Like many children, Gong Jun had a lot of ideas before going to university: "I didn't think about my future life when I was a kid. I didn't feel the pressure until I took the college entrance examination and realized that I had to fight for it."
So far, he has found the career that he wants to do, his life turned towards the direction he is passionate about.
During his university years, Gong Jun got many opportunities to shoot adverts because of his excellent appearance and sunny personality.
"I'm a lucky person. Besides some scattered adverts, I happened to meet a brand that was changing its style. They were looking for a model who likes to smile, so I basically had a photoshoot every week, and gradually I had a stable income."
Just being in the advertising studio was not Gong Jun's original intent when he "put up a fight" and applied for the performance major, so he moved to Beijing and began to seek every opportunity to be seen in film and television works.
"Only by going to auditions without stopping will it be possible to get to the next step."Being an actor is a profession that needs chances, and it needs time and opportunity.
"My past experience can't be said to be smooth sailing, and many opportunities needed to be grasped and created by myself. When I first went to Beijing, I thought that if I put in the effort and gave it a try there would definitely be chances."
Keeping this in mind, Gong Jun takes every scene seriously and cherishes every role. He enjoys different lives during his performance, feels the joys and sorrows of each character, learning from the experience and ready to go forward at any moment.
Gong Jun straightforwardly expresses his joy of entering the acting industry "Since I chose to be an actor, the audience's recognition of me is very important. The more audiences who are willing to watch my performance, the more possibilitity for me to choose a work I like."
When being the focus, what comes alongside attention is applause and controversy.
"In the beginning, I was not very able to withstand some unwarranted attacks, but I gradually got used to it, and I can comfort myself that everyone has gone through this. I just need to focus on what I want to do and what I should do well."
"Everyone who sees me will have their own perceptions of me. For me, I just hope that the label of an actor can be heavier and heavier on me, my works are the key factor for me to have a foothold."
Gong Jun has his own inner self-measure.
So he began to try and to take on challenges, and from these he got the fun of being an actor. He has his own understanding of each role, and the sound of the outside world can no longer shake his firm passion.
Han Ye in "The Legend of An Le" is deep and reserved.
"Because this character is quite different from my own personality, in the beginning I had a period of adjustment. He is very restrained in all aspects, and all his emotions are enclosed within his heart."
Dong Fang Yue Chu from "Fox Spirit Matchmaker" is lively and cute.
"I think he must have been a witty kid when he was young, because both his parents died, he could only protect himself. His feelings in adulthood are also very direct, which is completely different from Han Ye."
In comparison to Sagittarius' natural love for freedom, Gong Jun is very career-minded.
"I'm a person with a strong sense of crisis. It's not about age anxiety, for this I'll just go with the flow, act the roles according to my age. It's just that everyone is watching me now, I'm sailing against the current, I still have a lot of themes I want to get in touch with."
He is enjoying his busy work at the moment. "I cherish the current state very much. Opportunities don't come easy. If you don't fight, you won't be worthy of yourself."
As for how old he'll continue fighting to, he did not give an exact number, but Gong Jun does not evade in regards to his current goal "I hope that I will receive award recognition for my acting."
Although Gong Jun is firm in work, he does not neglect for his family, not long ago he went home and cooked a tableful of dishes for his family.
"My mother loves reading books and has unique insights into some literary works, so occasionally I'll send her the script I'm choosing; my dad likes fishing, so I bought him an off-road vehicle, so that he can go fishing in the wild at any time."
The harmonious and warm family environment gives Gong Jun full confidence to achieve his goals. He hopes to try the theme of realism, so that the audience can see more of the infinite possibilities of actor Gong Jun.
"Maybe there are some life experiences I haven't experienced yet, but as long as its a good script, I'm very willing to take the time to adapt to this role in advance."
"Just like Teacher Haiqing's interview about 'Return to Dust', she also spent half a year beforehand living the life of her character." Gong Jun feels that this kind of "deliberate experience" is necessary, perceiving is through experiencing, "Actors are empaths."
From the moment he appeared on camera, Gong Jun has never changed, in silence he is concise, in noise he remains composed.
Q: Looking back on your days in Shanghai, were you happy?
Gong Jun: "Because I had to pay the rent myself, so there was pressure in life, but overall I was happy during that time. 2 of my classmates and I lived in a house, and occasionally sing, or eat barbeque at night etc."
Q. Which drama have you been enjoying the most recently?
Gong Jun: "It's all very enjoyable, for each drama I will deliberately choose the experience that I haven't tried before."
Q. Which director would you like to work with?
Gong Jun: "When I was in school, I liked watching the films of directors Jiang Wen and Jia Zhangke, so I shall daringly imagine, I hope to have the opportunity to work with them."
Q. Does your family have any expectations for you?
Gong Jun: "Just be healthy, my family tells me that body is the most important."
Q. How has your body maintenance been recently?
Gong Jun: "Not only recently, I have always been keeping my body in shape, and I even 'showed off' my abs on Weibo previously."
Q. Would you be averse to sharing about your life?
Gong Jun: "I have no objection towards sharing that has boundaries. For example, if I go on a variety show, I will be willing to show my true self."
Beijing Drifter: Someone who travels from their hometown to Beijing, the capital city of China, to build a better future for themselves.
Gong Jun: "Recently, this feeling fades because my work is so tight that I almost have no time to think about it. But if there's a holiday, I want to go back to Chengdu to see my family, or if they have time to visit me, I will also take this opportunity to go out for a walk."
What do you think your hometown means to you?
Gong Jun: "It is a backing, if I really can’t make become successful here, I can go back. This allows me to let go of my concerns and move forward boldly."
Do you think that you are a true Chengdu native?
Gong Jun: "I think to determine if someone is a true Chengdu native it depends on whether they know how to play Mahjong. Everyone around me, including my family, can play mahjong. But I don't, so I think I'm not that authentic."
