Tag: Esquire

[Interview] Wu Lei Interview for Esquire (September 2025)

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Wu Lei: On the Road

“We must go, and never stop before arriving.”

— Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Anyone who has watched Ride Now would find it hard to forget these scenes: By the shores of Sailimu Lake, between the grassland and snow mountains, Wu Lei rides the bicycle alone on the road. First, gritting his teeth through uphill struggles, then reveling in the exhilaration of downhill ride. Wind, rain, scorching sun, hail arrive unexpectedly; his face exposed to the nature, his sunburn and stubble clearly visible. Occasionally, he meets fellow travelers, sitting by the roadside to chat briefly, exchanging contact details before parting ways. More often, it’s cars passing by, phones held out from windows accompanied by a cheerful “Hi!” He simply smiles and responds, “Go quickly.” Then he continues pedaling, sweating, challenging his physical limits.

It’s an unpolished state: wild, natural, genuine, like the most primal existence. One person, one bike, one road, and boundless scenery. Wu Lei says that when he’s cycling, it’s just him alone, he does not overthink miscellaneous things. “It’s a chance to have a conversation with myself and explore more places along the way.”

This, perhaps, is Wu Lei’s “on the road.”

Physically on the Road

Wu Lei’s “on the road” is, first and foremost, a physical exploration.

Cycling is the most direct form of exploration. In the first season of Ride Now, he journeyed to the snow plains of Ulan Butong; in the second season, the vast Sailimu Lake in northern Xinjiang; and in the third season, he reached the volcano crater in Vanuatu. His reasons for choosing these places are simple and straightforward: beauty, vastness, and the unknown. He often saves numerous travel and cycling videos, as if drawing an unfinished map in his mind, and then uses his body to fulfill it step by step

So direct, so clear. Initially, he cycled alone, but later decided to share the process with the world. After the show aired, it almost instantly attracted massive attention. It’s rare to see a star display such a wild side. One viewer commented: “He traversed snow plains, rode horses to chase herds, experienced starry skies and sunrises, and still said ‘it’s okay’. He lives out the youthful dreams in extreme environments.”

During the 90-kilometer ride around Sailimu Lake, Wu Lei encountered almost every type of weather in just two short days: clear skies, strong winds, torrential rain, hail. He did not retreat but pushed forward. Through the camera lens, audiences could directly feel the chill and tension of those moments. “At the time, I felt my physical strength was sufficient, and the road conditions were manageable, so I wanted to challenge myself and persevered,” he said. In his eyes, extreme weather is not an obstacle but rather an experience gifted by the journey.

In his latest film Dongji Rescue, his body was pushed to another extreme—free diving. He joined the crew two months early for training. The film contains extensive underwater scenes, all shot in real environments without the use of a stunt double. Director Guan Hu noted in an interview, “Underwater practical shooting is the most difficult technique,” highlighting the immense challenge for the actor.

Wu Lei, who initially held a deep-seated fear of the ocean, trained his breath-holding to its limits. From basic movements to deep-water pressure adaptation, he gradually tamed his heartbeat and breathing. He says free diving is much like acting: “Both require finding your limits within extreme relaxation.” Underwater, he had to portray his character A-Dang’s intimate connection with the sea. “During the underwater shoots, everyone was challenging their own limits, but for the performance, I had to fully give my body and mind to the character.”

In the film, he rescues people at sea, swimming from a small boat to a warship. When trapped in the prisoner hold as the Lisbon Maru is sinking, he dives into the depths of the vessel, searching for an escape. As damaged parts of the ship collapse around him, he evades them, his body moving with fish-like agility. Under the sea, he and his character, A Dang, dived into the camera, and also into the depths of life.

After wrapping Dongji Rescue, Wu Lei took some time off. He didn’t come to a full stop but continued to pursue movement. He obtained his diving certification, treating the training as a form of “graduation.” He wanted to try skydiving, though it didn’t happen, his eyes still gleamed with a desire “to fly.” On his days off, he also learn a little bit about tea culture. Wu Lei says, “When I have the chance to rest, if something comes to mind, I just go and do it.” For him, the body must move first before the heart could truly arrive.

Characters on the Road

Wu Lei is an actor the audience has watched grow up. From the clever and alert young Fei Liu in Nirvana in Fire to the free-spirited and courageous Ashile Sun in The Long Ballad, a generation of viewers has witnessed his growth. Yet, in his own eyes, the more important thing is that each role is a new journey.

Dongji Rescue brought him to an unfamiliar place. The crew filmed in a remote village. At the first costume fitting, seeing his tanned skin and bare shoulders, he felt almost shy and could hardly believe it was himself. “I’ve rarely filming in such scanty clothing, but gradually, I got used to it.” In the film, his character A Dang is an outcast on the island. He and his brother, descendants of pirates, were once homeless. After being rescued, the two brothers faced rejection and lived independently on the far side of the island, fishing for a living and keeping apart from the villagers.

Yet A Dang has retained his innocence and kindness. Whenever there is trouble at sea, he rushes to help. When he sees someone drowning, he doesn’t ask where they’re from. His instinct simply tells him, “I must save them.” This is where the story begins.

To fully embody A Dang, Wu Lei crafted a detailed backstory for the character himself: his life story of being adopted as a child, the sense of duty he carries for his older brother, the self-tattooed patterns on his skin… These details, though never written into the script, became a silent dialogue between the actor and the role.

