over the country. At that time, rubbing mud to save people became a trick imitated by many children.
And the character of helping the public to punish evil and promote good also deeply influenced a generation.
But after the fire, Benchang You didn't have a constant film appointment like others, but gradually became silent. Why?
In those days, Benchang You won the Golden Eagle Award for Best Actor directly with this drama.
Later, Jigong was successfully broadcast in Singapore, which also triggered an audience craze.
When Benchang You visited Singapore on behalf of everyone, an overseas Chinese held hands and said to him:
After hearing this, Benchang You was greatly shocked. He didn't expect that a small TV series could have such a great impact.
Since then, his script selection has become more stringent.
It is precisely because of this harshness that he finally has almost no drama to shoot. People just think that he is picky and is too stubborn.
And those scripts that he rejected, without exception, became nameless and nameless dramas.
For the pursuit of art, Benchang You has his own principles. His tricks are divided into three categories:
He once said, "I will never shoot works that are harmful to people, as long as they are worthy of the audience, I will shoot them. "
Benchang You has undoubtedly offended many people, and since then, few people have asked him to act.
In 1991, when Benchang You was on the rise in his career, his wife, Yang Huihua, was diagnosed with cancer. In order to take care of her, he resolutely quit the show business and gave up his beloved career.
he said, "I will take good care of her, or I will regret it at all."
He took his wife to visit famous doctors and even went abroad to see a doctor. After four years of anti-cancer struggle, her wife finally survived and slowly recovered.
Benchang You's wife was introduced by a friend. They met for the first time and went to see the sunrise. When the sun rose, the hearts of the two young people also burned.
Soon they came together. No matter whether they were rich or poor, their wife always stuck by him. When they got married, they had almost nothing.
But Yang Huihua insisted on marrying him, just because Benchang You said to her:
Facts have proved that Yang Huihua's choice is correct. From her hair to her hair, Benchang You never let her down. Their dedication to each other has propped up this small family.
However, my wife's condition has just improved, and my daughter doesn't need to stop. When the college entrance examination is coming, Benchang You's daughter is clamoring to drop out of school.
He tried every means to dissuade him, but it didn't work at all. Everyone has his own way to go.
He finally respected his daughter's choice, and now the child is older and has become a writer.
After solving the problem of his wife and children, Benchang You can finally return to the stage. However, the road after his comeback is still very difficult.
In 1994, Benchang You abandoned many films he didn't like and set up his own company. In his own way, he practiced the art in his heart.
In 22, out of his love for pantomime, he invested in filming Mr. You's Dumb Smile, but no TV station was willing to buy it.
pantomime is out of date, and not many people enjoy it now, so this time he almost got nothing.
Later, he made another film "Lost", but there was still no market and little money left on him.
He said, "Actors don't come into this world to make a living, they always leave a trace."
and this trace, of course, is not money and fame, but spiritual wealth left to future generations.
After losing money for two consecutive plays, Benchang You spent almost all his savings. People don't understand what he is still doing at such a big age.
But he is the only one who doesn't care. He thinks:
"If money serves to realize his life ideal, it is very worthwhile."