Gong Jun: "During long vacations, I will go and have fun around Chengdu. There are quite a lot of fun places in Sichuan. But I won’t just lie around at home, I don’t really like not doing anything."
What phrases in the Chengdu dialect do you say to your family the most?
Gong Jun: "要得😆(good/okay)！巴适😆 (comfy/looks good)！安逸😆 (comfortable)! "
- END -
Original source: http://www.xiaohongshu.com/discovery/item/6256a219000000002103e1cf
To Gong Jun, the popularity of WOH is unexpected. But also expected, he did think that it'll be liked by people. Because from the filming to the set design, back & front of the camera, every single aspect, the crew put lots of attention into it.
After he was casted, Gong Jun pre-read and researched the script, immersing himself into it, and having a deeper understanding. He also had martial arts and physical training, to become more similar to the character's disposition and aura.
His sincerity in creating this character can be seen. To become familiar with the fan-spinning, he tied a rubber-band to his hand and practiced it repeatedly.
Even now, many months after filming has wrapped, he fan-spinning skills are still good. It is at a standard where it can demonstrate it at a live event.
There are rumours that WOH has two different kinds of endings. Gong Jun thinks that no matter if its WOH, scripts he chooses himself, or when he is an audience, a "happy reunion" type of ending isn't a must for him.
Gong Jun says "I'm alright with either a happy ending or a bad ending, a good/bad ending caters to the whole storyline, so every kind of ending exists for a reason."
Gong Jun about portraying Wen Kexing:
"He is someone who is very emotional, in one scene he could have many emotion changes, one second he's happy, the next second he's angry. The interchanging of emotions is really difficult."
To portray such a complex character well, Gong Jun tried many different methods, adjusting his expressions, as well as discussing it with the directors, screenwriters and other cast members in the scene. Finding inadequacies in the takes, and improving them.
Gong Jun: "I worked hard to turn myself into Wen Kexing, thinking that in the moment I am Wen Kexing, if this is me, what would I do when facing these situations?"
Face expressions and emotional control of several important WKX scenes are the result of Gong Jun's hard work.
Besides the important Wen Kexing scenes,Wen Kexing's entire way of thinking. motives and behavior, are also the results of Gong Jun's hard work. This includes the differences in Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu's knowledge/perception.
Gong Jun: "Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu two people with completely different personalities, they save each other and complement each other."
Gong Jun: "I have a preference towards the process, the process itself is a form of enjoyment. All the efforts given isn't completely for the purpose of achieving a good result. But definitely, to have a good result is the best thing."
At this moment, Gong Jun thinks that the greatest benefit is being able to choose a script that he wants. He says: “Following this, I definitely have to put a heavy focus on acting, I am an actor after all, I hope to act in some suspense-themed works.”
Q&A
Besides acting, are there any things you want to try?
Gong Jun: I want to sing, hahaha don't laugh, release my own song, fulfil my dream of having a small-sized concert hahaha.
Looking at your weibo, you are a loyal fan of gaming, which squad do you like?
Gong Jun: Hahaha, I am indeed a fan of gaming, I like all (the squads), I support them all.
Are there any special words you want to say to your fans?
Gong Jun: Thank you for supporting and liking me, I will carry your liking with me and continue to work hard, I hope we'll be prosperous together, be happy everyday.
Still remember during that big rain in Hengdian on 3rd June last year, that was my first time walking into your world, to experience your life that had been corroded by hatred, to undergo your difficulties and salvation, to mull over your deeply felt pain.
A year has passed, 'Word of Honor' has reached a full-stop, and for you, isn't it time you put down your fixations, and come to the mortal realm to take a look.
Our world, is very different from the place you lived in. There is no Ghost Valley here, there are no unresolvable hatred or pointless killing, you don't have to clench your fists and hide your thoughts, when you want to laugh you can laugh freely, when you want to cry you don't have to forcefully hold it in.
I remember that you once said, you lived your entire life in untimeliness.
Your world was once covered in darkness, you relied on your own strength to slowly break free from the human hearts and ghosts
You avenged the deep blood debt of your parents, you chased the monsters back to hell, opened the Armoury that was locked for a long time, met your best "zhi ji" Zhou Zishu.
But regret and pain is unavoidable, throughout this whole path you lost many important people, your sister A Xiang who was like your kin, Aunt Luo whose kindness that is too much to repay, Long Que, and many other innocent people who had to suffer.
Sometimes I think, if Wen Kexing lives in my parallel world, what kind of person will he become?
What to do in the mortal realm, so it doesn't become a wasted trip?
Like his parents, become a healer that practices medicine to save lives? Become a widely respected hero who upholds goodness and vanquishes evil? Or be a normal and happy person?
In the past, I did not have an answer, but now I think that, there doesn't exist a singular answer.
The story of Wen Kexing in the mortal realm, has to be written by yourself.
The mortal realm is filled with fireworks, there's joy and there's pain.
Lao Wen, stop letting it be so difficult for yourself, and don't bury everything inside your heart. You have to be better to yourself, all your choices, will all lead to the best arrangements.
Recently, the temperature is slowly rising again, everything around appears filled with life, spring is right before our eyes.
Outside the window the sounds of birds can be heard. many light breezes blows by, the noisy streets, the continuous cars, the bustling pedestrians, everyone has their own sorrows and happiness. Actually, a simple life is quite interesting too.
And the sunlight is warm, it is the warmth that you have always yearned to have, you'll like it.
Lao Wen, considering your ordinary dish ordering skills, when you're here, I'll order a table of good food, to give you the best welcome.
Taking a trip to the mortal realm, you have to bask under the sun more.
If it's possible, let us begin a new life.
Wen Kexing, how lucky I am to have met you, I once walked with you through the hardship of the human world and the desolation of the human feelings, next I also want to bring you to taste the sweetness and bitterness of the human world.
Drink a flask of fine wine, savour the flourishing and the loneliness of the world.