One scene that left a deep impression on him was set inside the prisoner-of-war hold. Entering the 1:1 replica of the space, dark, enclosed, and suffocating, he saw prisoners crammed like sardines in can beneath wooden beams and canvas, facing imminent death. The overwhelming sense of oppression and discomfort stirred in him a visceral connection to the past. He reflected on the tragic yet courageous real-life fishermen who risked gunfire to rescue British POWs (prisoner of war). “I hope this part of history becomes known to more people,” he said.

In another scene by the sea, after a British POW goes missing, Japanese troops arrive on the island threatening to massacre everyone unless the prisoner is handed over. Soon after, several villagers are killed. During filming, Wu Lei found it difficult to contain his anger. “Just recreating the scenes of that era through acting is already heartbreaking. I can’t help but think about the suffering our ancestors endured.” This emotion reshapes the performance and allows the character to tap into the essence of life.

For Wu Lei, acting is not about fulfilling a task. It is yet another form of being “on the road”: opening a new door, stepping into an unfamiliar world, and ultimately emerging transformed.

Mentality on the road

Whether it’s cycling or acting, Wu Lei’s key theme has always been “on the road.” Yet for him, this phrase signifies more than a romantic ideal of distant journeys. It reflects a simpler, more grounded choice: to live fully in the present, to cherish each moment, and to seek eternal strength in them.

Although he is now widely known for his love of cycling, he doesn’t force himself to stick with it indefinitely. “Maybe I love cycling now, but one day if I don’t, I’ll stop riding and find the next sport or hobby I enjoy. I won’t push myself to persist, but I also won’t stop moving.”

In Ride Now, he is not only the cyclist but also the director, cinematographer, planner, and one-person crew. He lets the camera capture reality, speaking when he feels like it, staying silent when he doesn’t. He captures his true self, his genuine vulnerability, but also the excitement and joy the journey brings. For example, after completing the loop around Sailimu Lake, he returned to retrieve a large stone he had placed at the starting point. Nestled in a circle of green grass, the stone lay quietly, waiting for him. He picked it up and captured that moment. “Because that,” he says, “is who I am at this very moment.”

If A Dang from Dongji Rescue and Wu Lei from Ride Now were placed in the same frame, what would they say to each other?

Wu Lei’s answer was simple: perhaps they wouldn’t say much at all. A single look would be enough.

“Come on, let me show you my treasure.”
“Yeah, let’s go and see my world.”

Finally, we asked him: What does “being on the road” mean to you?

His answer was brief yet moving:
“It’s every moment right now. I’m breathing, feeling the air of a new day. That’s me, on the road.”

Q&A

Esquire: When you first learned about Dongji Rescue, a project based on the true story of a sea rescue, what made you immediately decide to take on the role of A Dang, the fisherman?

Wu Lei: From the moment I read the script, I was deeply moved by the story. I also found in A Dang a character with ample room for creative interpretation. A role I felt strongly drawn to. I wrote a personal backstory for him: how he was found and adopted as a child, the tattoos I imagined he gave himself after seeing his older brother being bullied because he felt he needed to shoulder something for his brother. There were many small details like these. Later, through discussions with both directors and our crew, we gradually made A Dang more complete and richly layered. That entire process brought me a lot of joy.

Esquire: During the costume fitting, we heard that when you first saw your look in the film, you could hardly believe it was yourself. From feeling a bit shy to fully embracing the image, what kind of mental adjustment did you go through?

Wu Lei: For the sake of the film and the character, there’s nothing I can’t accept. At the beginning, it was indeed uncomfortable, I rarely shoot wearing so little but gradually I got used to it.

Esquire: We heard you originally had a fear of deep sea, yet pushed yourself to train until you could hold your breath for a long time. Could you talk more about that training process? Was there a moment when you first felt, “I might actually be able to do this”? You mentioned that “free diving is a lot like acting, both require finding your limits within extreme relaxation.” During the underwater filming, what did that “limit” specifically refer to?

Wu Lei: During my first training session, the coach explained a lot of theoretical knowledge about free diving and tested my basic abilities. Step by step, I was taught the correct breathing techniques, swimming postures, and gradually moved on to descending and ascending in deep water, maintaining neutral buoyancy, and finding balance underwater. Only after I gained a certain level of control over deep-water free diving, we began specialized training tailored to each specific scene, and I slowly started attempting underwater pressure adaptation.

It was a gradual process. Every day, I found small successes and a sense of achievement, which made me think, “I really can push my limits further” and “If I can already do this, then where exactly is my limit?”

During the underwater shoots, everyone was challenging their mental and physical limits. After all, being in deep water isn’t like being on land. The depth and the feeling of losing control can trigger instinctive fear. ach of us has a maximum breath-holding time , and I often saw our underwater cinematographers holding their breath with great effort, their diaphragms cramping continuously. But my character, A Dang, is someone with excellent swimming ability. Underwater, I had to portray his ease and affinity with the sea, giving my body and mind entirely to the performance. That in itself was quite a challenge.

Esquire: In filming Dongji Rescue, what left the deepest impression on you? How would you describe your breakthrough or growth as an actor in this project?

Wu Lei: The scene that left the strongest impression on me was the one where the villagers were killed. While filming, I really struggled to contain my anger. We live in an era of peace so just recreating those moments through performance was deeply painful. I couldn’t stop thinking about what it must have been like for our ancestors who actually lived through those times, the suffering and despair they endured.

Through this film, I experienced long-term, high-intensity underwater shooting for the first time. A completely different way of performing compared to working on land. It also pushed me to successfully learn free diving.

Esquire: We heard that after wrapping Dongji Rescue, you took some time off and spent your days doing various sports. Could you tell us more about that period? For example, you got your professional diving certification and mentioned wanting to try skydiving. Why did you choose to stay active instead of just lying down to rest? Was it a shift in your mindset?

