Wu Lei: A Young Man Restraint and Love for Freedom

Wu Lei, who just celebrated his 20th birthday, has reached the “20s” of his life. On the road to adulthood, Wu Lei always maintained his passion for acting. He said, “Nothing can attract me more than acting.” Although Wu Lei is becoming more mature in the eyes of the audience, he still has a youthful vibe. He longs to experience the unfettered and free moments, and is willing to stick to what he wants to do. This cool boy is moving forward step by step with his feet on the ground.

On his 20th birthday, Wu Lei finally got his long-awaited driver’s license. He wore a yellow birthday hat and pink cartoon glasses and smiled very proudly. He had been waiting for too long, but he was not particularly excited. He calmly opened the door of the driver’s seat of the business car and drove the driver back. This first trip as a driver was not smooth. Wu Lei was stuck in traffic on the 5th Ring Road for more than an hour, and his foot was so weak when he stepped on the brake.

Due to his busy work schedule, Wu Lei took two years to get his driver’s license and almost missed the deadline. He also likes extreme sports. He wants to go skydiving in New Zealand the most. He especially wants to experience the feeling of freedom of falling freely in the air, but unfortunately he has never been able to do so.

Wu Lei became famous at a young age. Many of his life plans were constantly disrupted by various jobs, just like learning to drive and getting a driver’s license. Sometimes he really wanted to go on vacation, but he “failed again and again.” Fortunately, acting is the moment when he is most focused and enjoys it. When filming the TV series “Cross Fire”, there was a scene where the team won. Lu Xiaobei, played by Wu Lei, hugged his teammates to celebrate and at the same time also ready to accepted the moment of failure together. He said, “At that moment I felt like I was really a professional player. I really had a group of teammates who were united and loving. Sometimes you can’t tell whether they are your friends, your colleagues, or your teammates in the team.”

Wu Lei has been in the crew since he was a child, and he can feel the passion of his predecessors for acting every day. When the seniors finished a scene, the staff on the scene couldn’t help but applaud. This passion attracted him.

In real life, Wu Lei is also a person who “loves to act”. During interviews, he can always make people around him laugh. But sometimes, he prefers to be alone and do what he wants to do.

Actor Wu Lei is very stubborn. Every scene is important to him. In “Adoring”, there is a scene where the blind Chen Leyun, played by Wu Lei, walks to the school gate. His mother is holding a white shirt behind him to send him off. Chen Leyun turns around and gives his mother a thumbs up. At this moment of turning around, Wu Lei and the director had different opinions on whether Chen Leyun should smile or not. Wu Lei insisted on smiling, while the director insisted on not smiling. No one could convince the other, so they shot two versions before making the final decision. For Wu Lei, such scenes happen in almost every play.

In “Adoring”, Wu Lei plays a blind person for the first time. In order to prepare for the psychological process of this role, he visited the blind. During the conversation with them, he found that although they have lost their sight, they are still very brave and sunny, and bring beauty to others in their own way. Acting is Wu Lei’s way, and he hopes to bring beauty to the audience in his way.

Compared to when he was 18, Wu Lei feels that he is more patient at the age of 20. He was admitted to his ideal university and is “moving forward step by step with his feet on the ground.”

Conversation with Wu Lei

Men’s Uno: Do you think your mentality has changed since your 20th birthday compared to your 18th birthday?

Wu Lei: My mentality is actually not much different. I had just turned 18 at that time, and I was thinking about how to take the college entrance examination and the art examination. Now that I have been admitted to my ideal university, I’m in a state of mind to study hard, be down-to-earth, and move forward step by step. Maybe I’m more patient and mature now than I was then, and I’m calmer. As I get older, I feel that I’m becoming more and more clear about what I want.

Men’s Uno: What do you want most for your 20th birthday?

Wu Lei: Just do what I want to do, act in the roles I want to act in, and meet the people I want to meet.

Men’s Uno: Although you are growing slowly, what are the things you always want to stick to?

Wu Lei: People change, but what I don’t want to change is my dedication to my work. I don’t want to change in this aspect. I hope I can always do my best when filming or preparing for a play, and give my all to a role very carefully and patiently.

Men’s Uno: Have you ever done anything crazy to get into character?