But you mustn't worry about the journey here, I will personally wait for your arrival.
Going to separate from you, like we had just met yesterday.
Determined heart, without any regrets left in the world.
When the bright moon is in the clear sky, is when we'll meet again in the mortal realm.
In the entertainment industry, Gong Jun is neither an early success nor a late bloomer. Before the opportunity came, he was diligent and self-disciplined, and when the opportunity came, he was still humble and peaceful. What Gong Jun wants more, is continuous growth and continuous flow.
On the day of the interview, the weather in Qingdao was sunny. Gong Jun was sitting in the dressing room wearing a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up high. To his right, there was a large floor-to-ceiling window, and the sea was outside the window.
This is Gong Jun's first winter in Qingdao. "It's cold and windy, but the scenery is good." Gong Jun filmed "Rising With The Wind" in Qingdao, playing the business elite Xu Si in the drama. The drama filming has not wrapped yet, Gong Jun can't talk about it too much, he can only share more feelings about living here. For example, the weather is very dry, so he bought a humidifier, but he still "can't stand it". The good thing is, he likes to eat the raw and pickled seafood here. Yesterday, his friends cooked scallops and oysters and sent them over, he thought it was delicious.
Gong Jun has been away from his hometown of Chengdu for more than ten years. When he was a child, his parents owned a provision store. At that time, Gong Jun thought that it would be great if he could open a skewer store and a hot pot store in the future. But he didn't expect to become an actor when he grew up, and also now he seldom eats red soup hot pot. "I'm not prone to putting on weight easily, but I will still put on weight." Gong Jun is very self-controlled and eats very little carbohydrates. It is not a special requirement for the characters he portrays, but comes from his self-discipline, "You can't get fat when filming."
Gong Jun also likes to exercise. He is very busy with filming, so he can only go to the gym when he has the time. “Fitness training allows me to maintain my body lines and rejuvenate. When I see the effect, I want to maintain it." During the time when he was the most cruel to himself, Gong Jun would use a measuring food scale to calculate the food content, protein, vitamins, sugars precisely. “The effect can only be seen by being strict, so the advice to fitness people is only ‘persistence’, nothing else.” Gong Jun said.
For him now, it is indeed a very important thing to show a full mental state in the camera. On one hand, he is living like that, and on the other hand, he cherishes the moment’s opportunity.
Gong Jun graduated from the performance department of Donghua University. Yuan Che, the frank and loyal eleventh prince in the costume fantasy romance drama "Lost Love in Times", made him known to some audiences, but this is not enough for him to gain a firm foothold in the entertainment industry.
Gong Jun is very afraid that he would stop, because "I don't know what else I could film after this drama is completed”. For half a year after he completed filming for “Lost Love in Times SP”, he had nothing to do for a period of time, the resumes he sent out did not receive a response, he even flew to other cities to audition, but there was no outcome. Gong Jun fell into deep self-doubt. "I just thought am I too stupid, or my acting was too bad, or other reasons."
From the beginning of 2021, Gong Jun gradually gained more attention. Originally, he was in Chengdu for the New Year, and he asked his manager what he should do with the free time in March. Then March came, and he was suddenly so busy that he didn't even have time to rest. In the early hours of the morning, he was still filming on set, after wrapping for the day he had to go to a different city to film a variety show. At times he had more than ten interviews per day, and slept an average of five hours a day... He used to be able to go shopping and eating with friends at will, but now he is afraid of disturbing the public order, he can only make a restaurant booth reservation in advance. However, the compression of personal space also means the broadening of the acting path, at least now when he is selecting drama roles, it’s no longer that passive.
In the rescue-themed emotional drama "The Flaming Heart", Gong Jun played the brave, calm, restrained and determined firefighter Huo Yan, and in the romantic suspense drama "Dream Garden", he became a strict and dedicated psychological counselor Lin Shen, from July to November last year, he filmed "The Legend of An Le" in Hengdian for four months. From December, he played the investor Xu Si in the urban workplace drama "Rising With The Wind". Gong Jun said that when choosing dramas, he will try to avoid similar roles, because, "Not only will the audience feel bored, I will not have a feeling of freshness too."
Gong Jun believes that he is not a talented actor, he can only rely on "acting a lot, seeing a lot, and slowly trying to understand what acting is about". He also doesn't feel that he is able to sense the environment richly, but his “ability to empathize is quite good". Sometimes when his drama character talks about their own life experience or emotional troubles, the corresponding imagery will appear in Gong Jun’s mind, but sometimes due to the constraints of time or space, he cannot 100% interpret the character, but Gong Jun will find a way to be more mindful.
After a long time, these characters have all become people that Gong Jun has spent time with, they are intertwined in Gong Jun's memory, often making him feel like he is traveling through time and space. In the summer of last year, he was filming the costume drama "The Legend of An Le" in Hengdian, he wore a thick headgear and thick clothes every day, and his scalp was allergic. How did he suddenly transform into a business elite? Gong Jun thinks that the most amazing thing about being an actor is this kind of change, it’s not saying goodbye to each role, but seeing the growth they bestowed on you.
In the past six months, Gong Jun has also started thinking about things in the long term. "What I'm perplexed about now is how to transform, what works to film in the future, and how to go further. You have to know what you are doing in this career, and you have to make plans for yourself, instead of letting others push you along." Right now, there are no exact answers to these questions, but Gong Jun is not in a hurry. There might not be a moment of sudden enlightenment and inspiration in the future, but he says, it won’t be wrong to feel slowly and improve slowly.
SUPERELLE X GONG JUN
SuperELLE: For you now, is it important to maintain a good body line on camera?
Gong Jun: It is very important at present, I hope that I look good in front of the audience. In the future if the role requires it, for example, like Matthew McConaughey, to portray someone who is fat or thin, then I will also do it.
SuperELLE: Besides fitness training, what other sports would you like to try?