Wu Lei: Having the chance to take some time off was really nice. It gave me a much-needed breather after a long period of filming. As for the diving certification, I’d been wanting to get it for a while but never had the time. Finally having the opportunity felt like a small graduation from all the training. Skydiving is something I’ve wanted to try for a long time, though I haven’t quite mustered the courage yet. Maybe one day, when I suddenly feel ready, I’ll go for it.

It wasn’t all about being active, though. I rested a lot too. When I have downtime, I tend to follow my impulses. If something comes to mind, I just go and do it. For example, during that break, I also learn a little bit about tea culture, though just scratching the surface.

Esquire: You come across as someone with a lot of energy. Beyond acting, you also pursue cycling. We’d love to hear more about how you selected the destinations for Ride Now. From Ulan Butong in the first season, to Northern Xinjiang in the second, and Vanuatu in the third. What made you choose these three places, and which ride made you first think, “I want to share this journey with everyone”?

Wu Lei: I often watch a lot of travel and cycling videos and save places I’d like to visit. Ulan Butong has stunning snow plains, Northern Xinjiang’s Sailimu Lake is incredibly vast, and Vanuatu is one of the few places where you can get up close to an active volcano.

The decision to share was actually quite spontaneous. I had just gotten into cycling and happened to be heading to another city for filming, so I bought some gear on a whim and hit the road. It was also by chance that people responded so positively. There was a lot of feedback and support. That casual sharing gradually evolved into the Ride Now vlog, and it took on a deeper meaning for me.

Esquire: When did you first start cycling, and what do you feel during your rides?

Wu Lei: Cycling helps me relax. During those moments, it’s just me and the road. As long as it’s safe, I don’t overthink miscellaneous things. It’s a chance to have a conversation with myself and explore more places along the way.

Esquire: In the first episode of the Northern Xinjiang chapter, you cycled 90 kilometers alone around Sailimu Lake and suddenly encountered hail. You later said, “Sailimu Lake was quite generous. It let me experience every type of weather in just two days.” It seems even extreme weather feels like a valuable experience to you. Was that the most dangerous situation you’ve faced on a ride? Why did you choose to keep going instead of seeking shelter?

Wu Lei: It wasn’t particularly dangerous, I had a team with me. If I had run out of strength, there would have been people to help me. Everyone should assess their abilities and prioritize safety when encountering extreme weather outdoors.

At the time, I felt my energy was still sufficient and the road conditions were manageable, so I decided to challenge myself and keep going.

Esquire: In this project, you serve simultaneously as the director, writer, and cinematographer. When the lens is turned toward yourself, how do you decide “which vulnerabilities can be left in”? For example, you mentioned that if you don’t feel like speaking, you stay silent. What does cycling mean to you? Is it an escape from your daily life as an actor and public figure, or is it another form of creation?

Wu Lei: Everything can be left in because it’s all part of who I am in that moment. Well, except for the time when I was afraid of little monsters in the water. Now, I think about it, I’m not afraid anymore.

Cycling is a way for me to clear my mind. I might love it now, but if one day I don’t, I’ll stop, and find the next sport or hobby I enjoy. I won’t force myself to persist, but I also won’t stop moving.

Riding is truly a form of rest for me. It takes me out into a bigger world, and along the way, I’m also documenting and growing.

Esquire: If A Dang from Dongji Rescue and Wu Lei from Ride Now were edited into the same scene, what do you think their opening lines would be?

Wu Lei: I don’t think they’d say much at all. Just a look. “Come on, let me show you my treasure.”
“Yeah, let’s go and see my world.”

Esquire: So far, only two episodes of Season 3 have been released. Planning for the rest of the season is already underway. While the route remains a secret, could you reveal one small item you “must bring on the road” and its significance?

Wu Lei: I bring my eyes and my brain. To see and to remember all the scenery.

Esquire: How do you interpret the phrase “on the road”?

Wu Lei: It’s every moment right now. I’m breathing, feeling the air of a new day. That’s me, on the road.

Source: Esquire

240414 [Interview] Wu Lei: His eyes make decisions | Esquire Magazine April 2024

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One notices, if one will trust one’s eyes,
The shadow cast by language upon truth:

The bright and brutal surfaces of things
Awaited the decision of his eyes,

W. H. Auden, “Kairos and Logos”

Translation to the interview below credit to @eowuli.

“It’s so easy, that’s why so difficult to portray”

Before receiving the script for «Dwelling by the West Lake», Wu Lei had already seen Director Gu Xiaogang’s first movie «Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains». That movie first won the Best Picture Award at the 2019 FIRST International Film Festival, and later was selected as one of the top ten films of the 2020 French «Cahiers du Cinéma», obtaining recognition from numerous authoritative awards. The flowing Shanshui paintings, the rich urban atmosphere, the natural amateur actors… Wu Lei has a deep memory of this last point. He remembers watching «Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains» in an afternoon, thinking about acting for a long time.

In 2022, when he received the script with the director’s name printed on it, Wu Lei was «taken aback», he didn’t expect fate to come so soon.

“Everything is so perfect, so in line with your heart but instead, when this time comes, you chicken out.”

Wu Lei says. Taking this role means he had to challenge an artistic movie for the first time, he was worried of not being ready yet.

“I don’t know if I made myself clear?” Facing the mirror after shaving, another day of work starts and he adds: “I was afraid of not being as outstanding as the actors in the director’s previous movie.” It’s not just a single scene, but it’s the entire performance, he thinks he did not seize it well.

