news

recently, the upcoming ancient idol drama "the story of the willow boat" is getting better and better. in addition to the roles of the male and female protagonists, it is hard for the audience not to be "laughed out loud" by one character - zhang chi, who plays the male protagonist cui xingzhou's friend, marquis zhao quan.

he himself is quite satisfied with this role, and he even confidently posted a message to promote it:

"see, i didn't lie to you. i am extremely charming."

indeed, as a historical puppet drama that does not follow the routine, choosing a sketch actor who is not from a professional background to play the second male lead with a lot of scenes is a breakthrough in itself.

when he was interviewed, he talked about playing in ancient costume dramas and laughed at himself: "i am the evil wind that blew into the 'ancient costume drama'."

as soon as these words were spoken, there was another burst of laughter.

zhang chi, 32 years old this year, has actually only been in the industry for three years. prior to that, his most "glorious" past was only the runner-up in the annual finals of "avenue of stars". it can be said that his presence in the entertainment industry is essentially zero.

however, he broke in as a dark horse with his passion for acting, and now he is receiving constant acting offers and his popularity is rising.

what kind of inspirational story is behind this?

1. "beijing opera male"

at the end of 1992, from an ordinary family in liaoning, he was a chubby kid, and he also inherited the character traits of northerners:

he is a bit aggressive in what he says and does, and can be considered as a popular "social bull" nowadays.

when he was in primary school, he was keen to be a class leader. once, he failed in an election. when he saw other children standing in a disorderly line at lunch, he dared to call the teacher: "the line is not straight, let me be the class leader and try."

before this, zhang chi had been arranged by his mother to attend an art school to study dance because his mother noticed that he had a slight hunchback.

initially, he was extremely dissatisfied with this arrangement, as he felt that all the students who studied dance were girls, so he discussed changing his major to peking opera.

zhang chi simply thought that learning peking opera might allow him to become a martial arts star in the future, which was pretty cool.

but after the first class, he regretted it.

because the teacher is very strict in class, and he will start by stretching your legs, and will not stop no matter how painful or stiff you are.

after enduring for a week, zhang chi couldn't stand it anymore and cried and begged his mother: can i stop learning?

but even if he knelt down at the end, his mother remained unmoved.

in this way, zhang chi, who couldn't even tie his shoelaces, began his long career of learning opera, which lasted for three days in winter and three days in summer.

during those years, not only at school, but even when he went home during the holidays, his mother would help him practice martial arts. it still hurts to think about it now.

but hard work pays off. after studying in shenyang for three years, zhang chi was successfully admitted to a drama school in beijing to continue his studies.

but he was not happy here either - after all, he was only 9 years old. especially every time his mother came to send him off, the big iron gate of the school would slam shut, and he would burst into tears inside the school gate.

but after crying, he had to continue practicing. later, zhang chi imagined singing and practicing as something as natural as eating and sleeping. "you feel as if everyone in the world lives this way."

the first play he learned was called "the black pot", and the first line of the play was "old zhang, there is no need to be afraid" - he had no idea what it meant when he first learned it, but he could still sing it completely.

this kind of life continued until i was 15 years old.

in 2007, zhang chi was successfully admitted to the chinese academy of traditional chinese opera, but changed his major because his voice began to change during the same year of the exam, so he switched to studying quju performance.

as a result, he unexpectedly ended his nine years of morning exercises and leg stretching, and began to get in touch with the world outside of peking opera.

in the new school, zhang chi walked around in jeans, and during military training, he saw his classmates with permed hair, and he was extremely envious.

as for the next four years of college life, he described himself as "absorbing nutrients like a sponge", while also having to balance the habits brought about by nine years of acting studies.

peking opera emphasizes stylized performance, with every move and gesture being rigidly executed, but this is not the case when learning quju performance.

moreover, the latter's performance is more lifelike and relaxed, and the more natural it is, the easier it is for the audience to get into the play.

therefore, zhang chi made a lot of jokes at first. for example, when he participated in a drama in the republic of china, he played a patriotic student who had to quickly lie down with his arms around him when facing an airplane bombing. however, he habitually performed it in the peking opera style, which left the staff speechless.

for example, when he was assigned to a play, he couldn't even find the feeling in the first 10 performances:

"maybe i'll be a little more relaxed after the 20th show, and it will be closer to life after the 30th show..."