Gong Jun: I think snowboarding is very cool, and I have taken a few classes. But the thing I want to do most is a self-driving road trip. If I can, I will drive all over the world. The car gives me a feeling of freedom, I can go where I want to go, I can see the scenery along the way, and I can also experience different people and cultures.
SuperELLE: What qualities have your past roles given you?
Gong Jun: What I learned from each character is different. Every industry has its own story, and the process of portraying the role is also experiencing a different life. For example, when portraying a psychological counselor or an elite investor, after receiving the script the first time you may not understand when you read it, but you can check it yourself and discuss it with the screenwriter, it isn’t a very in-depth knowledge of the industry, but you can know a few things.
SuperELLE: So each character bestows on you a different energy.
Gong Jun: Yes, actors are quite lucky in this aspect. You can feel different environments, characters, atmospheres, and that's something I really enjoy.
SuperELLE: What movie and TV works have you watched recently?
Gong Jun: Those I didn’t watch last year. “The Father”, “The Lincoln Lawyer”, “Dune”, “Don't Look Up”. And Teacher Zhou Xun and Teacher Huang Lei’s “A Little Mood for Love”, I heard that many of their details were created on the spot. But the presentation method of a film and a television drama is different, a film has to be expressed in the shortest possible time. For television dramas, especially modern dramas, the performance method should be more lifelike, these can all be referenced.”
English translation by me @gongjun_ also published on Gong Jun Global. Please do not copy and paste elsewhere.
Original article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/T8wrLE9wkEdVLX2WW_2DsQ
[220303] Gong Jun - Harper's Bazaar Men March 2022 Issue
Gong Jun is a person with his feet firmly on the ground. The outside world praises his sincerity, and the change of his favourable circumstances did not change his attitude towards the world at all, instead he warned himself not to drift. At the same time, he loves self-driving tours, galloping to the end of the sky, going deep into the natural wilderness, and taking off from the ground. There is a gust of wind in his heart, from the nature of a Sagittarius, from the Bashi of Chengdu people, and from his desire for freedom, always flying and always landing.
During a cold weekend in February, before filming started, Gong Jun, who was doing makeup and hair, was looking down at his phone, and a row of cars was displayed on the screen. "Are you looking at the car?" "Yes, I'm looking at where to go on a self-driving tour to take a break after the filming of this drama."
A year ago, Gong Jun, who had just risen to fame, participated in a variety show. When asked what he wanted to do if given a week, he said he would go on a self-driving tour in Xinjiang. Now that one year has passed, the trip to Xinjiang has not yet begun. He wanted to go to Southern Xinjiang and Northern Xinjiang, but he thought again, how could there be such a long vacation, maybe he would not be able to go. Looking at the car rental on his phone is a kind of "thirst quencher".
Gong Jun likes self-driving tours. He has been to Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Hainan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai etc. When he was in Inner Mongolia in autumn, all he could see was beautiful golden colour. He drove the car on the road for seven or eight days and went to Genhe City in Hulunbuir to feed the lovely reindeer.
Gong Jun's life is grounded and down-to-earth. The outside world praises his sincerity, and the change of his favourable circumstances did not change his attitude towards the world at all, instead he warned himself not to drift. If you ask him what has changed? "I've grown up." he said calmly.
And galloping to the end of the sky and going deep into the natural wilderness is the B side of his life that is as rare as "flying".
At precisely 9:00 am, the glass door of the studio opened, someone pulled the glass door, and then Gong Jun, who was wearing a long white down jacket, appeared exactly on time.
Interviews are stressful, it is unknown that which questions cannot be asked, whether the interviewee is in a good mood, and whether they have a desire to talk. But when the interview started, Gong Jun who was getting his hair and makeup done, immediately put away his phone and said with a smile, "Come!" Then he took the recording device, "Put it here with me!"
His punctuality and friendliness are priceless.
The conversation topic started from the Winter Olympics. Gong Jun said that Su Yiming is very good, and Su Yiming also acted in "The Taking of Tiger Mountain". And Gong Jun loves snowboarding, we asked him if he would like to do both arts and sports? "I'm old, there's no such possibility." He said with laugher.
But he feels that he hadn't grown up yet, because there is still acne on his face, he analysed that it might be because of wearing makeup every day. Recently, he has grown two at a time, and he couldn't help squeezing it. "When squeezing pimples, you must squeeze it clean and squeeze out the blood." Then he changed to a serious tone and said, "Don't squeeze it yourself, in case it gets infected."
In the Spring Festival that just passed, he became a child again. Filming “Rising With The Wind" in Qingdao, there was a few days of break, and his parents and grandmother came to see him. It was cold and windy in Qingdao, so his grandmother couldn't stay outside, she watched the replays of his dramas “Dream Garden” and “Begin Again” every afternoon. He initially thought that his grandmother could not understand the psychological drama “Dream Garden”, but his grandmother said that he acted very well, "Actually, she thinks that it’s fine as long as there’s me.”
As we grow up, the taste of the year fades away, but the family always needs to be neat and tidy.
Gong Jun grew up in an ordinary family in Wuhou, Chengdu. His parents and grandparents gave him endless love. He was a mischievous and contented kid. When he was in junior high school, he learned how to cook from the adults, until now he still has good culinary skills.
In high school, he was discovered by his teacher, embarked on the road of performance, and was admitted to the performance department of Donghua University.
After going to university, due to his superior appearance and perseverance, very quickly he became the "Little Prince of Advertising" in the Shanghai advertising circle. After graduation, he went to Beijing to try out at drama filming sets, the real test has arrived. After submitting his information, it would be great even if he got selected for two dramas out of ten. During this period, it was a torturous and endless wait. By meticulously going for auditions, Gong Jun received his works, such as "Lost Love in Times" and "The Player".
After he finished filming "Lost Love in Times", he had no dramas to film for half a year, that was when he had the greatest self-doubt. He went to try out for different dramas but he never got a response, there were a few rare auditions, but he did not get the opportunity in the end.