From the beginning, Gu Xiaogang was certain that Wu Lei is the He Mulian he was looking for. «Dwelling by the West Lake» is the second volume of his Shanshui paintings series. Human nature is like plants and trees, he wants to explore the initiatives that humans can take in their passive destiny. The He Mulian in his mind is a son of nature, mythical just as in the Buddhist story «Mulian rescues his mother» and he is also a young man from the city who has accepted the modern culture, following the life trajectory of a young person nowadays. Wu Lei is healthy, sunny, athletic and his appearance fits the image of a son of nature he had in mind. More importantly,

“Wu Lei has also a pair of limpid eyes, those eyes will make the person in front of the camera believe that he has a mysterious and subtle connection with nature.”

Jiang Qingin plays Wu Taihua, He Mulian’s mother, in « Dwelling by the West Lake ». She believes Wu Lei is an actor who has a clear understanding of himself and acting. Because he has a sense of responsibility, that’s why he thinks a lot.

The movie is divided into three acts, ‘tea’ signifies human in the grass and trees, corresponding to tea mountains, human world, the forest. Wu Lei is not so willing to recall the details of the second act’s filming. In this act, mother Wu Taihua accidentally joins a pyramid scheme organization after losing her job of picking tea leaves and son He Mulian tries hard to save her resulting in a series of conflicts between mother and son. Later, the highly discussed scene took place under the bridge, with the mother slapping and yelling at his son who reported her to the police, “Even if I don’t earn a single penny, I’m still willing to, I’m happy to.” The two actors’ crying were gut-wrenching, Wu Lei says, “It was a painful and somewhat an embarrassing memory.” But at that time, he just said to Jiang Qinqin who plays Wu Taihua, “Sis, just slap me. Just hit me, you are helping me.” After finishing that scene, he cried for an hour.

How to understand Mother’s outburst? Wu Lei tells, “People’s joys and sorrows are not intertwined, and intention and love don’t always adapt to each other.” Wu Taihua’s desire for love has always been overlooked by her son. She attempted to ask him, “What do you think of Uncle Qian?” The son couldn’t hide his dissatisfaction and replied, “Mom, I can take care of you.” The son has never stopped looking for his father who has never given news, seeking the truth that Wu Taihua refuses to reveal. “They don’t fully understand each other.”

One scene that Wu Lei likes is when Mulian and Taihua lean against each other at the Leifeng Pagoda, discussing about settling down in Hangzhou. The mountains fade away in the distance, and the opposite side brings the sound of the Nanping Evening Bell. Poetic visuals, warm emotions. When filming in the mountains during breaks, he would lie directly on the ground, watching the heart shape outlined by the trees in the air.

He thinks He Mulian is not complicated at all, he is very simple, that’s why he is so hard to portray. “He is like a lotus that emerges from the mud unstained, pure, without distracting thoughts. This kind of simplicity is not possessed by a lot of people, including me who needs to make a lot of efforts to find this feeling of simplicity.”

“Clean eyes”

Eyes. The directors who have collaborated with Wu Lei often mention those eyes. Director Li Xue of «Nirvana in Fire» said in an interview that during the casting of Fei Liu, the initial selected actors did not have this kind of clean things that can be found in this kid’s eyes. If Wu Lei won the Most Promising Actor Award at the China TV Drama Awards for his character Fei Liu as a fifteen or sixteen-year-old child actor, then this consistent temperament he had for Dwelling by the West Lake» is even more precious.

Chen Jianbin plays the second male lead in «Dwelling by the West Lake». During Dong Yuhui’s livestream, he talked about his impression of Wu Lei, “The first time I had a scene with Wu Lei was when I stood in front of the tea house and he was coming down the mountains by bike. I thought he was so full of energy, very healthy. When he is in front of me, I glance at him and I feel like I can catch his heart just by looking through his eyes. He really has a pure pair of eyes.” He debuted as a child star, with nearly 20 years of acting experience, Chen Jianbin says of Wu Lei that he is “a young actor with an old soul”. “After all, he’s been wandering in this complex world for so long, and he spent his childhood in various filming sets. Actually, rude behaviors are hard to avoid but he has really good mechanisms to eliminate these and maintain a good mindset. There’s this force in him that makes me really moved.”

Eliminating distracting thoughts requires full focus on acting itself. Director Chen Changfen of «Nothing but You» once shared, that Wu Lei doesn’t sit on the standard lounge chair, but prefers to sit on a small stool he brought himself. During a summer of over 40°C in Shenzhen, the character that Wu Lei portrays, Song Sanchuan needed to play tennis non-stop. After only playing for 10 minutes, Wu Lei’s makeup started melting off and he simply decided to stay barefaced. He can accept it. Not only does he hope to be as close as his character in terms of tennis skills, but also to demonstrate the sincerity and the health of an athlete.

Few people will doubt Wu Lei’s self-discipline and hard work. He may be the young man who knows how to ride horses the most. You look at him riding a horse across Ulan Butong snowfields under minus 28°C and you have to admire the power he has in pulling the reins in one hand, and his astonishing vision, he can see horses and roe deers when they are only a black dot in the distance. In «My Country, My Parents», «Chengfeng» part, Wu Jing who has collaborated with Wu Lei, described him as «an actor who complies with everything unconditionally», “can you start practicing horse riding one month in advance ? Yes. Can you be shirtless? Yes. Can you tan ? Yes. Can you shave your head ? Yes.” When filming a fight scene with guns, a bullet exploded and Wu Lei’s face got injured. He persisted until the end of shooting to seek medical attention.

