In 1993, when director Wang Jing was casting for the movie "New Shaolin Five Ancestors", he was looking for a young actor who could play Jet Li's son. Among the children of many martial arts schools, 8-year-old Semyon is favored for his unique temperament.
Wang Jing recalled: "The first time I saw Semyon, I was attracted to him, because he had a calm temperament that is difficult for children to deduce."
Xie Miao played Hong Wending in the movie, he became popular as the role of a cold-faced child, and his cute and immature character but seemed very mature and vicissitudes of life were played very well in it, and it attracted the attention and heated discussions of the audience as soon as it was released.
He is also well-known to a wide audience because of this.
Over the next two years, Semyon rose like a rising star. In 1994, he collaborated with Wu Mengda in the comedy "Peter Pan", and in the same year, he also participated in "God of Gamblers 2" starring Chow Yun-fat. In 1995, Semyon collaborated with Jet Li again and starred in the action movie "Naked Dragon".
In just three years, Xie Miao has cooperated with many big-name stars in the Hong Kong film industry, showing extraordinary talent as a martial arts actor, and is known as "Jet Li's successor".
However, just as Semyon's career was at its peak, he and his mother were faced with a difficult choice. Semyon has reached the age of entering school, should he continue his acting career, or devote all his energy to his studies? This question put Semyon's mother in a dilemma.
Faced with this choice, Xie Miao's mentor Wang Jing gave sincere and pertinent advice. He believes that Semyon is at the right time and should seize the moment to balance his studies and acting career at the same time.
Wang Jing said: "Since we are at the peak of our career, we should seize this rare opportunity, although we may face some challenges in the future, but at least we will not miss the opportunity." ”
However, Chow Yun-fat, who has worked with Semyon, expressed a different point of view. He believes that schooling is more important than acting, emphasizing that missing out on school education can cause a lifetime of regret.
After much deliberation, Semyon's mother made a surprising decision: to suspend Semyon's acting career and let him concentrate on his studies. Such a decision seems to have pressed the pause button on Semyon's brilliant star journey.
Semyon, who was young at the time, may not have fully understood the far-reaching implications of this decision. With a vision for the future, he reluctantly left his beloved acting career and temporarily bid farewell to the screen world he loved.
No one would have thought that this decision made him miss the best opportunity to become popular, and also laid many obstacles for him to return to the entertainment industry in the future.
Many years later, with his love for acting, Semyon stepped into the entertainment industry again. However, he soon discovers that the world he once knew has changed dramatically.
The golden age of action movies that once made him famous is gone, the tastes of audiences have become diverse, and the rapid development of special effects technology has made many martial arts stars useless.
Semyon found that his martial arts skills had become a little less adaptable to the new era. His fame is not as good as before, and even his former "father-son" partner Jet Li has lost contact.
When someone suggested that he seek Jet Li's help, Xie Miao said with a wry smile: "Since we finished working together in "Letter to Dad", we have broken off contact" This sentence not only shows the estrangement between them, but also reveals the reality and ruthlessness of the entertainment industry.
Faced with such a dilemma, Semyon had no choice but to turn to the online movie market. He has shot as many as 12 online movies in one year, fighting hard just to be able to establish himself in this highly competitive industry.
Some people say that others have gone crazy to make money, but as long as you have seen his works, you will understand that Semyon never plays tricks and is always the hardest working person in martial arts scenes.
However, despite Semyon's best efforts, he was unable to regain his former glory. His situation is like a sigh for the glorious era of martial arts stars. In today's entertainment industry, a good kung fu does not guarantee success.
Faced with such a reality, Semyon did not complain, but chose to insist silently. His fighting with his opponents was very enjoyable, which made the audience very enjoyable, making people feel like they were returning to the golden age of Hong Kong action movies.
Semyon understands that in this era of special effects and appearance, the value of real kung fu seems to be underestimated, but he always firmly believes that one day, the audience will rediscover the charm of real kung fu.
Despite the difficult situation, Semyon remained positive. He did not feel sorry for himself, on the contrary, he worked harder to devote himself to theatrical performance, and showed his value with his own strength.
Semyon's tenacity is not only for his personal career, but also for the inheritance of the essence of Chinese martial arts culture.
In particular, Xie Miao's amazing "throwing knife to extinguish the fire" action not only made the audience watch it with relish, but also made many little fresh meat who relied on special effects to act embarrassed. This action fully demonstrates Semyon's solid martial arts skills and precise grasp of the role, as if the audience has traveled back to the golden age of action movies.
In this film, Semyon plays a blind character with high martial arts. In order to play this role more realistically, Semyon always closed his eyes during filming, which meant that he needed to complete all the martial arts moves without seeing his opponent, which was undoubtedly a great challenge for a martial arts actor.
Semyon took the trouble to practice over and over again, allowing the body to form muscle memory and making sure that every movement needed to be in place and accurate. In order to memorize the position of his opponent, he practiced repeatedly to make his movements smooth and natural.
Despite this, he was often hit with sticks with props, but he never complained, but put more effort into his practice.
Semyon's professionalism and superb martial arts skills have allowed him to regain the love and respect of the audience, and he has been praised as "the last hope of martial arts movies" and "the successor of traditional kung fu movies".
This is not only a praise for his personal ability, but also a reflection of the audience's nostalgia and expectation for traditional martial arts movies.
For Semyon, this unexpected popularity is not only a turning point in his career, but also an affirmation of his persistence for many years. This reveals that even in the era of special effects, real kung fu still has its own unique charm and value.
Semyon's unique performance allows the audience to see the real martial arts action and experience the exhilaration, which cannot be achieved by relying solely on special effects.
This success has boosted Semyon's self-confidence. He is even more convinced that as long as he continues to stick to his beliefs and work hard to improve his martial arts skills and performance level, he will one day be recognized by the audience.