At that time, he could not help but doubt himself a little.
When interviewed later, he was asked if he had ever been belittled, and he answered the question straightforwardly, “To be honest, there was belittleness, all types of careers will certainly have it.” And he told his own way of dealing with it, “You have to make yourself stronger, so that the enemies or the competitors who belittle you will see what makes you shine, and they’ll never belittle you again in the future.”
The change in circumstances did not affect his state of mind. He doesn’t find it bothersome. “This is a thing that is directly proportional. You have to take on more to gain more. This is a good thing, and now I am on the rise, so I have to fight hard." He was even asked if he was afraid of becoming obsolete, “So what if I become obsolete, because an actor’s works are the most important, once your works have strong footing, people will remember you.”
As you can imagine, he's probably the kind of boy who knows he's good-looking, grew up in love, and hasn't suffered major setbacks. In this regard, there is always a sense of optimism on him.
Works, are what Gong Jun frequently mentions in his interviews.
Many people think that he was an overnight success. In fact, he has been filming for six years and has more than a dozen film and television works. Becoming famous is of course a kind of life accelerator. In 2021, he activated his screen domination mode, and five of his works have been broadcast one after another. One of the dramas is “Dream Garden” which is said to have opened up a new category for “sweet horror dramas”.
In 2022, his upcoming works include “Rising With The Wind” which is he currently filming, and the costume drama “The Legend of An Le”.
In “Rising With The Wind” his co-star is Zhong Chuxi, the theme is particularly new, it tells the story of the rise of the Chinese trends, and also includes hot topics related to young people, such as live broadcasts, Internet trolls, and are closely related to reality. The characters are also very likable. The main persona of Gong Jun’s character (an investor) is that he is a charismatic jerk, no matter in the workplace or his romance with the female main character.
"The Legend of An Le" is a costume drama, and the opposite actor is Dilraba Dilmurat. The characters are reticent, and the biggest challenge to him is, "The roles I played before were not so restrained; the acting was quite suppressive." During filming, the director often reminded him, "Prince, you have to be steady." He wants to make himself more calm little by little.
"What kind of drama do you most want to film now?"
We thought Gong Jun would say some classic movies or roles, but he happily said, “We are currently having discussions around dramas with a theme of realism.” This is what he has always wanted to act in, “I told my team that I will do my best to fight for it.”
Then he leaned over to the recording device and said, “There will be more costume dramas later, we are already discussing Xianxia dramas, friends." He raised his head and smiled, “I’m answering my fans' questions.”
You can feel Gong Jun's career-mindedness at any time.
What he enjoys most about acting is, "I have received everyone’s recognition. I saw everyone complimenting me in "Dream Garden", saying that I have improved, and I hope that I will improve more in my subsequent works. At the same time, it is my wish to act well. I will put pressure on the team to strive for roles, if there is good information from drama sets I will get them to quickly have discussions.” He once said in an interview, "The most perfect happiness is to film a good work first."
Looking back at his previous works, he says with a clear conscience, "Those were the best works that I could pick at that time, and I did my best in portraying them."
He once said that he is not a talented actor, but acting is a profession that requires talent, skills and even opportunities. How to narrow the gap between reality and dreams? His answer is a power of belief.
Someone made a list of the films Gong Jun watched, and it was a lengthy page. Talking to Gong Jun about movies is pleasant, and it is also the time when he talks the most about. He recently watched "Don't Look Up" and "Dune," then marvelled at Anthony Hopkinson's performance in "The Father". He wants to become an actor like that, he wants to become Kevin Spacey, Matthew McConaughey. Not only are his acting skills amazing, Matthew Matthew McConaughey lost more than 50 pounds for his role in "Dallas Buyers Club", "That’s being an actor." Gong Jun says.
Except for becoming thinner to film the costume dramas, Gong Jun has yet to meet a role that specially requires him to lose weight, he looks forward to it. “I can become however fat or however thin.”
As for appearing in a movie, there are also invitations, but he is still waiting for the opportunity, "It's not at that point yet. The first movie is very important, I have to wait for a good one."
About his famous saying “Don't drift”, Gong Jun says:“There is nothing good to drift (ie. become prideful). Did you get any awards? No. Did you get the recognition you wanted? No, you have nothing, what’s there to drift, and you can’t drift.”
“At least you received commercial and fan recognition.”
“Thank you everyone. But I don't think it's enough.” Gong Jun knows that works are what sets actors apart, and he wants to keep his feet firmly on the ground.
The photoshoot was very fast, wearing the hood of the hoodie, standing in front of the red backdrop. The camera right in his face, the red light hit his cheeks, and that face appeared on the screen with a rich colour, he seemed more soulful and quiet than when he is off-camera. Especially his eyes that look up, seem to have infinite reverie and longing for life.
After the photoshoot, he glanced at the screen, as he was walking back to the dressing room to change his clothes, he said happily, "It looks good, I also think that this picture looks good."
Gong Jun makes people happy.
Recently, he frequently appeared in the New Year Countdowns, Spring Festival and Lantern Festivals. He says “I think I've sung a little too much recently, and I'm afraid of causing everyone's aversion.” As for the outside world's mocking of his singing skills, he is relaxed and couldn't help but make fun of himself, “There's no choice, this is the best I can sing. Because when I mess up it’s fun too, so it doesn't matter, I'm not a professional singer.”
Before the Spring Festival, Gong Jun released his single “Gong Xi Fa Cai”, emphasizing that he achieved his goal of making everyone happy when they listen to it. This festive and cheerful song, with a little bit of “old fashion”, is reminiscent of old Hong Kong stars. For example, during the Chinese New Year, Andy Lau sings “(Andy Lau’s) Gong Xi Fa Cai”. About this, Gong Jun said, “I don't think my song can become a classic, but I hope the dramas I make in the future can become classics."