Besides being dedicated to his work, Wu Lei is also very intelligent. He debuted at 6 years old, and he obtained Nezha’s role on his own. The assistant director of «The Legend of the Hero» went to his school to cast actors, Wu Lei did not think twice and chased after him. He shouted, “Brother, I’m also an actor. Take a few shots of me too.” When he was still a child, he said in a program,

“I want to be an actor, but I have this thought, I don’t want to be a stupid actor, I want to be a smart actor.”

What is a smart actor ? Having a clear knowledge of how to treat a project may be one of the expressions of intelligence. Although Wu Lei says his criterion of judgment for a script is “I like it so it’s good”, it’s a broad criterion. But a busybody still can find out some clues of “what they like”. When he accepted «Nothing but You», he said the script has a very advanced perception of love and he cannot miss it. It’s proven by facts, this drama is one of the few urban romance dramas that “does not contain industrial saccharin” at all. Looking at each other on the same level, exploring a relationship that they mutually work on, this drama got a Douban rating of 8.2.

He accepted «Love like the Galaxy» because of its complexity.

Later, when he talked about his understanding of the young general Ling Buyi, he would always mention this seemingly unimportant line, “I never eat after lunch”, after noon I don’t eat anymore, if I eat too much, I feel sleepy and I lose my fighting spirit.

This is the key to his character. When he can’t understand a character, he will study the character’s behavior, and will have strict demands for himself. During the filming of «Love like the Galaxy», he would work out no matter how late it was, forcing his body to remain in a tough state. He forced himself to understand the character’s spirit of restlessly seeking for revenge. In the script, Ling Buyi’s line would always start with ‘I, Ling…’, Wu Lei changed every ‘I, Ling’ to ‘I… ‘. His understanding is, considering his emotional journey, Ling Buyi would never call himself ‘I, Ling’.

Others would consider «Love like the Galaxy» as a shifting point. Not only because this is the character that went out of the circle after his character Fei Liu from «Nirvana in Fire», but it is also because in this drama, Wu Lei has once again transformed his image on screen. Ling Buyi’s character is so suspicious, ruthless and dark which is far from Wu Lei’s true nature. To some extent, Wu Lei completed his transformation from a little boy, a little brother to a man, a boyfriend through Ling Buyi.

Regarding acting, Wu Lei may not have ambition written on his face but he has enough patience. “An actor definitely has stages but the limitations of this stage should be determined by yourself, there is no standard answer to what I should film. A lot of things should come naturally, they cannot be forced. I used to think that I can only see such a great script like «Dwelling by the West Lake», such a great story, such a great director only after 35 years old. Who could have thought that I would meet it less than two years after liking «Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains» so much ?” He always thinks that the road is still long. In the early stage of his career, he was lucky enough to be appreciated and favored by the audience, he said it gave him reassurance and he felt tolerated. It made him feel like he has plenty of time to meet each of his character.

“Acting is the happiest profession in the world”

20 years after debuting, “veteran actor” Wu Lei no longer likes sharing his thoughts on acting with the outside world, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell or that there are some untold mysteries but it’s because acting has become more and more private, I feel like I should think about it alone. Many things taste different when told.”

In «Dwelling by the West Lake», He Mulian is a young man who struggles to find a job after graduating with an unclear future. This is a difficulty that many young people will inevitably face one day. Wu Lei started working very early, and it seems his future is not a problem for him. But he states, “My worries are probably similar to Mulian’s. I want to keep on acting, but sometimes actors become jobless after finishing filming. When I’m on break, I still want to film, so I’m similar to Mulian who needs to find a job.”

The outside world’s expectations are one thing, Wu Lei says, what he wants to do most is to prove himself to himself. At age 18, he played the role of young warrior Yang Ping in Zhang Yimou’s movie «Shadow» and shortly after, he was admitted in Beijing Film Academy with the highest score of the country. After reaching legal age, he took a step after another and broke through his image, creating well-loved characters such as Ashile Sun, Zheng Yuxing, Ling Buyi, Song Sanchuan, Lin Yiyang and He Mulian. Wu Lei is overall satisfied with his works in recent years, “Anyway, I have satisfied my expectations.” Doubts appear more often during the daily breaks between filming, worrying and thinking of the characters and details. There are times when he wanted to stop working so hard, but after calming down, after finding reason, he still felt, or rather he increasingly felt, being an actor is the happiest profession in the world.

“After all, aren’t we working hard for ourselves most of the time ? I will treasure it.”

In the past two years, the happiest moment in Wu Lei’s life was probably filming «Ride Now». He likes riding bikes, from Quanzhou to Xiamen, cycling around Qingdao Lake with his friends or stepping alone on the long road around Sailimu Lake. Over the past three years, behind the more and more qualitative production of his videos, is Wu Lei’s wholehearted dedication. He is not only a cyclist, he is also a director, a planner. Executing it is really not an easy task. He always shoots videos when the filming team is changing location or after the wrapping of his work. For him, “being on the road” is also like resting. “I like riding bicycles, I am doing something that makes me happy and during that process, I also received some love, I feel so lucky.”

Lucky, Wu Lei repeatedly emphasized. He didn’t feel tired filming one project after another. In reality, actor Wu Lei has never wanted to take a break,

“In this world, which young person doesn’t work hard ? I don’t work that hard anymore. I’m so lucky to have all of this, so I have no right to complain.”