Semyon's story tells us that in the ever-changing world of the entertainment industry, only by strengthening one's beliefs and constantly improving one's strength can we find opportunities to break through in adversity.
In today's entertainment industry, kung fu has become a scarce resource. Although special effects technology has become more and more mature, and many young actors only need to rely on post-production to present martial arts scenes, Semyon has always insisted that real martial arts scenes should be real kung fu.
Semyon once mercilessly criticized those little fresh meat who relied on special effects: "If you can't shoot scenes, don't be embarrassed." Although this sentence sounds a bit harsh, it reflects his persistent pursuit of martial arts and movies.
He is well aware that martial arts scenes are a kind of artistic presentation, which requires 100% effort and sweat from the actors, not just the display of action.
When Semyon shoots online movies, he is never perfunctory. He devotes himself to every action, and every fight scene is fist-to-flesh, bringing a real visual experience to the audience. The audience's evaluation of him is that his martial arts scenes make people return to the peak era of Hong Kong action movies, which makes people's blood boil.
Semyon's persistence not only reflects his respect for martial arts, but also shows his professional ethics as an actor. In this era of pursuit of quick success, Semyon has interpreted what true professionalism is with his own actions.
He believes that only by practicing the basic skills in a solid manner can he gain a firm foothold in the ever-changing entertainment industry.
However, because Semyon has always insisted on paying a price to a certain extent, in a market environment that is increasingly relying on special effects, the value of relying on real strength and skill to ensure the authenticity and high quality of the film seems to be constantly being compressed.
Semyon had to face more fierce competition than before, and sometimes even succumbed to some undesirable role choices, despite many challenges, Semyon always adhered to his beliefs and pursuits, and used practical actions to maintain and defend the dignity and artistic style of martial arts films.
Semyon's persistence and efforts were not in vain. In the unexpectedly popular online movie in 2022, the blind martial artist he played showed superb martial arts skills, and also reflected his professionalism as a professional martial arts actor.
In order to perfectly interpret this role, Semyon always kept his eyes closed during filming, which is undoubtedly a huge challenge for a martial arts actor.
Despite the many difficulties he encountered in his acting career, he still did not stop his determination to devote himself to each work. He always firmly believes that only through his continuous efforts can he arouse more people to pay attention to real kung fu and inherit the spirit of traditional martial arts movies.
Semyon's persistence is not only for himself, but also for the promotion of Chinese martial arts culture, and he firmly believes that as long as he persists, the audience will one day re-experience the unique charm and value of real kung fu.
Looking back at the golden age of Hong Kong films, martial arts films are undoubtedly one of the best. In that era, a generation of martial arts stars such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and Zhao Wenzhuo used their real kung fu to create countless unforgettable screen images.
At that time, action movies were emerging, and the audience's enthusiasm for martial arts stars seemed to never wane.
However, with the change of times, the charm of martial arts movies seems to be gradually lost. The number of martial arts films on the market is decreasing day by day, and even superstars like Jackie Chan bluntly say that they have no successor.
This change is manifested not only in the decline in the number of films, but also in the change in the way production is made and the evolution of audience tastes.
Semyon has personally experienced this process of change in Chinese martial arts films. He has changed from a genius boy known as "Jet Li's successor" to a martial arts actor looking for opportunities in online movies, this huge gap is not only a turning point in his personal fate, but also reflects the historical changes of the entire martial arts film industry from the golden age to the recession.
In the face of such a reality, Semyon did not choose to give up, he chose to persevere, believing that in the era of the flood of special effects, real kung fu still has its unique charm. He used his activities to prove that an excellent martial arts actor not only needs excellent martial arts skills, but also professional performance skills and dedicated work attitude.
In Semyon's view, martial arts movies are not only a form of entertainment, but also an important part of Chinese culture, which carries people's yearning for chivalrous spirit and the pursuit of martial arts aesthetics.
Therefore, even in the face of various difficulties, Semyon still devotes himself to each work, hoping to contribute to the inheritance of martial arts films.
Semyon's persistence made him the hope of the revival of martial arts movies in people's hearts. In this era dominated by special effects and idol packaging, people are looking forward to and waiting for more real kung fu actors like Semyon to stand up and bring real and wonderful martial arts performances to the audience.
However, Semyon is soberly aware that to restore martial arts movies to their former glory, it is far from enough to rely on individual efforts. To make martial arts movies glow with new vitality in the new era, it needs to rely on the joint efforts of the entire industry, including the innovation of screenwriters, the courage of directors, the input of producers, and the support and recognition of audiences.
The story of Semyon can be regarded as more or less a microcosm of the entire martial arts film industry. From the glorious past to the sluggish present, and then to the possible revival, it can be said that it contains the persistence and sweat of countless martial arts actors.
Although today's Semyon is no longer the fledgling young player known as the "successor of Jet Li", he has always stuck to his love for martial arts movies and realized it in his unique way.
His experience makes us understand that in this increasingly fast-changing entertainment industry, we must stick to our beliefs and improve our skills in order to find opportunities to break through in the face of adversity.
Semyon's persistence is not only for his own career, but also for inheriting the essence of Chinese martial arts culture. He hopes that through his own efforts, he can arouse more people's attention to real kung fu and cherish traditional martial arts movies.
No matter what kind of market environment Semyon encounters, he insists on betting all his money on each work, and expresses the connotation of the martial arts spirit with practical actions.
Perhaps in the coming days, we can see more martial arts actors like Semyon shine out and inject new vitality into martial arts movies. This will also be the best recognition and reward for Semyon's perseverance over the years.
As Semyon firmly believes, as long as you persevere, one day, the audience will rediscover the charm and value of real kung fu, and martial arts movies will regain their former glory.