Wu Lei: Growing like the wind, heading towards the future

As the first cover character of the first issue of “Esquire FineUP” e-magazine, we invited Wu Lei, a big boy who is passionate and thoughtful. Youth embodies endless creativity in him, “one section after another, one thousand branches and ten thousand leaves*.” In his most prosperous age, he went to snowy mountains and swam mountains and rivers, polished himself in his works, and explored the most consistent way of acting in life.

Note:*this saying come from a poem. The poem describes the integrity of the bamboo, which does not compete with the flowers for beauty and fragrance. It also refers to the author's own clean, self-contained, detached and close-to-nature way of life.

As we hope this magazine can convey to readers – the most interesting thing in life must be every moment now.

Actor Wu Lei

Become a “partner” with the character

When asked if he was worried about his acting career being restricted, Wu Lei replied without hesitation: “I’m worried”.

For many good-looking young actors, transition is always one of the biggest problems. But under the still youthful face, 22-year-old Wu Lei has a rationality and calmness that is rare among his peers.

Compared with pure anxiety, he feels that it is more important to find a solution, that is, to not presuppose the future and to perform every drama well in the present.

“Although I want to try all different types of roles, being an actor is a career that is choosen. I can’t act whatever I want. It often depends on fate.”

Explorer Wu Lei

Game with nature

When Wu Lei proposed to go camping in Ulan Butong, everyone around Wu Lei strongly opposed it. But two days before his 22nd birthday, Wu Lei still set out stubbornly.

Recalling this journey to pursue freedom, Wu Lei’s first impression is still about the coldness.

Wu Lei often had to take off his left glove because he had to take a camera while filming “# Riding This Reason “Riding for a Reason” vlog while rushing. After long-term exposure to low temperatures of tens of degrees below zero, Wu Lei’s left hand has lost feeling since the vlog ended. A week later, only the ring finger of his left hand still had sensation, and then it slowly recovered.

“In fact, it is still dangerous. Don’t imitate it easily. You can come to play in spring, summer, and autumn. But in winter, if you are not well prepared, you should not go or camp.”

Although he was severely frozen, Wu Lei still saw many beautiful things in Ulan Butong, such as the starry sky.

When night fell, Wu Lei looked up at the starry sky in Ulan Butong. He felt that the other side of the sky was so far away, so vast, and he was so small.

At that moment, rather than raising the camera, he wanted to record everything with his eyes.

Young Wu Lei

Rapid growth

As a young man, 22-year-old Wu Lei feels that the two states of “lying flat” and “rolling inwards” coexist in him.

“Contemporary young people talk about “lying flat”, but actually they are “rolling inwards”. When filming, I often say that I am tired and want to rest, but when it comes to actually shaping the characters, I still work tirelessly. It feels like I have endless strength and enthusiasm. So when I’m living, I want to lie flat, but when I’m working, I’ll roll myself up.”

He entered the industry at the age of 5, starred in his first drama at the age of 9, collaborated with Kong Sheng at the age of 14, and collaborated with Zhang Yimou at the age of 17. On the road to growth, Wu Lei was an extremely lucky child, but he was also a prematurely mature “adult”.

In cooperating with these masters, what he gained most was the craftsmanship of the creators.

“When filming with them, you can feel that they are really serious and meticulous. Whether it is the performance of the actors, the design of the shots, or even the costumes, they do not miss any detail. This actually requires a lot of energy and perseverance. Yes, I will really be moved by this spirit. When I see them doing this, I will also pay careful attention to every detail when performing and think about every cause and effect of the performance.”

He never believed in any horoscope, Chinese zodiac signs, or personality tests. As an actor, he often has to completely break and reshape himself, and he also has to communicate with many seniors and directors. At different stages, his personality will become different, and he will gradually revise and update his self-perception.

In the end, he generated a unique cognitive system in his body that only belonged to Wu Lei. Not being superstitious about definitions and not blindly evaluating is what Wu Lei sees as his “rebellious period.” Before the conversation, Wu Lei also learned about the popular MBTI test. The result was ISTJ (civil servant personality), quiet and conservative, but also loyal and reliable. This time, it’s rare that he felt like himself.

22-year-old Wu Lei still has great curiosity about the world. He wants to try other jobs as much as possible to enrich his life experience. But for now, what he loves most and what he hopes to do is still being an actor.

The sunny, child-like and boyish boy in front of the camera has actually already accelerated his growth among his peers.

“When a person feels that he is very young, he is already quite not young anymore; and when a person feels that he is very mature, it means that the person is not mature enough, because only a child will refuse to admit that he is a child.” Wu Lei said.

Source: Esquire