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At the Beijing premiere of the movie "Rebirth", Chen Jianbin sat in the audience, feeling the violent aesthetics of this gangster film, as well as the growth and transformation of actor Ethan Ruan, with whom he had worked before.

In the spring of 2024, Ethan Ruan's "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils" became a dark horse in the mainland cinema box office. This low-budget movie, which cost only 10 million yuan to produce, has a total box office of over 600 million yuan in the mainland. Ethan Ruan plays the avenger Chen Guilin, who subverts the appearance of all his previous roles. He wears a loose suit with large shoulder pads, looks sloppy and decadent, with deep eyes. Once he smiles, his face reveals an unfathomable cold breath, creating an alternative image of a screen killer.

In "Rebirth", Ethan Ruan still plays a cunning and complex avenger.

"If you don't watch it to the end, you can't predict where the plot will go." After watching the premiere, Chen Jianbin was impressed not only by the constant plot twists, but also by the surprises brought by Ethan Ruan. "Xiaotian has shown signs of maturity. Since "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils", I feel that he has completely changed and become a very mature actor. I respect him. He is an amazing actor."

"Rebirth" is the second collaboration between Ethan Ruan and the film's director and screenwriter Ma Yuke. In Ma Yuke's directorial debut "The Angry Tide", Ethan Ruan, together with Ma Yuke and starring Nick Cheung, presented a high-energy male revenge story.

Revenge is a theme that Ethan Ruan continues to focus on in these films. Even though they are all revenge crime films, Ethan Ruan believes that there are still many differences between them. "Rebirth is a completely different challenge, with a different look and a different inner drama."

The complex Avengers ushered in the era of Ethan Ruan

With a loud bang, the funeral parlor where the funeral was being held suddenly exploded, implicating a serial drug conspiracy case in Southeast Asia. The gangster's son Shawang (played by Nick Cheung), the narcotics captain An Du (played by Ethan Ruan), and the gangster thug Balai (played by Ma Yuke) each have their own ulterior motives, and they all want to get a piece of the pie in the gang's internal turmoil.

The film is set in a small city called Mancheng in Southeast Asia. The drug gang bosses and the city police chief collude with each other to form a huge drug trafficking profit chain. Countless families fall into the abyss because of drugs and their families are broken up. It is difficult to distinguish between the underworld and the white world, and the progressive reversals make this conspiracy-filled film full of suspense. The film has both the bloody fights and gunfights of John Woo's era, and the obscurity of the dark side of human nature.

In "Rebirth", Andu, played by Ethan Ruan, is the core character of the whole play. He is a righteous anti-drug captain, but he also hides a past that he cannot bear to look back on and huge ambitions. Andu lived with his uncle An Pei in his childhood. His uncle, who was the chief of the police station, violated his mother, causing his father to commit suicide. When Andu became an adult, he followed his uncle into the police station, but he did not forget revenge. He is innocent, violent, cruel and hysterical, and the character is full of complex and compassionate character tension.

Wearing a police uniform, Ethan Ruan plays the role of Andu, as if justice is incarnate. His handsome appearance is deceptive, and the reversal and darkening in the later period make people see the rich layers of his acting skills.

In a group interview after the premiere, Ethan Ruan recalled that director Ma Yuke designed a tight police uniform for him from the beginning. "Including where I usually live, it is a cramped small space in a huge house. Some people said that you look good in this uniform. I thought about it and realized that whether it is a small room or a seemingly upright uniform, it is a kind of restraint for the character of Andu. This restraint forces his desire to grow continuously until one day it gets out of control."

Neither Chen Guilin nor Andu are bad guys in the absolute sense. Ethan Ruan uses precise eyes to interpret the complexity and multifaceted nature of a character who is both good and evil. That look is innocent, vicious, and manic. Although it is evil, it also allows people to see the character's past of being insulted and harmed, as well as the struggle of inner desires.

"I think everyone will encounter difficult things in the process of growing up. At every point in life, people will face different choices and carry their own destiny." Ethan Ruan said that at the end of the movie, "everyone faces death," and only at the moment of death does the tragedy of the characters in choosing their destiny appear.

When he first read the script, he sorted out the complexity of human nature from the relationship between Andu and An Pei. Uncle An Pei violated his mother, causing his father to commit suicide. But at the same time, his uncle also raised him, trusted him, cultivated him, and made him the successor of the police station. When faced with such a complicated relationship between relatives, benefactors and enemies, Ruan Jingtian gave Andu more understanding and empathy, and felt the pain deep in the character's heart. "This is also the part I hope everyone can savor slowly when watching the movie."

