Chen Kun: Move Along the Actor's Journey

The 11th BJIFF

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“Acting is a dialogue with the heart. The love from the bottom of my heart constantly inspires me and will take me further." In his 22 years of career, Chen Kun has participated in more than 50 works. He enjoys the process of deeply understanding each role, and has also brought countless characters with distinctive personality and profound memory to the audience. To Chen Kun, being invited as the judge of this year’s Tiantan Award can be regarded as a special encounter with film.

A Collection of Chen Kun, Judge of the International Award Committee of Tiantan Award

In 1996, Chen Kun was admitted to the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy as an undergraduate student. He attracted intensive attraction by the fact that he got No.1 in boy’s group in the examination and his possession of an excellent appearance. In his junior year, Chen Kun was selected by director Wu Ziniu to play second lead Nie Er in the film The National Anthem, which paved his way of acting. Audience remembered him as a clean and refreshing young image.

Nie Er played by Chen Kun in the film The National Anthem

In 2004, the film The Little Chinese Seamstress starring Chen Kun was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film in the 61st Golden Globe Award; In 2007, he won the Excellent Actor Award of the 12th China Ornamental Column Awards for his film The Knot, and became the youngest Excellent Actor Award winner in the history of the Ornamental Column Awards.

He once wrote in an article: "one evening, when I finished work, I accidentally glanced at the boundless sand outside the Great Wall, and the sun was like blood. I suddenly had an idea that I want to be a good actor."

Chen Kun is aware that becoming a good actor is by no means an overnight achievement. He has a long way to go and needs to slow down and feel it with heart. In 2008, Chen Kun suspended his performance for eight months to thoroughly examine and understand the profession of performing and decided to restart again, make breakthrough and take on challenging roles.

In Let The Bullets Fly, Chen Kun took on villain Hu Wan, an unpopular role, for the first time. At first, even Jiang Wen can't believe that he will agree to play such a small role, but it turns out that he can make strong impression on people by playing such a small supporting role. Chen Kun acquired a deeper understanding of the profession of performing by playing supporting role. He learned to cherish every shot and experience the joys and sorrows of small roles. Chen Kun accumulated rich acting skills from continuous experience and deliberation, and showed more exquisite acting skills in his later works.

Hu Wan played by Chen Kun in Let The Bullets Fly

After winning the Best Actor Award in the 30th The People's Hundred Flowers Awards in 2010, Chen Kun ushered in another stage in his acting career in 2011. In Tsui Hark’s film Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, Chen played two roles: the feminine and cruel Yu Huatian and the humorous and wild Feng Lidao. Chen successfully harnessed these two roles with different appearances and personalities.

Yu Huatian played by Chen Kun in Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

Chen Kun never sticks to a specific role image. He can be either expressionless Chiang Ching-Kuo in The Founding of a Republic, intractable Hu Bayi in Mojin-The Lost Legend, or a reckless street gangster in Chongqing Hot Pot. Chen can play wider range of roles, and his understanding and control of the performance are more proficient.

Hu Bayi played by Chen Kun in Mojin-The Lost Legend

In the past ten years, Chen Kun has never stopped moving ahead. In 2017, he co-founded the Dome Studio with Chen Guofu and Zhou Xun, advocating actors' lifelong learning and continuously delivering cultural nutrients to performers; Power to Go, a mind-building public welfare project initiated by Chen, has passed the tenth anniversary. The project advocates taking care of oneself and exploring the world. It also recommends returning to nature and perceiving the power of purity and simplicity, and giving back such power to each role he played.

Actor Chen Kun

As an international film award, the Tiantan Award has been pursuing perfection for many years, providing a platform for creators to show themselves and allowing viewers to see more types of excellent works. This September, Chen Kun, judge of Tiantan Award, will join hands with members of the international jury and wait for you at the Beijing International Film Festival. Be there or be square!