Wu Lei is good at learning through his roles. He learned from Song Sanchuan what an outstanding boy can look like : respecting women, the sense of responsibility, the courage of a man. He maintains a friendly teacher student relationship with seniors of the industry. In the filming team of «Dwelling by the West Lake», he and «Sister Qin» both got baptized by the script like battle companions and from Chen Jianbin, he learned a more open way to regard performance.

At the same time, Wu Lei is also good at finding fun in life. Gaming, eating takeout all can make him happy. What if we use three words to describe ourselves?

He says he would answer : My gaming skills are extremely high, I know how to order takeout, I can easily remember how long each food needs to be boiled in a lamb hotpot.

After the interview, he started playing with a children’s skateboard, bent over and walked back and forth in the hallway with excitement. He just subtly switched from serious to relaxed, from stable and mature to lively like a young a man. It reminds people of Chen Jianbin’s description, Wu Lei is “a young actor with an old soul.”

Original article: Esquire WeChat

[Interview] Wu Lei Interview for Esquire Magazine (August 2022)

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There is no winning or losing in life

Keep going to the next stage of your journey

The high-spirited and unrestrained young man is vividly reflected in Wu Lei. Even if it is an unconstrained idea, he will try it vigorously and vigorously. Experience life in his own unique way, live to the fullest, enjoy life, and then give back everything you gain to the career you love. For him, youth is a bargaining chip, it doesn’t matter who wins, as long as he has the courage to start, it grand enough.

01. Pass

If you search Wu Lei’s name in real time recently, you will find that netizens are sighing: Wu Lei has grown up. Whether it’s in “The Long Ballad” or “Love Like The Galaxy”, Wu Lei’s characters have experienced an image change compared to before, losing their childishness and becoming mature. Some people say that watching Wu Lei’s growth has made them “experience the power of transformation”, while others have not yet recovered from the visual impact of his dazzlingly good figure.

Actors who started acting when they were young may face a stage where the audience is so impressed with their childhood that they need a long adaptation period to accept the changes in the actor’s character image. However, Wu Lei is very open-minded about this issue, “Everyone has an ‘inherent impression’ of me, which is at least an impression. As long as there is an “impression”, it is a good thing for an actor. The biggest fear is that people have no impression of the characters you have played, right?” he asked. “I accept all the impressions everyone has of me. I’m an actor, I’m still young, I can do everything I can to perform every role well, and then do my best to make each role vivid, so that the image of each role is independent, and everyone can gradually feel the different me.”

Read more: [Interview] Wu Lei Interview for Esquire Magazine (August 2022)

In addition to carefully studying the script and discussing the plot with the director, Wu Lei described his way of thinking about acting skills in one sentence, that is: living with the character . “Actually, every time I play a character, I really live the same life as the character. I try to live his life every day to experience his inner fluctuations.”

The young general Ling Buyi in “Love Like The Galaxy” is actually not an easy role to play. Even Wu Lei himself said that this is one of the “most tiring” roles in recent years. It does not refer to physical suffering, but to inner “torture”. “There is nothing sloppy about him, and he does everything to the extreme. If you love someone, you must love it to the extreme, and revenge must be done to the extreme. It is black and white, and there is no in-between. He is suspicious, scheming, and scheming every day. He obviously has many ways to seek revenge, but he always chooses the one that feels the most satisfying in his heart, and forces himself to do everything to the extreme.”

In Wu Lei’s words, this is a somewhat “crazy” character. He was afraid that such an “emotional” character will be interpreted in a hollow and superficial manner by himself, so he hopes thope that through some performance details, the audience can intuitively feel Ling Buyi’s subtielty and gloom. “Ling Buyi did a lot of unexpected actions. As for me, I hope to rationalize it all. Everything has a cause and effect, and everything has a trace. So I studied a lot on the script and original work, and the director also gave me a lot of help.”

In order to experience Ling Buyi’s feeling of carrying a blood feud, and thus tempering his character and clarifying his own feelings every day, Wu Lei put a lot of effort into himself in order to resonate with the character’s heart. “I saw a lot of people on the Internet saying that I was too thin. In fact, I did it myself. You know, right? When I was filming this movie, I worked out almost every day. For example, when I finished work at 11 o’clock and went back, I would be 12 I will go to the gym at 12 o’clock, so I will start working out at 12:30. If it is too late, I will also do a set of simple aerobics. I also eat vegetarian diet, to keep myself in a capable and lean state, in order to find a little bit of Ling Buyi’s real sense of life in my own life.”

When talking about the topic of breakthroughs in acting, Wu Lei bluntly said that in fact, every role will encounter various difficulties, and he will use different methods to get close to the inner world of each character. In the eyes of the audience, the contrast between his characters in a certain drama may be particularly great, but for Wu Lei himself, these are all works that require hard work to achieve. “The most important thing is that I need to understand life more and enrich my experience and inner qualities, so that I can deal with different scenes more freely.”

At this moment, you seem to feel that the young man Wu Lei and the character Ling Buyi overlap to some extent, and they use their own way to overcome the obstacles.

02. Call

“As many roles as I have played, there are as many past lives as I have played.” Wu Lei himself said this. When we mentioned his “famous saying” again, Wu Lei was a little embarrassed and said that he actually wanted to take it back. “This is all said before, but now it always sounds a bit unconventional.” He said frankly with a smile: “But there is indeed nothing wrong with the truth. An actor is like a modern person walking around in the world with memories of past lives. Those “past events” will more or less produce “body memories” for the actor himself.” Wu Lei also feels that every time he plays a drama, his whole state will be affected by the character.

