Actor, singer, cook, action director...... No one knows what new identity Nicholas Tse will unlock next time, he is as "rebellious" as he was a teenager, and he has relied on this "rebellion" to constantly prove one thing: no matter how far the road is, it is my way, and I have never taken the risk to bless me, please don't block it.
Author | Ang lee
Edit | Ding Yu
What is the generation gap? It would be good to see what the public thinks of Nicholas Tse.
Three years ago, the movie "Rage: A Serious Case" was released, and netizens' sentence "Isn't he a cook, how can he still make a movie" made people of different ages stunned. It turns out that Nicholas Tse, who has not filmed for a long time, is already another label in the hearts of the post-00s.
The singer in the minds of the post-80s, the actor in the minds of the post-90s, and the younger generation call him "star chef", or "the one who cooks". It seems that at every stage, Nicholas Tse has to unlock a new identity.
With the release of the movie "Customs Front", "the chef is making a movie again" is no longer unusual, and the hot search entry has become #Nicholas Tse Is a chef so capable of fighting# , followed by "acting as an action director for the first time", and his new identity is again.
Stills from "Customs Front".
Many people who have watched the movie have already commented on the martial arts scenes in the film: "The action design is smooth, you can feel the pain through the screen with a punch", "You can always trust Nicholas Tse's fighting scenes".
Who would have thought that Nicholas Tse, who has lived in the spotlight since the moment he was born, would take over the baton of Hong Kong stardom. As a second-generation star, he has never escaped from "Truman's world": everything he does is concerned and discussed, and every choice in life seems "free" but not easy.
The label of "bad boy" has been attached to him for many years, the concert was "booed" so that he couldn't hear himself singing, he was convicted of obstruction of justice in a car accident and received a 240-hour social service order, and his love life with Cecilia Cheung and Faye Wong ...... Although "Fengwei" has been insisting for many years and has a place in the catering industry, there are always people who feel that "chefs" are like "not doing their jobs".
Stills from "Customs Front".
But that's not the case. From the front of the stage to behind the scenes, when male artists are scrambling to be the first in the "hundred flowers blooming" track, Nicholas Tse chooses to be a real "hurting person".
As early as 2009 and 2010, he had already completed the promotion from supporting actor to leading actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards with his real fight "October Siege" and "The Informant".
A still from "The Informant".
Only when I look back can I find that he didn't play tickets at all, but had actual results. It is unknown whether "the second generation of stars who can't cook is not a good martial artist" is the ultimate goal of Nicholas Tse's life, but in his life choices, "never forget, there will be repercussions".
Casting a "golden body" with a physical body
At the Beijing premiere of the movie "Customs Front", the famous director and martial arts instructor Yuan Heping commented that Nicholas Tse's action design in the film was "a little surprised", "His movements (design) are very suitable for the style of this play, and I especially like the fight scene at the end, he fell well, worked hard, and worked hard." And use martial arts instructors rookies and successors to describe Nicholas Tse.
Hard, hard, and a good fall...... The beautiful words from the predecessors are also the "essence" of why Hong Kong action movies are good enough. Hong Kong action movies have always been regarded as the symbol of Hong Kong films, from the early martial arts films, kung fu movies to the later police films, the scenery of Hong Kong action movies and countless peak images are based on "a group of people are not afraid of death". However, with the decline of Hong Kong films, Hong Kong-made films that seek innovation and change now rely more on stunts and editing to strive for art and action beauty, and it is rare to see "real kung fu" in action movies.
Born in the golden age of Hong Kong films, Nicholas Tse, who is well versed in the essence of action movies, still continues the style of the peak period of action movies - "no post-production, no special effects", and becoming a martial arts instructor allows him to not only fight by himself, but also design movements more completely from the overall situation.
Falling from a seven-storey building, holding your breath to the bottom of the water, sixty-four moves to fight more than one, action scenes without special effects require more effort and challenge more limits.
"Customs Front" has no special effects action scenes
In the "No Late-stage" action special of "Customs Front", Nicholas Tse shared that he had conducted physical training half a year before joining the group, and theoretically ensured that he would not be "too injured" when he fell from a height. He hopes to use a clean and neat action style to complete the lens language and tension, and based on this, the sixty-four moves designed require all martial artists to be in the upper and lower positions, and even the camera cannot be wrong, otherwise they will have to start over.
At the end of the underwater extreme breath-holding scene, in December in Hong Kong, when it was low temperature, the rival actor from France shouted "No, it's too cold" halfway through the fight, and Nicholas Tse soaked in such cold water for two consecutive days, while bearing the real kick of the rival actor while completing his performance, he said: "When people hold their breath when it is particularly cold, the heart rate will become very fast, and the oxygen consumed will be more, and the matter of holding their breath has become extremely difficult." ”
Nicholas Tse, who is a martial arts instructor for the first time, pursues excellence from the whole to the details, and has received affirmation and praise, but also has a lot of "lessons". He joked that he ignored the bug that the short-sleeved customs uniform could not be protected in the costume part, so the related fight scene made his arm swollen, but he still felt that an action movie could not be called an action movie without danger and pain.