2. "comedian"

as graduation was approaching, zhang chi happened to see a musical called "romeo and juliet". "i was shocked at the time and felt that young people should watch such things."

after that, he consciously wanted to develop in the field of musical theatre, and thus got to know many senior colleagues who had switched from the traditional opera industry.

this also gave zhang chi more ambition and confidence to change careers and study acting well, so he began to try to combine peking opera with his favorite modern performance form.

during this period, he participated in many drama performances and gradually accumulated various experiences.

during this process, zhang chi finally discovered that the peking opera he had learned for 9 years was actually "a treasure that is inexhaustible" - this laid the foundation for his future transformation into a successful comedian.

but his real entry into the entertainment industry was several years after graduation.

in 2020, zhang chi won the runner-up in the annual finals of "avenue of stars" with a song "rebuilding the country and waiting for the young" with a theatrical tone, and officially entered the industry.

after that, he participated in variety shows such as "hi sing turn" and "cctv lantern festival gala", but the response was lukewarm.

what is not well known is that zhang chi has never signed a contract with an agency, and his resources are basically dependent on introductions from friends. he once lived in extreme poverty, and sometimes he could "almost not pay the rent."

but fortunately, i am optimistic by nature and i can get one or two roles before every "desperate situation". i am "lucky".

before entering the recording of "annual comedy competition" in october 2021, zhang chi had been looking for opportunities to participate in film and television dramas.

every time he went for an audition, he was determined to fail.

i went to many crews and met many directors. “i know he won’t use me, and he also knows he won’t use me, but we both have to go through this process.”

in the end, zhang chi was selected for the "annual comedy competition", but when he received the program invitation sent by the other party via weibo, he still thought he was a scammer.

"i don't have many followers, but i'm a fan of "u can u bibi" and "summer of the band". the other party came up and said that he was the director of "summer of the band". isn't this obviously a liar?"

he didn't reply for a few days until a good friend came to ask him if he had received an invitation to a comedy show. only then did zhang chi realize that it was his friend who recommended him.

so, a few months later he stepped onto the stage as a member of the comedy club "three axes", and performed works such as "ten years of hard work offstage" and "my girlfriend is here". he also won the highest score with "the last lesson".

but during the several months of competition, zhang chi did not have a smooth journey.

at first, he couldn't find a partner because of his slow-moving personality. later, the program team recommended jiang long.

in fact, the two of them didn't have a good impression of each other when they first met - he felt that jiang long "always squinted and looked at people sideways, and was unfriendly"; jiang long felt that "he was quite big and fierce."

but these two people have become the pair with the best tacit understanding in the entire season, which is incredible.

moreover, the two are completely different. compared with jiang long's sharp, extrovert and lively personality, zhang chi appears to be more low-key and steady, so the initial spotlight was not on him, and he seemed willing to be a "green leaf".

zhang chi said frankly: "a play needs both red flowers and green leaves. i will go wherever the play needs me."

from this point of view, there is still an insecure side to his character - even though success is just around the corner.

3. "ancient puppet evil wind"

zhang chi made his acting debut in 2022, playing a role in the "dangerous kiss" unit in the short film "big world gachapon machine". he collaborated with his old partner, fellow comedian shi ce.

afterwards, his career as a film and television actor became unstoppable, with roles coming one after another.

first of all, it was a good start: in the spring festival movie "man jiang hong" at the beginning of 2023, zhang chi made a guest appearance as the left guard chen liang.

although this character only appears in a few shots and his personality is not well-designed, being a loyal but stupid minor character, zhang chi cherishes him very much.

in his opinion, it was unbelievable that he could work with zhang yimou in his "screen debut".

it turned out that after the "comedy competition" ended, former mentor yu hewei learned about the filming plan of "man jiang hong" and recommended zhang chi to the director.

when he first entered the shooting site, he was confused again. the first scene was to pull shen teng through the corridor. he was very nervous because he couldn't find the feeling, but fortunately he did it in the end.

then zhang chi encountered new challenges and new opportunities.

according to him, after filming "man jiang hong", he wanted to make a tv series, and it would be best if he could collaborate with ren suxi.

not long after, she received an audition notice for "hometown, how are you?", and the heroine was ren suxi.

the female partner also has some comedic style, which coincides perfectly with zhang chi's. the two of them work together very well, and he becomes the "funny man" in the show.

indeed, the second male lead liu feng, played by him in the play, is particularly funny as soon as he appears on the stage, even without speaking. he perfectly interprets the role of an introverted straight man with a strong desire to win.

it is reported that ren suxi gave him a 1:1 oscar trophy during the filming, which made zhang chi excited and made a wish: i want to win an acting award.

what he said was not completely nonsense. after all, he later produced works such as "tomorrow's survival guide" and "goodbye, li kele". although the response was average, at least he had started.

then this year, zhang chi appeared on cctv spring festival gala again and performed the sketch "can it be the same?"

as for film and television dramas, he has performed in "love in the city" and "joy of life 2", but his roles are not many.

it was not until the hit of "the story of the willow boat" that the outside world saw a different "houye". he himself jokingly called himself "the first person to go against the routine of ancient idol dramas."

indeed, whether in terms of appearance or temperament, zhang chi seems to have nothing to do with ancient idols, but his nine-year peking opera career has given him an excellent demeanor of ancient people. although his appearance is not handsome, it is unique.

in the early part of the plot, every time he acted opposite the male lead zhang wanyi, there were countless jokes, and he was relaxed and at ease, making people laugh out loud.

currently, zhang chi also has tv series such as "the king of comedy" with jiang long, "the unpleasant courage" with li gengxi and wei daxun, "tomorrow's survival guide" with sun qian, and two movies "the warehouse" and "into the shape".

can you see his ambition for acting?

i also believe that zhang chi, who is full of talent, will go further and further on this path.