“A friend of mine once said that every time I play a different role in a movie, my whole state will change. For example, when I played Xiao Chuang in <Our Times>, I was laughing and carefree, but when we met again when I was filming “Love Like The Galaxy”, he felt like I was a bit fiercer. The characters will indeed have an impact on me. This impact will gradually weaken after the filming is completed, but they will still affect me to some extent.” Whenever he encounter difficulties, Wu Lei will ask himself: What would Xiao Chuang do? What would Ling Buyi do? Ling Buyi had to overcome so many difficulties to achieve his goal. What would he think of his minor injuries and pains? “For example, when I’m working out,” Wu Lei gave me an example, “the last one or two super sets are too demanding on the body. Sometimes I’m too tired and can’t push, so I’ll yell Ling Buyi name in my head, and then it seemed like he would really come out and help me push up.”

Wu Lei often uses a similar method to “summon” Xiao Yan in <Fights Break Sphere>, “Because he is a different type of male protagonist and he is very cool.” He gave me boyish answer. Maybe every boy has a heroic dream in his heart: “Whenever you encounter something that you can’t handle in life, you will wish that you are Xiao Yan.”

What’s interesting is that he often feels that although each of his characters is different, they all have similar qualities: persistance and perseverance . He hopes that both the energy inherent in the character and his own hard work and enthusiasm when playing the role can always be maintained and preserved. “Like elves,” he defined these spiritual companions who had been with him for several months. “When I need help in my heart, I will call them out, accompany me on a journey, and cheer me up.”

Filming also gave Wu Lei a lot of new skills to hone. His big data recommendations on the homepage will be changed every three months on average, and the content will always change according to the needs of the work being filmed. When he was filming <Upcoming Summer>, the screen was filled with electronic audio and video, and when he was filming <Dwelling By The West Lake>, everything was replaced by plants. When he accepted this interview, he was in the filming period of <Nothing But You>. There is no doubt that the recommendations on his homepage will become tennis-related.

“In <Nothing But You> I played a tennis player. Although the filming has not been completed yet, I have a hunch that I will play tennis often in the future.” These new skills acquired have also become interests and hobbies in Wu Lei’s private life. A pot of flowers, a starry sky, a horse… Everywhere posted on Weibo is a trace of Wu Lei’s filming, and every place is a trace of Wu Lei’s life.

Young people always have endless energy and are full of freshness and curiosity. “These skills are firstly really interesting, secondly they are necessary for shooting, and thirdly, after you learn them, you find that they are indeed worthy of liking and persevering.” Perhaps it is precisely because of his youth that he isn’t afraid of trial and error, have no worries, and want to try everything. He said, “when you like it in your heart, nothing is really difficult.” 

The movie <All Ears> also unlocked another “achievement” for him, which was his third time collaboration with Hu Ge. “I was still young at that time and knew little about acting, but now that I have had time and experience to polish it, I can now try to talk about acting with Lao Hu!” Talking about this cooperation, he sounded a little happy: “I have changed a little bit, and I am no longer a child in terms of age. But the feeling of Teacher Hu Ge has really not changed at all, he is still the same as before, he has always been so gentle and elegant, and has never changed.”

In fact, it’s not just Hu Ge. In other reports, we often see comparison photos of Wu Lei and other senior actors “before and now” on the hot search. He used to play a son, but now he plays a younger brother; the boy who used to play a cute little boy now has his own love interest in the drama. For Wu Lei, this is just a gradual growth process, but from the perspective of the audience, it is accompanying him through growth and transformation.

Wu Lei, who has been long-awaited and is famous in the audience’s list of “young boyfriends”, finally has a mature woman-younger man relationship in <Nothing But You>, fulfilling the dreams of many netizens. When asked what he thought about love with an age gap, he seriously replied: “All love is equal.”

03. Grow

Halfway through the interview, we realized that we shouldn’t try to guess or pry into his heart. Young people’s minds are always free and unconstrained. When asked if there was anything special about choosing a script, he unexpectedly replied: “It depends on how you feel.” As if he was afraid that we would take it as a joke, he added: “You can just write it in the original words.”

Whether it is netizens, people around him or colleagues, they often give him various suggestions, be it dramas or comedies, movies or TV series. The incoming opinions sometimes even contradict each other, but he thinks clearly, “Because being an actor is a chosen profession, I don’t deliberately pursue any type of script or type of role. I don’t set any standards. If you encounter it, you’ll encounter it. Just let it happen.” Choosing a script is a bit like an exam for him. No one can choose the question type. Don’t think too much, just pick up the pen and answer them one by one.

“So you don’t care much about the outside world’s opinions?” I couldn’t help but ask. Wu Lei denied it, “as an actor, it’s impossible not to care about the outside world’s opinions, because to put it bluntly, being an actor is a profession that relies on the outside world for survival, so I definitely care.” Then he changed the topic: “Everyone gets good or bad comments. I read the good ones and the bad ones. I don’t necessarily agree with them all, but I won’t rest on my laurels and listen selectively. I think I still have to face myself objectively. We must also face others objectively.”

Using “become famous since he was a young teenager ” to describe Wu Lei is not appropriate enough. It should be said that he is “become famous since he was a kid.” As a young actor who has attracted public attention, he has been filming for more than ten years since he entered everyone’s field of vision at the age of five. It is particularly important to maintain his original intention and not to follow what others say. Not only when dealing with external voices, but also when dealing with people around him, Wu Lei will retain some of his own thoughts, “Because I think actors must have their own opinions and attitudes, otherwise they will lose themselves. If you don’t have your own thoughts, then the character you perform may be soulless and lifeless.”