Wu Lei: There is nothing crazy, it is almost the same, because different roles have different preparation methods. In “Adoring”, I played a blind person, so I looked up a lot of information about blind people, spent a lot of time practicing some of the blind people’s posture, and then understood their inner world; when I played “Cross Fire”, I also spent a lot of time preparing for the role, because that character also had some disability. But if it is a very ordinary character, there are actually many points about him that are worth pondering. No matter how big or small the challenge of this role is, there are many things worth pondering. It takes a lot of time. I spend a lot of time thinking about each character.

Men’s Uno: How long did it take you to prepare for the role of Chen Leyun in “Adoring”?

Wu Lei: You never feel like you’ve taken too long to prepare for a role, you know? You never feel like you’ve prepared enough, you always feel like you’re almost ready, but you’ll still wait a little longer before joining the crew.

Men’s Uno: If you are not preparing for a role, do you occasionally act?

Wu Lei: I would act for fun at school, and sometimes at home I would act while reading the script. I’m also a person who loves acting in my daily life

Men’s Uno: Do you get frustrated when you don’t act well?

Wu Lei: Every time after performing, I always feel that I could have done better, but the director is satisfied and OK. This is a repetitive thing. Because I always feel that I can do better, I feel a little regretful, but I think actors are beautiful because of these regrets.

Men’s Uno: Is there a goal you want to achieve?

Wu Lei: I have a very passionate and persistent attitude towards exploring the role, but as for the positioning and requirements of the role, I just hope to bring beauty to everyone through my work.

Men’s Uno: Do you consider yourself a stubborn person?

Wu Lei: In some aspects, yes. For example, when acting, I’m particularly stubborn about some things. When I read the script, including during auditions, I would repeatedly confirm a point what I want, and I would repeatedly tell the director what I want. In most cases, the director will think that this idea is good. Sometimes the director will also think if it’s feasible, then I will have some exchanges and communication with the director, which may last for a long time. Often in this case, we will shoot two versions because no one can convince the other. I think this is a good thing, because actors have requirements for their performances, and directors also have requirements for what they want.

Men’s Uno: What was the last time this happened during filming?

Wu Lei: This happens in every drama. But most of the time, the two people’s ideas can be combined. Only once in 20 times, for example, will you think that you are good this way and he is good that way, so who will be chosen? When no one can make a choice, we will shoot both versions.

Men’s Uno: Which animal do you think your personality is most similar to?

Wu Lei: I want to become a horse. I think horses are cool, handsome and free. The kind of horse that can run freely.

Men’s Uno: Is it important for you to be a cool person?

Wu Lei: I think it’s more important that my character is cool, because I myself cool.

Men’s Uno: You started acting at a very young age. Have you ever thought about what your other life would be like?

Wu Lei: I have thought about it, but I just can’t imagine it. I once joked with my family that with my personality, even if I didn’t become an actor, I would probably will also make my debut. Who knows, right? If I really didn’t want to be an actor, I would probably do a design job. For example, architect is very attractive to me. I was addicted to reading architecture books for a while. I still prefer to do creative work.

Men’s Uno: Actors are under a lot of pressure. Are there times when the pressure is so great that you can’t bear it?

Wu Lei: Everyone has such moments. Even if there is no pressure, people sometimes get irritable for no reason. So just adjust yourself.

Men’s Uno: Do you like to be alone when you are under a lot of pressure?

Wu Lei: Sometimes I like to be alone and do what I want to do most. I’m very efficient when I’m alone. You can read 25 episodes of the script in a day, but you can only read 5 or 10 episodes in a day when you laugh and joke with many people. The same is true for reading and playing games. Sometimes I can think through a lot of things when I’m alone.

Men’s Uno: Have you ever had a moment when you particularly wanted to escape from your current life?

Wu Lei: I sometimes want to go on vacation. Although I’ve been “trying but failed again and again” (in terms of having a vacation), I’m fine. I think work is a good thing and I like working.

Men’s Uno: Do you consider yourself a workaholic?

Wu Lei: I guess so.

Men’s Uno: Now that you are 20 years old, will you think about your life plan?

Wu Lei: Because the profession of an actor is full of unknowns, it is difficult to really plan anything, and you can only take it one step at a time. If I were to talk about a longer-term plan, I have already embarked on the path of an actor, and my plan is to act well and be a good person.

Men’s Uno: Besides acting, is there anything else you want to do?

Wu Lei: I don’t have anything else I particularly want to do right now. I’m also a “master of backing off”. In fact, there is really nothing that can attract me as much as acting.

Source: Men’s Uno