Wu Lei: Growth is always happening

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

This is a line from a superhero, and it’s also a line that Wu Lei likes.

From a child star to a leading actor in a big drama, how much pressure will it be to grow up under the expectations of everyone? This question cannot be answered by you and me, but you must “tag” Wu Lei to answer.

2018 can be said to be a “Wu Lei year”, especially in the second half of the year, when he directly started to dominate the screen. In a schedule that is so busy that it is hard to breathe, searching and watching your own emoticons is one of the best ways to relax and make Wu Lei laugh to tears. The focus is not on the pictures, but on the imaginative words that netizens have added – “I’m only a teenager. I’m so tired. I’m dancing ballet in the desert.”

The interesting screenshots and the imaginative emoticons are really hilarious, and the key is that they are all true. He’s just a teenager, and it’s just very tiring – of course, that’s not Wu Lei in real life, that’s Li Cu in “Tomb of the Sea”, a leading actor whom he played with great enjoyment and sadness.

“There are green screen shots and many real scenes. It is very exciting to run and fight. It really feels like an archaeological excavation. Li Cu is not a perfect male protagonist, he is just a high school student, and because of his family background, his character is flawed. He is quite extreme and not very good at making friends. In fact, he doesn’t have many friends around him. I think it’s interesting and challenging for an immature and mentally fragile teenager to experience such an adventure, but sometimes it’s a bit sad – he’s in such a bad situation, and this male protagonist is not pleasant.”

The high school student who impulsively searched for treasure in the desert during the summer vacation turned into a counterattacking teenager in “Fights Break Sphere” in the autumn.When Wu Lei knew that he could act in this drama, he described his mood as “stupefied”.

From the perspective of honing his acting skills, he want to challenge playing Li Cu. But from the heart of a young man, Wu Lei is more excited to play Xiao Yan. “It’s very inspiring, from being a loser to finally achieve his goal and become the strong man of his dreams.” Needless to say, he is a huge fan of the original book.

“I went to class during the day and read at night. I hid under the covers and used the flashlight on my phone to stay up late to read.”

As a young celebrity, Wu Lei is very busy. “It’s much better now. I remember when calendar software was first introduced, it was really scary. I felt dizzy when I opened it. There were all kinds of notes and colors, and the whole calendar was like a rainbow.”

Gradually, he got used to the current rhythm. At least in Wu Lei, this energetic young man, we can deeply feel the saying “human potential is infinite”. “Fights Break Sphere” following “Tomb of the Sea” and Zhang Yimou’s new film “Shadow”, has also released a promotional special. Wu Lei, who is wielding a big sword, can make people feel his heroic spirit across the screen. From “Tomb of the Sea” to “Fights Break Sphere”, and then to “Shadow”, Wu Lei has challenged action scenes of different difficulty and types, and has done a good job in helping these action scenes to shape the characters. This is inseparable from the foundation he has trained in martial arts since he was a child, and his temper of striving for perfection in every action.

Compared to those young men on the screen, Wu Lei in real life has the same brilliant innocence, as well as admirable high emotional intelligence and thoughtfulness. When he encounters a question he is not sure about, he will stop and calculate the interview publishing cycle. “Well, it should be available for publication by then.”

“Rebellious period? I’m probably still in it now. I tend to stick to my own ideas, and sometimes I have some arguments with my family over work, but I never do anything out of line… Yes, yes, I’m seriously attached to my mobile phone. What app do I use most? WeChat is the most used, Weibo is the second, and the others are tied for third. As long as I download and use various software, I basically won’t delete them. I keep them all in my phone.”

As he gets older and has more room to shape his roles, “Young Hero” Wu Lei is gradually being asked a new question: “Will you consider taking on art films?”

“I will consider it if there is a suitable one. There are many kinds of art films, and I want to choose the ones that are close to reality and down-to-earth.”

In early August, Wu Lei unveiled his wax figure at Madame Tussauds Shanghai. The most vivid interpretation of this running pose is perhaps in this sentence. “I insisted on choosing this pose despite all the opposition. Everyone thought that I should choose a more handsome martial arts pose, but I think this running pose is more representative.”

“No matter how far you go, you must remember why you set out.” From taking the first step in his acting career at the age of 6 to becoming a promising teenager at the age of 18, Wu Lei has never slacked off and will continue to move forward with all his strength in the future.

Source: Harper’s Bazaar