What are the different feelings brought about by singing and acting? “I’ll think about how to answer it in a fun way.” He paused, "One is in real life, and the other is acting as someone else. One is to make everyone happy, and the other is my main profession."
No matter on stage or in public events, his image is always "bright".
As for the styling, the team usually chooses first, and Gong Jun chooses one of the two sets when he arrives at the scene. Gong Jun: “I like blue” and too exaggerated. He mentioned that in the LV fashion show there was a look with a set of white wings, his fans look forward to him wearing it. He says “Let's see if it can be worn in any photoshoots.”
His requirements for his image are simple and clean. About the most common item in the wardrobe, he says cleverly, “Bags. And they’re all LV.” He is the brand ambassador of LV, and he really works hard.
The atmosphere of the interview became more and more relaxed. Talking about holidays, he has rested for less than half a month in the past year.
The day before, he got fired-up and wanted to learn English. An English teacher will be joining him in the drama set. “It (English) may be necessary when I go abroad for work after the pandemic is over. Not only for work, but I like to travel, and I might also be able to use it when I have the opportunity to travel in the future. What if I travel around the world?”
At this time, you will feel that Fei of Sagittarius and Bashi of Chengdu people are in his heart. See, his aim is also relaxed. At this time you’ll feel that the “flight” of a Sagittarius and the “Bashi” of Chengdu people are within his heart.
As for when he’ll travel around the world, he is more rational in his answer "After my job is stable."
At the end of the interview, we asked, "What is your most important attitude towards life right now?"
Gong Jun: “Don't have to be too conflicted over the present, and don't have to worry too much about the future." He can live well with his current life. Looking back at the so-called obstacles in the past, “What do you think that is?” It was hardly worth mentioning.
In 2022, Gong Jun's key words for himself are: to make progress, not to drift (ie. become prideful), and to act well.
As for money? Gong Jun has a famous meme about “Fa Cai (becoming prosperous)”, for now what he hopes for more is to receive good works, he will act in them even if he doesn’t get paid. “I am not too concerned about materialism, my requirements for life is just comfort, that’s enough.”
English translation by me @gongjun_ also published on Gong Jun Global. No repost allowed.
Original article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/_1GUTbmB8dId0URI6s-FtQ
Stop wandering on this endless path of growth, but achieve success in experiences, search for a direction, never stop searching.
【Shining Like You】
Shining Like You is a drama with a youth inspiration theme, it tells the story of students taking the art college admission examination. As I also had to take the art college admission examination, I personally experienced the difficulties of the examination.
Dancing can be said to be one of the necessary skills of a student who is preparing for the art college admission examination, however for someone like me who lacks body coordination it really was a challenge. Before the drama filming officially began, all the cast members had to undergo around half a month of training, the different forms of stretching every day felt like a nightmare to me, I persevered through that period by enduring the pain. Shining Like You is a reconstruction of the university life of art students, I am also an art student, besides dancing which I am not good at, I am more-or-less familiar with the other aspects, so I was able to be more precise in my portrayal.
【The Unconfident Academic Scholar】
The biggest challenge for me in this drama, besides practicing dancing, was the amount of understanding I had towards academic scholars, because I wasn’t good at academics. In the drama, my role was an all-rounded academic scholar, but in real life I was far from being an academic scholar. I think most boys didn’t enjoy studying, this is my personal opinion, it’s probably an excuse for why I’m not good at academics. There would be many merit students in school, but I definitely wouldn’t be one of them.
Since young I never felt pressure towards studying, the classroom was the best location for sleeping, the internet café was the best playground. Sleeping in class, playing after class, sometimes I would also skip classes to play games. Before I started preparing for the art college admission examination, I might have never fully dedicated myself towards academics, it was only after becoming an art student did I feel that I should really put in some hard work for my life.
【Accident】
The college entrance examination was a nerve-racking period. When I truly realized that I could only enter university by studying, it seemed that everything was too late. But life’s like that, when you’re in despair God will give you a candy.
One ordinary afternoon, there were 3 teachers who came to our class. After a week of observations, one of the teachers pointed towards me and told me to step outside for a moment. Just like this, the doors of the arts admission examination opened for me. I started to become busy with preparations every day, it was fulfilling, it was happy, it was also tiring. Thankfully, I received the acceptance letter from Donghua University not long after. I often thought, what if the teachers didn’t come to our class that day, what if I skipped the class and went to play games that day, what would I be like today?
【My Obstinate Youth, Appearing Before My Eyes Vividly 】
“Youth is a journey with crashes and falls, the beauty is in the realization after.” Those are the song lyrics, and that is how it is in reality too. Filming Shining Like You brought me back to my university campus, this drama is a replay of my university life, the events that occur brought back many memories of those four years.
Construct yourself in the best age and the best time. During that time many students attended classes together, the learning was quite ordinary, but whenever it was time for the actual performance, there would be many ridiculous things that occur in class. As we were all beginners, the acting was very undefined and often quite hysterical.
My university years consisted of joy and tears, those days had the most relaxation and the most sweat. Now, whenever I talk about any moment from those days, I would have many recollections. It was a beautiful memory of my youth. I remember the delicious clay pot rice made by the chef at the 1st floor of Cafeteria 2, I remember being lectured by the Aunty who was monitoring the dormitories when I sneakily ate hotpot in the dormitory, I remember the conspicuous confession messages beneath the parasol tree on campus, I also remember the slightly messy short hair while riding a bicycle in the gentle breeze.
“Only when travelling alone, can you hear your own voice. It will tell you that the world is wider than you think. You can encounter opportunities in the world, but never encounter ‘God’, you have to walk your own path!” – Spirited Away
English translation by me @gongjun_ also published on Gong Jun Global. No repost allowed.
This is a typical workday afternoon; Gong Jun is shooting a commercial at a location in Beijing. What’s different, is that the gaps between the shooting schedule, is filled with other things, starting from the previous workday, Gong Jun had more than 10 interviews each day.