"Customs Front" poster
Nicholas Tse, who dares to fight and hurt, did not become a star and martial arts instructor overnight.
As early as 2006 and 2007, he successively participated in two films, "Dragon Tiger Gate" and "The True Colors of Men", and is considered to be the successor of Chinese film action films and action superstar Jackie Chan. At that time, Yu Wenle and Fang Zuming were also included in the consideration of "Jackie Chan's successor", and in the eyes of the actors who filmed together, Nicholas Tse was a real martial arts idiot in and out of the play.
It is reported that there is a scene in "The True Colors of a Man", Nicholas Tse was kicked off the tenth floor by Wu Jing, fell to the corner of a large truck cabinet, and then fell to the ground, and he went into battle in person without a stand-in. There are two names on the "blacklist" of Hong Kong insurance companies, one is Jackie Chan and the other is Nicholas Tse.
Stills from "The True Colors of Men".
Searching for Nicholas Tse's related reports, it is not difficult to find that he has challenged difficult times, high risks, injuries and even "life hangs" in more than one movie.
Director Ann Hui shared a scene filmed in the movie "Jade Guanyin" (2003), in which she said that Nicholas Tse had to jump from a height of two meters after running for a while, and he could only wear slippers, but he had to jump without hesitation.
In the film "October Siege" (2009) directed by Desmond Chan, Nicholas Tse played the fourth brother of the rickshaw driver, Deng. When the martial arts instructor and director had no time to separate, he proposed to shoot on his own, relying on painkillers and swelling drugs to maintain his body, and completed the famous scene of injury caused by heavy blows with real falls over and over again.
Stills from "The Siege of October".
For those who are familiar with him, Nicholas Tse has never changed, but as he grows older, those "rebellions" are used in performances, in every fight scene and in every identity.
Cooking, acting, doing one thing well
Sister and brother love, hitting reporters, exploding foul language, throwing guitar... 's father Xie Xian once mentioned in the show that Nicholas Tse was very rebellious when he was thirteen or fourteen years old, and his nose was crooked a little after falling from the second floor in a fight at school.
The second generation of stars, who won at the starting line, used rebellion and "badness" to cover up the influence of the original family on him for a long time. Even so, Xie Xian has a different view of his son's rebellion, and he feels that "rebellious people have opinions". In the eyes of the outside world, this evaluation from the father's doting and helplessness of his rebellious son reappeared many years later, director Xu Anhua said: "Nicholas Tse's rebellion is not bad, he has his own opinions and opinions, and he is very mature. ”
谢霆锋专辑《My Attitude》
Learning music is Nicholas Tse's initial "opinion" in his life choice. At the age of 14, he fell in love with playing the guitar and playing drums, his mother Deborah took him to study under Dai Sicong (a famous Hong Kong music educator and music godfather), and at the age of 16, he signed a contract with Feitu Records (the predecessor of Emperor Entertainment), and released his first solo Cantonese album "My Attitude" the following year, which won him many newcomer awards such as the Top Ten Golden Songs, the Top Ten Music Pop Charts, and the New Town Hot Awards Ceremony.
In the same year, Nicholas Tse, who was not yet 18 years old, starred in his first movie "New Troubled Boys: Youth Fierce Fight" and won the Best New Actor Award at the 18th Hong Kong Film Awards. To this day, many people remember his youthful and handsome appearance in the film, wearing a school uniform, and the young but touching emotional scene between him and Shu Qi in the film.
Stills from "New Troubled Boys: Youth Fierce Fight".
Since then, his development has been smooth, and his reputation as a rebellious and bad boy cannot stop his achievements as a singer and actor have risen all the way: he has recorded more than one million records, won the sales award in France, and held six consecutive concert tours at the Hung Hom Stadium in Hong Kong, followed by a solo concert at the 80,000 Stadium in Shanghai. He personally supervised the production of two albums, "Jade Butterfly" and "Century Prophecy", the former won the Top Ten Golden Melody Awards.
In the 2002 "Car Accident Top Bag Case", Nicholas Tse was sentenced to 240 hours of community service, and then announced his retirement from the circle until he came back again in 2003. The incident, in which "only Nicholas Tse's car and roadside flower beds were injured", made him the first and most negative person of 2002 by Hong Kong students.
After his comeback, Nicholas Tse became a hot figure in the music industry and film and television industry. The personable noble son Hua Wujian in the TV series "Little Fish and Flowers" has earned him more works and role invitations, and his role as a policeman Tang Fei in the movie "Witness" is regarded as his transformational work. After that, there is the thrilling fight scene in "October Siege", and the rivalry between "The Informant" and Zhang Jiahui.
Stills from the TV series "Little Fish and Flowers".
However, after that, he changed direction and began to study cooking. There is no shortage of celebrity transformations in the entertainment industry, some people have changed from singers to actors, some people have gone from front of the screen to behind the scenes, and there was a period of time when pop stars "went to the sea", and many people invested in the catering industry, Nicholas Tse was one of them. The difference is that he does not be a nominal boss who only gives money, but personally cooks in the back kitchen.
