In the era of the booming Chinese film and television industry, a group of actors with outstanding acting skills stood out and won the love and respect of the audience. With their superb acting skills and deep-rooted character building, they are affectionately known as "old drama bones".
This title is not only a recognition of their years of hard work, but also a pinning on the audience's expectations for high-quality performances. Zhang Kaili is undoubtedly the leader of this era. In the 1990s, she played the role of Liu Huifang in the TV series "Desire", and won unanimous praise from the audience with her dignified image and delicate performance.
This work not only established Zhang Kaili's acting status in the hearts of the audience, but also allowed her to win the "Golden Eagle Award" and "Beijing Chunyan Cup" in one fell swoop. Born in a professional class, she has shown rich performance experience and is considered to be a genuine "old drama bone".
In 1998, Zhang Tielin entered the public eye with the image of "Huang Ama" in "Huanzhu Gege". The Qianlong Emperor he played was both majestic and amorous, and he also loved his daughter, this complex role made Zhang Tielin an instant hit.
His unique performance style, such as walking swaggeringly and glaring at the beard when angry, left a deep impression on the audience and became the "national father-in-law" in the hearts of the audience. Also in this period, Wang Qingxiang showed his solid acting skills with his roles such as Hu Zongxian in "Ming Dynasty 1566" and Fang Buting in "No War in Peking".
His performance is delicate and nuanced, portraying the inner world of the characters vividly, and he is known as "China's Takakura Jian". The successful portrayal of these characters left a deep impression on Wang Qingxiang in the hearts of the audience.
These actors were all showbiz leaders at the time, and their success seemed to portend a bright future. The audience has high hopes for them, expecting them to continue to improve and bring more excellent works.
However, after becoming famous, their acting career was not all smooth sailing. While the aura is added, it also brings great pressure and challenges. In the years to come, how they will cope with these challenges and maintain their acting standards has become the focus of attention of audiences and industry insiders alike.
With the passage of time, some actors who were once known as "old drama bones" began to stagnate in their acting skills, and even regressed. They either failed in their transformation or stuck to the old performance model, and gradually lost the audience's recognition.
After the success of "Desire", Zhang Kaili could have taken the opportunity to further hone her acting skills. However, she chose an unexpected path. In order to make money quickly, Zhang Kaili turned around and "looked at money" and devoted herself to the real estate industry, instead of focusing on her acting career.
When she returned to the screen again, she had already missed many good opportunities. The growth of age has made her a "mother professional", and her acting skills have become more and more rigid. In the recently aired "The World", Zhang Kaili's performance was complained by netizens that she was "held", and the performance traces were too heavy, making it difficult for people to enter the play.
The audience generally felt that she didn't get to know the character in depth, giving it a deliberate sense of contrived. Zhang Tielin seems to be trapped by the aura of "Huang Ama". After "Huanzhu Gege", his performance mode was almost fixed.
Whether it is in "Ji Xiaolan with Iron Teeth and Bronze Teeth" or the recent "Galaxy Changming", the audience can see similar performances: swaggering when walking, and glaring when angry.
This solidified performance made him lose the diversity of his characters and made the audience feel aesthetic fatigue. As Wang Gang, the actor of He Shen in "Iron Tooth and Bronze Tooth Ji Xiaolan", said: "As soon as I saw Zhang Tielin, walking swaggeringly, I wanted to laugh, and I thought that this was filming "Huanzhu Gege".
Wang Yaoqing fell into the stereotype of the role of "boss". Although he has successfully created the image of many domineering presidents and shrewd businessmen with his extravagance, he is called "the most suitable man to play the boss" by the audience, but this also makes his acting path narrow.
In works such as "Mr. Good" and "The Next Stop is Happiness", although the characters are different, the audience always feels that they are seeing the same person, and this kind of patterned performance makes it difficult to immerse oneself in it.
The experiences of these actors tell us that the growth of actors cannot stand still. Even if you are successful, you need to constantly break through and try new roles and performances to stay competitive in this ever-changing film and television industry.
Otherwise, like these former "old drama bones", they may gradually lose the recognition and love of the audience. While the older generation of actors is gradually showing fatigue, a group of new generation actors are beginning to emerge.
With their outstanding performances and distinct personal characteristics, they have won the love of the audience. However, the road to fame has not been easy, and they also face challenges.
Liu Tao showed his acting strength with his early works such as "Mazu" and "The Legend of the White Snake". She is young and beautiful, and her acting skills are good, and these works have become the "white moonlight" in the hearts of many audiences.
With her superb acting skills, Liu Tao was recognized as a "powerful" actress, and even won the title of "National First-Class Actor". However, after marriage, due to the bankruptcy of her husband and changes in the family, Liu Tao had to come back to continue acting.
In order to make money quickly, she began to take any book, especially on the road to playing the female overlord. Yang Shuo gained attention with the role of "Xiao Bao Zong" in "Ode to Joy".
His humorous performance made this role deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and he became a male god in the minds of many audiences for a while. 's rugged appearance made him rated by netizens as "the most suitable male artist for military themes".
Yang Shuo's success seems to portend a bright future, but the challenges that come with it cannot be ignored. Wu Gang's role as "Secretary Dakang" in "In the Name of the People" can be described as a peak of his acting career.
He interprets this complex character perfectly, with majesty and integrity without losing the human touch, and successfully creates an image that the audience loves. With this role, Wu Gang also won the 23rd Magnolia Award for Best Supporting Actor.
However, this success also put a lot of pressure on Wu Gang, and it became a challenge to maintain such a high level of performance in future works. The rise of these actors has injected fresh blood into the film and television industry, and also brought a refreshing look to the audience.