After ‘Word of Honor’, Gong Jun (who portrayed Wen Kexing) had an increase in popularity, his Weibo followers surpassed 10 million, and began working with top brands, there are plenty of news about him filming many variety shows, to a passerby it seems that he will be on the path of newly rising popularity stars. To encourage his studio staff, he secretly changed the name of the group chat from “18 Line Artiste Staff” to “17.5 Line Artiste Staff”.
Translator notes: In the entertainment industry, celebrities have different “line” classifications, the greater the “line” the less popular you are.
“But after two days, I thought that it can’t be like this, we can’t forget our original goals, so I changed the group chat name back, we’ll just continue using that name.” Gong Jun says.
Gong Jun who grew up in an ordinary family, is not stingy in sharing the difficult times of his childhood, but hopes that when people read it, they are able to discern the bright and happy moments within those difficult times. He admits that he is a lucky person, he isn’t willing to elaborate too much on the difficulties he underwent in his career. Because “There is no one in the family that pursues an art-based career, you have to accumulate (knowledge/experience) step by step, slowly fight your way through, become better, I think that this is normal.”
When his performance career began, Gong Jun’s choices involved following the trends within the society – such as entering an ideal university, or living in a foreign city, however after he chose his main path in life, he fell in love with being an actor: portraying different people, experience different lives, there will be plenty of new experiences, and he’ll be able to get viewers’ recognition. To Gong Jun, this is an extremely happy thing.
About his currently popularity, Gong Jun thinks that “This work of yours could be slightly better, everyone sees you, however your next work would need to have that standard too.”, he thinks that currently the most important thing is to get better shows, “I hope that someday I’ll be able to get some awards, and to have recognition.”
Gong Jun still keeps one of his essays from when he was a student, the title was “The Future Me”, he wanted to become a scientist.
After growing up, he wanted to be part of the business industry, because the people in his family are in business, he wanted to open a hotpot store, a skewer store, or an internet café. Gong Jun’s parents have always been doing business, they have sold shoes, sold tobacco and alcohol, and leather shoe processing. He thinks that that his parents aren’t excellent business owners- because they are too kind, they tend to be conned often. “At the start, those people considered my father as a brother, but after my father put in money, it never came back out.”
During middle school, Gong Jun’s father fell sick, he went away to get treated, while his mother opened a provision store, she maintained the business while taking care of her son.
That was a time of difficulty for his family, however talking about it now, Gong Jun remembers the happy times most clearly.
Beside the family provision store is a leather shoe processing factory, the chef in factory often comes to the provision store to play mahjong. After becoming familiar with him, Gong Jun would go to the factory to watch the chef cook, “Huge pot of rice, such a huge pot of it”, from then on Gong Jun learned how to cook, and it was so good that it could be served to his family. “And also because Grandpa had a rule, that girls could not enter the kitchen, and it might also be due to the fact that in the Chuan district, it's more often the males who do the cooking.”
Gong Jun’s mother always teaches him about bargaining, how to assess the situation, it was also during this time that his mother gives him many household duties, such as washing dishes, sweeping and mopping the floor, these made Gong Jun into a person who would clean immediately upon seeing mess in the house, and let him form good work habits. Sometimes when the Gong Jun Studio staff tells him to take a break, he would choose to finish all the tasks before resting.
After entering high school, like all the boys born after the 1990s, Gong Jun fell in love with internet games. Back then, he would discuss with his classmates to sneak out late at night to go to the internet café. The anti-theft door at his home isn’t of a good quality, when he pushes it, it makes a loud noise, but because of the agreement he made with his friend, he sneaks out of the house barefoot, holding his shoes in his hand, slowly opening the anti-theft door and then closing it.
Once when he was at the internet café, Gong Jun’s father suddenly appeared behind him, “It was shocking”, but his father’s speech tone did not become harsh, he only wants him to go home, so Gong Jun left immediately. After reaching home, he was punished with a beating.
“After that, do you still dare to do it?” Yuli asks.
“Um… after that I did do things like that again.” Gong Jun says with laughter. He doesn’t mind talking about his rebellious phase. Because in the things in experienced later on in his life, he had no choice but to use more time to compensate for those moments he spent doing pointless things.
In the second year of high school, there was a teacher who came to the school in search of students with good appearance to learn performance or choreography, Gong Jun was chosen. Gong Jun says: “I was learning art, but it isn’t what I wanted to learn, I didn’t want to continue with it, when I realised that I could learn that instead, I became interested, so I went.”
When he went for the examination, Gong Jun didn’t know anything. The first school he went to was the Nanjing Arts School, he passed the preliminary assessment, but he didn’t dare to go for the re-assessment. “Because I was too unprepared, I was preparing everything at the last minute. During the preliminary assessment, I noticed that everyone around me was very well prepared; their comedic dialogues, their vocal performances, their line recitation, I was truly afraid.”
That year, his classmates went to very good schools, Gong Jun thought to himself that he has to work hard without regrets, and so he decided to go for the re-assessment.
In the year of the re-assessment, Gong Jun and 2 or 3 classmates went to Beijing to take the test together. They rented an open-room apartment, 2 people sharing a room. This time, he was more prepared, he didn’t give himself any options to back down from it, eventually he was accepted by the performance faculty of Shanghai’s Donghua University.
In the 4th year of university, before he graduated, he shot many adverts in Shanghai. As a student in the final year, he earned 30,000-40,000 RMB in a month.
But he discovered that shooting adverts is not something consistent, there are no characters, there are no backstories, all you have to do is to present the happy atmosphere in the advert to the viewers. “But you can’t keep remaining in your comfort zone”, and so he decided to let go of this, and went to Beijing. It seemed to be a place with more production crews, and more opportunities.
Gong Jun had once signed to a company which promised to give him projects every month and give him living expenses too. However, eventually he was not given the projects and the living expenses, so he asked for a contract termination.
