In addition, Thanh Trung spent 10 years fighting professionally before majoring in acting. At the age of 41, Thanh Trung continues to challenge and innovate himself when participating in " Brother Overcoming Thousands of Thorns ".
Lao Dong Newspaper had a conversation with MC Thanh Trung about his career journey with many turning points.
Participating in "Brother Overcoming Thousands of Thorns" with 32 artists from many fields must have been a special experience for Thanh Trung. What impressed you most about participating in the show?
- In our shared house, we went through many things. I still say it is the home of talkative men, the nursery of children who are no longer young. This is the first time in my life that I have watched football with so many artists.
In the last 5 EUROs and World Cups, I did not miss a single match and always appeared on air as a commentator. This year, I hardly commented on any matches, but in return, I got to watch football in a very special space. More than 30 people watch together regardless of whether they love football or not.
I, Mr. Tu Long, Mr. Tien Luat, and Ha Le often watch football, but there are people like BB Tran and Duy Khanh who have never watched EURO, and sometimes don't even know the rules of football. But we watched it together innocently, staying up until 4am. By 6:30 or 7:00 we got up to start filming. But everyone was happy.
Many artists participating in the program shared that they burst into tears, were moved, and experienced many levels of emotions when participating in the reality show "Brother Overcoming Thousands of Thorns". What about you, are you crying?
- I didn't cry for myself, but shed tears in sympathy with the stories of my colleagues. I cry because of their journey, because of their strength. Tears in "Brother Overcoming Thousands of Thorns" were more than what the audience imagined.
Our greatest success, before the show aired and was loved by the audience, was the love that 33 people had for each other. There are people who have never known each other, there are people who are familiar with each other, but we have become a very large family, promising to go together. As much as the audience is afraid of saying goodbye to one of the 33 "talented guys", we are also afraid. We are afraid of being away from a loved one, away from someone we have bonded with.
Group performances are creating attraction for the show, but it is said to be heavily influenced by K-Pop. What do you think about this idea?
- I found the performances after the first concert to be elaborately choreographed. My colleagues and I often say that we are lucky to work with a very professional team. Regarding music, SlimV is the music director and producer with Space Speaker. I had the opportunity to work with them when hosting "The Remix" season 2. I was surprised to see the diversity and maturity of SlimV at the present time, when he has many diverse perspectives to make music. .
Our musical ideas through the hands of SlimV have almost nothing to criticize or edit. Stage director Dinh Ha Uyen Thu arranged for the stage to look as beautiful as filming a MV. Therefore, every moment we stand on the stage of "Brother Overcoming Thousands of Thorns" is truly a memorable, lifelong moment in our career.
I myself was attached to music when I was young, following many famous boy bands like The Beatles, Backstreet Boys... But the music groups with choreography are K-Pop. It is a music background that is close to Asian audiences. In Brother Overcoming Thousands of Thorns, the groups have about 4-5 people, combining European and American group performance, choreography and stage effects like K-Pop, and nostalgia.
Many opinions say that the reason reality TV shows like "Brother Overcoming Thousands of Thorns" are gaining traction is because they bring a "strange wind" to Vietnamese music life, do you think so? ?
- I think the most "strange" thing about the show is that people who have never sung, stood on stage, and many audiences commented that they invested like a professional concert, to have the opportunity to express themselves and perform like A singer. Many of us are not singers, so our performances bring curiosity to the audience.
In China, this program is also one of the most successful music format shows in the past 5 years. When Vietnameseized, the producer also made changes to compromise between respecting the original format but being suitable for Vietnamese artists and audiences.
Thanh Trung has come a long way. He used to work as an actor but is now working as a host. How do you view the gains and losses in showbiz?
- There is an ancient saying "every profession has its own career". Our profession begins with fame but sometimes ends with scandal. No one dares to say that they are perfect, without hidden corners, the public always stands from many angles to evaluate the stories of famous people. It is those perspectives that can cause a person's reputation to collapse overnight, or cause people who are not enough to stumble and fall. There have been many such stories not only in Vietnam.
I am lucky to have the love of the audience, lucky to be able to do the job I love and that job also exploits all my qualities. But when I'm no longer in love, I'm happy and can move on to another job.
Talking about trade-offs, I think we have to make many trade-offs. In my opinion, being an artist is the profession with the lowest probability of success among all professions. Thousands of people follow this path, not everyone is lucky or favored to become famous.
While there are people who work hard all their lives, train hard but just make enough to live, sometimes they can't even worry about food, clothing, or money, and have never become famous. There are people who love their job but live a hard life, then have to turn their way. To have the current artistic culture, thousands of artists have silently sacrificed. Artists look very sparkling and shiny on camera, but they also have hidden corners that cannot be shared with the audience.
You were once expected to be the next face of the generation of People's Artists Xuan Bac and Tu Long when participating in "Weekend Meeting", do you regret no longer being attached to acting?
- Acting is a journey I temporarily ended while focusing on MC work. In the future, if I have the opportunity, I will definitely return to acting. Not only can I reach the audience, but I can also live with the work I am very passionate about.
I respect the talent of People's Artist Tu Long. To be more precise, those who know us all say that Thanh Trung is equal to Xuan Bac plus Tu Long divided in half.
People's Artist Xuan Bac was not the one who brought me to "Weekend Meeting" but was the one who guided and helped me become an MC. In 2003, Mr. Xuan Bac called me and told me to try being an MC at a famous music cafe at that time. That's where Mr. Xuan Bac and Mr. Tu Long made their names in the early days. Later, when I became a TV MC, when I encountered difficulties, I always sought his advice.
At the age of over 40, can you tell us about the things you are most "rich" about?
- Thanks to the love of the audience and the conditions created by television stations, I have good living conditions. Maybe I have a better life than some people, but I'm still nothing compared to many others. I'm happy living with what I have.
I still tell my wife, I don't accumulate too much or worry about my children, but I live every day to be worthy of what I have, to share and be happy. I think the "richest" thing I have is my spirit, knowledge, and experience. Learning is a lifelong thing, challenges and experiences are still there, but I am happy because I have faith in myself, I have the strength to accept and face whatever happens in life. Sometimes happiness or suffering depends on our thoughts. As long as we have the right perspective, we will have a happy life without depending entirely on material things.
When watching Thanh Trung perform as a boy band idol, how did his wife and family react?
- At first, my wife was worried and afraid that I wouldn't be able to stand next to the top stars in the music industry. But now she is very proud because I surpassed myself and did things my wife didn't think I could do.