However, fame is just the beginning, how to stay ahead in the competitive entertainment industry, how to avoid falling into the predicament of their predecessors, these are the challenges they need to face.
Behind the halo, whether they can continue to improve their acting skills and constantly break through themselves will determine whether they can truly become a new generation of "old actors". As time passed, some of the once acclaimed actors began to encounter acting controversy, their performances disappointed audiences, and the good reputation they had once accumulated began to waver.
When Yan Xuejing recommended herself to star in "Liu Laogen 5" in December 2022, she was fiercely complained by netizens. Audiences have pointed out that her "acting skills are too poor and the depth of the role is not enough".
This actor, who once won the audience's love with his down-to-earth, real and emotional performances, is now criticized for his too heavy performance traces and too fake character creation.
Her performance is considered to be too violent, making people play, and the roles in each script are the same, either crying or making trouble, and her acting skills seem to have been standing still. Liu Tao has encountered a similar dilemma in his recent works.
Especially in the TV series "The Beginning" broadcast in 2021, the female police officer "Du Ju" she played disappointed the audience. In order to show the maturity and stability of the role, Liu Tao's performance seems too deliberate, his eyes always seem to be unable to open, and the performance traces are so heavy that the audience can call out the play.
In 2016's "Ode to Joy" and other works in recent years, Liu Tao's various god-like images of greasy female bosses made the audience complain again and again, and his acting skills were killed by the actresses in the same play.
Last year, in the hit drama "County Party Committee Compound", her performance was once again sprayed by the audience. Even a powerful actor like Wu Gang cannot escape controversy. In the hit drama "Hurricane" at the beginning of this year, Wu Gang's performance disappointed many audiences.
In the play, Wu Gang's appearance and image are very different from before, I don't know if it is the reason for excessive medical beauty, he always has a steamed bun face. Although he is a positive character, he has ruined the audience's popularity due to his acting skills, and he does not have much sense of presence among the powerful actors.
These controversies and disappointments not only affected the actor's reputation, but also made the audience doubt the title of "old drama bone". It reminds us that actors need to constantly improve their acting skills and keep pace with the times in order to continue to win the recognition and love of the audience.
The professionalism of the actor is not only reflected in the performance in front of the camera, but also includes the line skills, understanding of the role and shaping ability. However, some actors known as "old drama bones" have shown deficiencies in these aspects.
Although Wang Qingxiang has won the reputation of "China's Takakura Jian" with his wonderful performances in many works, his line skills have become a problem that cannot be ignored.
In 2006, during the broadcast of "The Criminal Officer of the Great Song Dynasty", actor Liu Mintao publicly criticized Wang Qingxiang: "The appearance is inconsistent, the morality is sanctimonious, the filming does not memorize the lines, it all depends on the director's prompter to move, for so many years, everyone has been deceived by him, and it is my loss to cooperate with him in this drama."
This statement was later confirmed by the director of "No War in Peking". The director revealed in an interview: "Everyone in the industry knows that Mr. Wang's memorization is the most difficult, and he usually needs an assistant to remind him.
Although Wang Qingxiang's overall acting skills are not much of a problem, as the most basic professionalism of an actor, such a deficiency will undoubtedly affect the overall performance effect.
Wu Gang's image of "Secretary Dakang" in "In the Name of the People" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, but in "Hurricane", his performance disappointed the audience. In the play, Wu Gang's grasp of the role seems to be not in place, although he is a positive character, he has ruined the audience's popularity due to acting problems, and he does not have much presence among the powerful actors.
This performance contrasts with his previous successes and makes one wonder if he really understood and accurately portrayed the character. Yan Xuejing's performance faces similar challenges.
The audience generally believes that her performance is detached from the reality of life, and the character creation is not real enough. It can be seen in the comment area that most people think that her performance traces are too heavy, the character creation is too fake, and the play is too violent, which makes people play.
This reminds us that actors need to go deep into life, experience life, and feel with their hearts in order to create authentic and credible characters. These cases show that even experienced "veteran actors" need to continuously improve their professional quality, including line skills, understanding of roles and shaping ability.
Only in this way can we maintain our advantage in the highly competitive entertainment industry and continue to bring high-quality performances to the audience. In the face of various challenges and controversies, these actors, who were once known as "old drama bones", need to re-examine their careers and seek breakthroughs and innovations.
At the same time, the audience and industry insiders also have expectations for them, hoping that they can shine again. For these actors, breaking through themselves is the top priority. Zhang Tielin needs to get out of the inherent image of "Huang Ama" and try more diverse roles to avoid trapping himself in Qiong Yao-style acting.
Wang Yaoqing should break free from the shackles of "boss", broaden his acting path, and try more types of roles. Liu Tao needs to calm down, carefully polish his acting skills, and avoid the problem of excessive performance traces.
She should pay more attention to the quality of the script, rather than taking any book in order to make a quick buck. It is equally important to improve professionalism. Wang Qingxiang should strengthen the training of line skills to make his performance more complete.
Wu Gang needs to deeply understand the characters and improve his ability to shape them, so as to avoid losing his sense of presence again in future works. Yan Xuejing should go deeper into life, make her performance closer to reality, and avoid the same roles.
Audiences and industry insiders still have expectations for these actors. They want to see these once-shining stars shine again and bring more excellent works. This expectation is also the respect and cherishment of the title of "old drama bones".
In general, "old drama bones" should not be just a false name. It represents the experience and skills that the actors have accumulated over the years and is a recognition of their professional abilities. To be truly worthy of this title, actors need to keep improving, break through themselves, and break the shackles brought by the outside world.
Only in this way can they go further and further on the road to success, and truly be worthy of the audience and their profession.