“Where do you think you will be in ten years?” we asked him. “Myself in ten years… I think I should still be acting.” He added humorously: “But maybe my hair won’t be so lush anymore.” ​​”In this industry, we often need to style your hair and use various glues every day. When I take care of my hair, I feel that it is not as obedient as it used to be.” Wu Lei said with a smile: “Actually, I have not set any special goals for myself in ten years. As an actor, everyone hopes to create a particularly good and shocking work that can bring more touching and positive energy to people, or produce some value. But this is not something I can get just because I want it. I can only take one step at a time, work with a normal heart, enrich my life, and play every role to the fullest. Sooner or later, that moment will come. I still have some confidence in this.”

During the interview, I was amused by his quirky answers from time to time, and I was often impressed by his candor. Perhaps Wu Lei’s personality just confirms his name, which is upright, solid and magnanimous. The young and flamboyant talent and charm are like the spreading grass, growing wantonly on this sturdy stone.

04. Encounter

Wu Lei has recently been watching a TV Series called “Severance” in his spare time: “The setting is very exciting and unexpected.” He likes things that are unexpected, and his life often does not follow the routine. One moment he can sit upright, and the next moment he have a sudden thought. Once, while lying in bed in the middle of the night, he had a whim, and for some unknown reason, he came up with the idea of buying a trumpet. But when the express delivery arrived, he completely forgot about it. “”But I still really studied on my own. For the first three days, I didn’t even blow a sound. I thought: Look, everything is difficult at the beginning, and it is also difficult to play a trumpet. When I blow a sound for the first sound, I felt very accomplished. Xiaobei (my pet dog) was a little surprised when he heard the sound of the trumpet for the first time and ran away.”

When he mentioned his pet dog Xiaobei, he started talking endlessly. Xiaobei’s arrival was also an unplanned event. At Shenzhen North Railway Station in 2020, he accidentally encountered this stray puppy while passing by. The special fate made Wu Lei decide to adopt it. Because they met at Shenzhen North Railway Station, she was named “Xiaobei”. “But her surname was Ling recently,” he said. “Whatever my surname in the play I am playing, she will follow that surname.”

When filming, Xiaobei would follow in Wu Lei’s footsteps and travel with him. She has an easy-going personality and is not afraid of meeting people. She gets along well with everyone and is extremely happy. “I also let her appear in this series of films. It went very smoothly and turned out very well. I am very satisfied.” He praised three times in a row with excitement.

Out of interest, Wu Lei has traveled to many places over the years. He would ride a bicycle for dozens of kilometers from one city to another. He can also ride a horse galloping, and enjoy a happy life on the snowy fields of a foreign lands with fresh clothes and vigorous horses.

The romantic feelings of young people are reflected in the setting sun when they reach the other shore, in the misty mountains and rivers, and in the night when they look up at the Milky Way. “When I went to Ulan Butong, I saw the most unforgettable scene in my life. When I rode up to the highest mountain in the snowy field, I saw the sun pouring on the earth and connecting with the sky. It was so shocking. I will never forget it in my life. When I wait for other seasons in the future, I want to go there again.” When describing the past experiences of witnessing the wonders, his voice was filled with uncontrollable excitement.

He will also make these experiences into Vlogs or personal micro-variety shows as part of his experience of life, recording the beautiful scenery he encounters to share with everyone. Whether it’s “Men’s Riding Club” or “Riding for a Reason”, the vitality that coming upon you demonstrate his smart and true youth.

“Why haven’t you updated your Vlog recently?” we asked curiously. “I don’t have a clue right now.” He seemed a little hesitant. “I mainly hope that my Vlog can continue to be upgraded and bring different freshness and happiness to the audience. I don’t like to do boring things. In fact, everyone should feel it too. My Vlog needs to be upgraded every time. For example, from cycling to horseback riding, I have been trying to record it in more interesting ways and find inspiration along the way.” But sometimes, young people don’t need too much advance planning. “Waiting for fate, maybe one day my big data will push me a beautiful place, then let’s go, let’s go here!”

From these video clips during the journey, people can also get a hint of Wu Lei’s potential in photography and creativity. When we asked him if he had any ambition to develop into producing and directing, he still insisted that he should be an actor first: “I feel that it is not easy to do one thing well, and acting requires technical skills. But it is true that many people have told me that I can try multiple identities. I am still young and may have other ideas in the future, but I am not in a hurry. I will talk about the future later. I need to be an actor first. “

After chatting with Wu Lei, inadvertently you will be infected by his action. You can’t help but have an impulse in your heart, and things that you once wanted to do but didn’t dare to do come to mind. “Has anyone told you that you are a typical Capricorn?” we asked him. He was noncommittal, thought for a while and replied: “I like to use zodiac signs to define a character and grasp the character’s personality. Sometimes when I’m unsure of a character, I will decide on his zodiac sign first.”

“So what do you think is the zodiac sign of Ling Buyi, the character that you played this time?” we asked. “Scorpio!” Wu Lei blurted out without hesitation.

After the interview, Wu Lei had to rush to the next work schedule. Finally, he did not forget to give us a recommendation: “I’m going to the online interactive event of “Love Like The Galaxy” in a few days. Come and watch it when you have time! There will be an update tonight!”

I watched the entire interaction between Wu Lei and the heroine Zhao Lusi. As expected, the audience loved this pairing. There is also good news on the Douban platform. “Love Like The Galaxy” scored 7.4 points upon its launch (*note: the douban score is 7.6 now), which is a good result among domestic dramas. I don’t know if Wu Lei himself is satisfied, but I think he has happily gone to his next trip.

Source: Esquire