“During that time, I only thought about making more money, I didn’t have huge aspirations.” Gong Jun said frankly, after going to Beijing, he didn’t have any work for half a year. “Because to me, Beijing is also an unpredictability, you might end up spending all the money you have not long after you arrive in Beijing.”
After leaving the first company, Gong Jun’s friends recommended to him a reliable friend to be his manager, to go together with him to the auditions.
Actors who travel here from outside Beijing, would go to hotels such as the inn at Beijing’s 3rd Ring Road and Xhome at Dawang Road for castings. Gong Jun went to those places too. There were sad things that happened during auditions, but Gong Jun doesn’t keep them in his memory. “Just forget about it, I think that it might be because I’m not qualified, or I couldn’t reach that target.”
In 2015, 23 year old Gong Jun already acted in the web-movie Sword Chaos. In 2016, the author of a novel that had two male leads saw his picture on Weibo and invited him to act in the drama that was adapted from the novel. In 2017, in the highly anticipated drama 'Lost Love In Times' he portrayed Yuan Che the 11th Prince, and in the web-drama 'The Player' he was the male lead.
"I can be considered as someone who got here step-by-step, the people I met made me feel lucky." Gong Jun admits that his acting career went smoothly, although he once had times where he couldn't get much sleep, and having worn the same soaked shoes or clothes as the stunt double, he says: "But this is what work is like for everyone, they're not worth mentioning."
"There was no one at home who was in the performance related industry, you have to accumulate it by yourself step-by-step, strive and hone yourself, I think that this is something very normal."
"Have you ever been belittled by anyone?" Yuli asks.
"There was. I think there would be belittleness in every career, you have to make yourself stronger, so that the competitors who belittle you will see what makes you shine, and they'll never belittle you again in the future."
A few years ago, Gong Jun flew to Dunhuang City to shoot for Lost Love in Times. At the airport, he discovered that some people were his fans, he said: "Oh my god, there's are actually fans sending me off."
In Lost Love in Times he portrayed an important character, and was also the male lead in The Love Equations, these didn't fully gain him fame. Gong Jun says: "Every single work is like a step, after accumulating work after work, you will be seen by more people in the industry. If I didn't film that many dramas and let myself be seen by industry producers and more fans, then how will I have the works that come afterwards?"
In the preparatory phase of Word of Honor, the main producer Ma Tao wasn't familiar with Gong Jun, however a few of her friends recommended him to her. This enabled Gong Jun to have the chance to audition, he got the role through auditioning with Wen Kexing's drinking scene.
Gong Jun talked with the scriptwriter, he realised that Long Que's death was the turning point which cause Wen Kexing's inner emotions to be released. Gong Jun: "It let him feel that the understandings he had were all incorrect, Jianghu isn't completely filled with faked kindness, there is also a good side."
Upon arriving at the filming location, in the beginning Gong Jun's performance rhythm was slightly fast, his facial expressions weren't quite right, the director suggested him to have more of an "elegant gentleman" form/persona, which allowed Gong Jun to have a deeper portrayal.
Gong Jun referred to his co-star Zhang Zhehan as "Zhang laoshi", he viewed him as his senior. Before they met for the first time, Gong Jun searched about Zhang Zhehan on the internet, he says "This person is quite interesting, why is his Weibo ID 'crazy person'?" After searching, Gong Jun discovered that this person is very determined about the things he is passionate about, "This is something worth learning for me too."
When they first filming scenes together, Gong Jun wasn't very relaxed. Afterwards, he discovered that Zhang Zhehan has improvisations, and so he would also think of new ideas himself.
After Word of Honor aired, the drama's rise in popularity can be seen clearly, Gong Jun often searched about the drama on Weibo, to see what is the audience actual response to the drama.
"Do you feel that you (your career) has taken off?" Yuli asks.
"Definitely not, until now I don't think that I have taken off, our studio groupchat is named 18 Line Artiste Team, I added '(Do Not Be Prideful)' behind the name because I constantly tell my team that we have to treat everyone and everything the same way we did in the past."
Not long ago, Gong Jun passed by Chongwenmen, once again he saw the district that he used to live in when he came to Beijing to take the entry exam to enter the performance department, he doesn't remember how much the rent was, but he says that Chongwenmen is flourishing like it did in the past.
"Does he worry about becoming obsolete?" Yuli asks.
"So what if I become obsolete, they (fans) can go to whoever they want to it doesn't matter, because an actor's works are the most important, once works have strong footing, people will remember you, just like Jackie Chan, and Teacher Andy Lau. An actor's works is what sets him apart from others."
[End of Interview. Translated by @gongjun_ on twitter, no repost allowed.]
Gong Jun 《1129》 Photobook: About ‘Fantasy Westward Journey’
Fantasy Westward Journey is a classic game that has accompanied us for many years, it is an exclusive memory of our youth. I was once also a fan of Fantasy Westward Journey, upon knowing that I would be participating in this drama, I was truly extremely excited, to a super-gamer, to be able to really jump into the game world and portray the image of the main character, tends to be a hallucinatory dream after having stayed up all night, but for me it became a reality.
I brought the great expectation and excitation with me into the drama filming, the mountains, rivers, canyons and valleys that I once explored in the game were all created with green cloth (ie. for green screen technology) during the actual filming, the fantastical abilities that the character uses were also created by post-production. For me what I had to face was the challenging "no-prop acting", at that time it contained a certain amount of difficulty for me, the environment around were all green cloth, it requires the actor to find the vision direction, angles and exact spot. In addition, the storyline contains intersection between traditional scenes and modern day scenes, which requires a simultaneous switching between acting state and way of conversation, for the traditional clothing scenes the way of talking tends to slightly more elegant and refined, the modern day scene dialogues are more normal and plain, many of the scenes were done through freely and instantaneous switching between the two states, in this process I not only learned many things, but also obtained more ways of acting.
