From the early 1990s, Meritorious Artist Phu Thang has been a prominent face of the stage and screen. Meritorious Artist Phu Thang with diverse and rich acting ability, he takes on many different roles.
In Phu Thang, there is a calm, deep acting style. Without needing to show off technique or use a lot of dialogue, Phu Thang uses eyes and laughter to exude the character's spirit and nature.
During the most energetic period of his career, Phu Thang was named in the list of artists who "can be seen on any channel". There were years when he participated in 5-7 films. Later, Phu Thang was assigned villain roles by many directors, thanks to his calm, deep acting style, using gestures - details to express the character's quality.
Before retiring, Meritorious Artist Phu Thang belonged to the ranks of the Hanoi Drama Theater. He returned to the theater in 1986 after completing his military service at Engineer Brigade 229 and graduating from Hanoi University of Theater and Cinema.
Attached to the theater for a long time, Meritorious Artist Phu Thang has appeared in many major plays, and at the same time contributed to creating a brand for the theater. Along with the generation of People's Artist Hoang Dung, People's Artist Hoang Cuc, People's Artist Minh Hoa, People's Artist Thu Ha... Meritorious Artist Phu Thang contributed to creating the glorious period of the Hanoi Drama Theater stage.
In a conversation with Lao Dong reporters, Meritorious Artist Phu Thang recounted the ups and downs of the drama stage - which he has gone through in his acting career.
In the glorious period, the stage was regularly lit up, audiences lined up to buy tickets, and performances were all packed with audiences. However, times changed, from the early 2000s, the stage began to be difficult, and audiences were increasingly less likely to go to see plays. I have been attached to the stage and witnessed the changes and ups and downs of spoken drama in many periods. In 2018, I retired under the regime" - Meritorious Artist Phu Thang shared.
Theater no longer maintains its former position due to the inevitability of the times. In the 1980s-1990s, theater was almost free from competition from other art forms.
By the 2000s, many types of art broke through, many new entertainment media were born, and the theater was exhausted when it had to endure strong competition.
Until now, the theater is even more difficult when facing the explosion of social networks and online entertainment platforms. Now, just lying at home, audiences can have a whole entertainment world in smartphones. Selling tickets at drama theaters has become a challenging problem.
Meritorious Artist Phu Thang said: "Life has changed too much, not only with theater. I take an example, in the past, Northern audiences really liked watching long-running TV series. However, now their viewing habits have changed. Many audiences now only like to watch short videos and short films lasting a few minutes on social networking platforms. When viewing habits change, audiences change, every type of entertainment art has to face difficulties.
With theater, I think the reason lies in many factors. Including the fact that the theater itself has not kept up with the times, scripts - topics lack novelty and breakthrough. The current theater ticket price is 400-500 thousand VND, which is also a price that makes many audiences have to consider when buying.
According to Meritorious Artist Phu Thang, theater needs to be invested more. The lives of artists in theater industries also need to be supported, when salaries and allowances from public theaters are still low to date.
For Meritorious Artist Phu Thang, when retiring in 2018, he received a pension of 5.5 million VND.
This pension level is calculated at 70% of the average salary of an artist in the last 5 years of working at the theater.
After many increases and adjustments, Meritorious Artist Phu Thang now receives a pension of about 7.5 million VND.
Talking about retirement life, Meritorious Artist Phu Thang shared, "I now like a gentle life, not creating pressure on myself. I am not rich, but looking around, I still feel happier than many people. Occasionally, I still make movies, read reviews, record audio... to have extra income and ensure family life.
The most recent movie NSƯT Phu Thang participated in is "Nguoc duong nguoc nang". He described his current life as very simple, "waking up early to exercise, having breakfast, then watching TV, taking a nap. In the afternoon, taking care of plants, raising cats. Whenever there is an invitation to act in a movie, seeing a good role, I go. In general, I am having a peaceful life with my family".
Meritorious Artist Phu Thang was born in 1958, full name is Doan Phu Thang. He was born into a family with a rich artistic tradition, Meritorious Artist Phu Thang is the son of the famous poet - playwright of a time - Doan Phu Tu.
At the age of 37, Meritorious Artist Phu Thang got married, and now his 2 children have grown up. The eldest son was born in 1995, studied Journalism, and is currently working in media. His daughter, born in 2003, studied screenwriting and just graduated.
