Wei Zi

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Wei Zi
Chinese name 巍子
Pinyin Wēi Zǐ (Mandarin)
Birth name 王巍 (Wáng Wēi)
Origin China
Born 1956 (age 51–52)
Ningxia, China
Occupation actor
Years active 1988 – present


Wei Zi (Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese: 巍子; born January 1956 in Ningxia, China) is a famous Chinese cinema and television actor.

Contents

[edit] Acting Career

In 1976, Wei Zi was admitted to the Ningxia College of Art where he studied for two years. He graduated in 1978 and was assigned to the Ningxia Repertory Theatre the same year.

In 1985 he was admitted to the Central Theatre Academy in Beijing. It was one of the two higher educational institutions of modern theatre in entire China and highly professional coming only second to the Shanghai Theatre Academy. In order to graduate from CTA, the students had to perform in a play entitled "Stories of Mulberry Village" based on Zhu Xiaoping's three novellas about hardship and struggles in a village in Northern China. Wei Zi had to play the role of a lunatic farmer and got the highest score for his performance. Later the play went public and unprecedentedly was a huge success. People's Daily described it as "Turning a New Leaf of China's Modern Theatre" and senior authorities such as drama master and Beijing People's Art Theater president Cao Yu and vice-president of the Chinese Film Artists' Association Chen Huangmei who seldom seen in public events attended the performance [1]. Wei Zi was nominated for and won the Plum Blossom Award for the best performer in 1988.

In January of 1989, Wei Zi was admitted to Beijing People's Art Theatre, a first-rate national theatre company of China where he was recognized as a National Class-A Actor (国家一级演员). He left BPAT in 1994.

Wei Zi's first appearance in front of the camera dates back to 1989 when he acted in the "Ballad of the Yellow River" , a film by the famous director Teng Wenji which describes the past lives of the people living along the old course of the Yellow River. It won the Best Director Award in the 14th Montréal World Film Festival [2]. Their cooperation continued in 1996 with "The Conquerer" and "The Story of Xiangxiang" and again in 2005 with another Montréal World Film Festival nominee[3] "Sunrise, Sunset",.

In 1992 he starred in his second movie "The Scientist Jiang Zhuying", a biographical based on the true life of Jiang Zhuying for which he was nominated for a best actor award at the Golden Rooster Awards. The film itself was awarded the Best Feature Film Prize by the Ministry of Radio, Film, and Television [4]. The same year Wei Zi appeared in his first TV drama entitled "Qing Man Zhu Jiang". In 1994 he was nominated again for the best actor award at the Golden Rooster Awards for his notable performance in the movie "Stay in the Village".

In 2000, China Central Television (CCTV) decided to produce a mainland adaptation of one of Jin Yong's Wuxia novels entitled The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. Wei Zi was offered the role of the negative character of the novel Yue Buqun because the director Huang Jianzhong believed that he was the only one who could perform that difficult character very well [5]. At first Wei Zi showed no interest in it since it was a martial arts themed project but agreed to read the script. Upon reading the scenario he noticed the dual characteristics of the hypocrite Yue Buqun who was wearing a gentleman's face while a devil was hidden inside him. Wei Zi found this a challenging role and finally expressed his acceptance of doing it. His successful development of the character was received quite well by both the audience and the critics and paved the way more for his further presence in the TV dramas. "The Great Dunhuang", "The Red Merchant Hu Xue Yan", "Thrill", "Betrayal", "The World's First Restaurant" and "DA Division" are some of his other notable series in the 21st century.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] TV Series

  • Wang Zhao Jun [6] 《王昭君》 (2007)
  • Blossom of Hibiscus Flowers [7] 《芙蓉花开》 (2006)
  • The Great Dunhuang [8] 《大敦煌》 (2006)
  • The Red Merchant Hu Xueyan [9] 《红顶商人胡雪岩》 (2006)
  • Undercover Swordman [10] 《剑出江南》 (2005)
  • Fan Hei Shi Ming [11] 《反黑使命》 (2005)
  • The World's First Restaurant [12] 《天下第一樓》 (2004)
  • Hong Qi Pu 《红旗谱》 (2004)
  • Wo Long Xiao Zhu Ge [13] 《卧龙小诸葛》 (2003)
  • The Price of Glory [14] 《刺虎》 (2003)
  • DA shi [15] 《DA师》 (2003)
  • Laughing in the Wind 《笑傲江湖》 (2001)
  • Fei Chang Jie Chu [16] 《非常接触》 (2001)
  • Betrayal [17] 《背叛》 (2001)
  • Feng Yu Ao Men 《风雨澳门》 (1999)
  • Qing Man Zhu Jiang 《情满珠江》 (1992)
  • Mei You Jia Yuan De Ling Hun 《没有家园的灵魂》
  • Jue Chu Feng Sheng 《绝处逢生》
  • Xie Se Nian Hua 《血色年华》
  • Yin Mou Yu Cheng Nuo 《阴谋与承诺》
  • Wen Rou Xian Jing 《温柔陷阱》
  • Sheng Si Cun Wang 《生死存亡》
  • Bai Ri Zhui Zong 《百日追踪》

[edit] Movies

  • Winter Waltz 《冬天的华尔兹》 (2006)
  • Sunrise, Sunset [18] 《日出日落》 (2005)
  • A Story of Xiangxiang [19] 《香香闹油坊》 (1996)
  • The Conqueror [20] 《征服者》 (1995)
  • The Day the Sun Turned Cold 《天国逆子》 (1994)
  • Liu Cun Cha Kan 《留村察看》 (1994)
  • Out of the Death Camp (1993)
  • The Scienctist Jiang Zhuying 《蒋筑英》 (1992)
  • Qing She Sha Shou 《青蛇杀手》

[edit] Notable Stage Performances

  • Stories of Mulberry Village 《桑树坪纪事》 (1988)
  • Tiger Tally 《虎符》

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links