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.