Among the highly praised comments on Douban, there is one that reads, "After 'Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils', Ethan Ruan plays another ruthless character. Andu's paranoia and cruelty are intimidating." Some fans also exclaimed, "The era of Ethan Ruan has arrived."

Growing up in confusion and self-doubt

Chen Jianbin and Ethan Ruan collaborated in the 2014 film Paradise in Service. This film, which tells the story of the ups and downs of an individual's fate in the times, won Chen Jianbin the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 51st Golden Horse Awards. In his impression, Ethan Ruan is the big boy with gleaming muscles standing in the sun in the film.

Ruan Jingtian, who made his debut in idol dramas, has a handsome appearance and enjoyed enough dividends in the era of idol dramas. His starring roles in "My Sunny Day in Kenting", "Fated to Love You" and "The Queen of Losers" were all once phenomenal dramas.

In 2010, he starred in the gangster film "艋舺" and won the Best Actor Award at the 47th Golden Horse Awards for his role as He Tianyou. His transition from "the No. 1 idol drama actor" to "movie king" was a smooth one.

Ethan Ruan still remembers what Chen Jianbin told him, "Your current age is exactly a very important stage for an actor. TV dramas are the best way to hone an actor's skills. You should spend more time on work and TV dramas, shoot more, and learn more."

After that, he filmed many TV series, from "Ghost Blowing Light", the costume drama "Legend of Fuyao", to "One Life to One Tenderness", trying various roles, but unfortunately it didn't go very well. He starred in "The Guillotines", "The Runaway Detective" and "Murder in the Water", although the director was famous and the cast was big, but the response was mediocre.

He cared about the outside world's comments on his acting skills, but for a period of time, all he saw was overwhelming criticism from the audience and the media, and he fell into a long period of self-doubt.

"I was very scared and kept thinking about what went wrong." He admitted that he learned acting after entering the industry. If the only thing he could do was not recognized, what was the value of his existence? During the days of accumulated pain, he could not go out for a long time.

In 2016, he went to the mainland to participate in a variety show, which was his most depressed period. The program crew celebrated his birthday and found him with a camera, but they saw Ruan Jingtian hiding in the house and crying. Confusion and doubt led him to live a life alienated from the public, self-isolated, not seeing friends, and often losing contact with the phone.

Ethan Ruan once said that in the ten years before he took on the role in "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils", he felt like he had fallen into a deep pit and was trapped in it, with a rough and difficult path. He has mentioned that lonely and painful low period in many interviews.

Director Huang Jingfu approached him to act in "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils" and wanted him to act out the painful and uncomfortable state. He replied easily that he could return to that low mood at any time.

After ten years of dormancy in the pit, Ethan Ruan spent a lot of time with himself, riding a motorcycle, learning to cook, and experiencing the daily life. He himself did not realize that the pain and isolation brought him a leap forward, allowing him to naturally and slowly grow himself.

In the low-budget film "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils", he put aside his expectations, did not think about any acting techniques, did not consider any sophisticated designs, and let himself become the character, experiencing the ups and downs, enlightenment, growth and thinking with the character's mentality.

Two months before playing Chen Guilin, he began to wear the loose suit in the movie, regardless of whether it was hot or cold, to feel the character's origin and to find traces of the character's psychological changes. During the filming, Huang Jingfu also asked him to think about the questions that Chen Guilin was thinking about every day: Who are you, where do you come from, and what do you want to do in the future.

Ethan Ruan empathizes with the character's experience and situation. His confusion and pain are integrated with the character's experience and emotions, forming a real, gray, and relaxed complex. As a result, people see a brand new Ethan Ruan, who transitions from a domineering CEO in idol dramas to a gangster, and from a young boy to an obscure killer.

This year, Ethan Ruan is 42 years old. He said that at this age, although his health has begun to decline, his life experience is increasing. He regards the present as the golden period for actors, as he can see the sunset in the distance and understand the importance of time. This has increased his motivation and he honestly takes action to do what he wants to do and play the roles he wants to play.

There is a line in the movie Paradise in Service: "Wherever the wind blows, the grass bends. When I was young, I also thought I was the wind, until I was covered in wounds and old, and then I realized that, in fact, we are all just grass."

Ten years ago, he thought this line was beautiful, but now he knows that this is the understanding and sigh that can only be had after experiencing all kinds of life.