In 2012, he began to study cooking, and in 2014, when the food program "Twelve Sharp Flavors" was launched, he once again threw himself into the question of "thinking about one is one out", this seemingly whim decision has entered its tenth year at his insistence, and the brand "Feng Wei" has also occupied a place in the catering industry.
The enthusiasm of going to the kitchen has made Nicholas Tse a good cook in the eyes of the post-00s, and the dedication behind him can also be seen. For a while, he specialized in making food-related films, spending 12 hours a day in the kitchen for four consecutive days, the longest of which was 16 hours, and was diagnosed with inflammation of the fascia in his hands.
Sharp Flavor 2017
In the first episode of the third season of "Twelve Sharp Flavors", Nicholas Tse resolutely canceled the last dish for the sake of a unified presentation standard, and a small detail shows his meticulousness and strictness in everything he handles.
Virgo Nicholas Tse cooks, acts, and everything must be done to the extreme.
The difficulty of caring people
At the beginning of July, Karen Mok officially announced the guest Nicholas Tse of the Shanghai station of "Big Show". Some fans said when they posted a successful order for tickets, "purely for the boss who doesn't hold a concert to grab tickets", for fans, the shining singer Nicholas Tse on the stage is rare to see, and the call for him to return to the stage has never stopped in recent years.
Singing and dancing on stage in fancy costumes, or researching new dishes in the kitchen in a chef's outfit, including a position as the owner of a well-known production company in Hong Kong, any of them are safer and easier in the eyes of those who like him. The people who support him applaud every choice and every achievement he makes, but they still gasp a few times when they watch him play.
Stills from "Rage • Serious Case".
is 44 years old, and Nicholas Tse still has to "play really" in filming.
With the progress of the times, special effects and AI technology are rapidly iterating, and making movies naturally does not have to endure hardships like their parents. Nicholas Tse is not without confusion and hesitation. What kind of action movies do today's audiences like to watch? Do action scenes still need actors to really fight?
After director Chen Musheng, who has worked together on many films, died of illness, Nicholas Tse once didn't know how to continue the action scenes of "you can gamble your life to shoot" that has accumulated more than 20 years of tacit understanding and trust.
In 2021, Nicholas Tse and Donnie Yen collaborated on "Rage: A Serious Case", once again allowing the audience to see his "obsession" with martial arts...... As for the flag-carrying Hong Kong action movie, Nicholas Tse did not give a positive answer after the screening of the movie "Rage: A Serious Case", he described himself as "powerless".
Stills from "Rage • Serious Case".
When filming "New Crazy Boy" at the age of 17, Nicholas Tse accidentally broke his ankle and insisted on going to the hospital for 6 hours before going to the hospital, and signed a "life and death contract" with the hospital before the operation. After fighting for more than 20 years, he was not used to the pain caused by the physical combat of the golden body.
But he knows that in order to shoot good-looking action scenes, it is not enough to rely on just one person, "you need everyone around you to be able to fight". And this kind of ability to fight, more often than not, is a sense of willpower and belief that surpasses physical strength. Therefore, he made requirements for himself in the "Customs Front", and also set rules for all martial arts, and even tied a horse step to practice repeatedly.
From the second generation of stars who had the first magazine cover in their lives a week after they were born, to being punched and kicked in cold water at the age of 44, Nicholas Tse always chose to "cleverly avoid" in the face of the comfort zone that almost came with his hit.
"Customs Front" propaganda scene
In 2003, Nicholas Tse founded PO Chaoting, China's top special effects production company. This post-production company, which allowed him to mortgage his real estate and borrow millions of Hong Kong dollars, broke the traditional post-production model with the "on-site instant consultation" model, and proposed new solutions for the communication and service of the shooting site, the producer and the post-production.
The original intention of founding PO Chaoting was that Nicholas Tse was dissatisfied with the MV effect of "Jade Butterfly" and hoped to have a company to ensure the quality of the film. During the company's operation, it has cooperated in the later stages of many well-known films, including the second season of "Twelve Sharp Flavors", "Chinese Partner", "1942" and "Monster Hunt".
"Twelve Sharp Flavors" invited guest Eason Chan
Nicholas Tse mentioned the idea of founding this late-stage company: "I want to be a world-class late-stage company, but my real dream is to educate and make the whole industry stand up. He understands that there are many young people in China who like and are keen on post-production, editing, and animation, and he hopes to do his best to improve the industrial environment in this field, so that this "invisible" industry can be seen, valued, and changed.
Being the boss of a company in the later stage and being a martial arts instructor for a movie comes down to his desire for "the whole industry" to stand up and become better. So in Nicholas Tse's seemingly chaotic career choice, every step is not a rebellious mess. Including the first time he played the role of martial arts, what he gained was not all kind encouragement, and the voice that criticized his action design appeared together with praise.