Audiences are now more demanding.
Acting on stage and in movies are completely different. How does artist Hong Dao handle it so as not to be dramatized on the big screen?
- On stage, you have to emphasize yourself so that the audience remembers you, but on film, it's a different story. I've participated in many films and have had a lot of success. I think I have enough experience in stage and film, so I will moderate it to suit the role.
And above all, I need to follow the director's instructions. But some scenes need to be dramatic, I think sometimes we have to overdo it like a play. That's our experience.
What are your criteria for accepting new roles? Does artist Hong Dao place importance on main and supporting roles in a film project?
- I accept any role, whether it is a good or bad one, main or supporting, if it is appropriate. In my forty-plus years of career, I have tried many roles: Northern and Southern accents, gentle and fierce roles. I look forward to the next interesting roles to accept, not the specific role.
I will read the script first, read all the roles, not necessarily the main roles, but the roles with good scripts or not. Any role is fine, even the smallest one, as long as it has a plot, has an important nature in the film, that's enough. Because the first factor that I choose a role is because of the script.
The role of artist Hong Dao in “Sister-in-law” has a rather complex inner life. How did you portray this role?
- When I took on the role in “Sister-in-law”, I found it difficult because the character’s inner self is very complicated. She goes through many ups and downs in life and has an unfulfilled marriage. I researched the role and tried to get into character to perfectly portray the role of Sister Ba in the film.
Does artist Hong Dao think she is a box office star?
- I don't think I'm a box office star. The box office star era is over.
A movie that wants to sell tickets must combine many things: careful investment, a talented cast... In my opinion, it is not good for a film crew to depend on one person as a box office star. Even Hollywood now wants to sell tickets well, sometimes they have to invite 3-4 stars to collaborate on a movie.
When accepting to participate in a film, does the revenue factor put pressure on you? If a project does not sell well, will it affect the reputation of artist Hong Dao?
- I have been involved in the arts for a long time. I think that in the field of drama, for example, out of 10 plays, there will be 2-3 good plays and the rest are not so good. There will also be good and bad movies. So I am used to this.
If the film is good, the audience will praise it, if it is not good, they will give their opinions, then we will listen. With movies, the pressure is on the producers, not us actors. They have to get their capital back to invest in other films. I think the current film revenue is very unpredictable. There are films that are well invested but the results are not as expected.
There are films with moderate investment that the audience supports. This fluctuating revenue is a difficult problem. But in general, I see that the audience is becoming more and more demanding, so making a decent film will get people to go to the cinema and buy tickets to see it.
Didn't think the Hollywood scene would get noticed
Hong Dao's acting ability was proven through the Hollywood movie "Beef", can you share more about that role?
- When I was casting for the role of the mother in “Beef”, the Hollywood crew had to look at me to see if I was suitable for the role. In Hollywood movies, there are roles that require acting and roles that don’t. But for the role of the mother in “Beef”, I had to know how to act and even act well.
Before, I received many invitations to cast for Hollywood movies but missed the opportunity. But the role of the mother in the movie “Beef”, I found it suitable so I participated. This role is a mother of Vietnamese origin so I think I have the advantage of being a Vietnamese woman. I auditioned 3-4 times and was chosen.
The clip of artist Hong Dao’s sour soup in the movie “Beef” went viral. Can you share more about this?
- The idea of the sour soup was given by the producer. When the script was sent to me, the crew had already decided on this scene. I saw that there was a sour soup scene, I really liked it. The crew was very careful, they bought many pots of sour soup and invited me to check if it was really Vietnamese sour soup or not? When I confirmed that it was, they started filming this scene.
When the movie was released, I was in America, I also did not know that this sour soup cooking scene was so popular. After that, some friends sent me clips of this scene and said that they found sour soup interesting.
Previously, audiences saw artist Hong Dao as famous for her comedy, but now this profession has declined. What do you think about this point of view?
- I think in the end it's still the script element. When I was young, I worked very hard on writing scripts, but as I grew up and performed in many plays, my ideas gradually dried up. There were many repetitions in a comedy play, so the audience's appeal gradually decreased.
On the world stage, they still exist in comedy because their scripts are very good. I think if Vietnamese artists have good scripts to perform comedy, there will still be an audience to follow. Comedy is not easy because it requires intelligent improvisation and updating social issues.
Does the comedy blood in artist Hong Dao still exist?
- I think so. People still say that even though I'm old, I'm still quick-witted when interacting with people. So, if I have a good script, I can still perform comedy for the audience to see.
What is your ambition in your career up to now?
- If I'm ambitious, I'm only ambitious to have a good role to play, but at this age I'm not ambitious at all.
What are artist Hong Dao's plans for the new year?
- I will now fly back to the US to visit my two children and celebrate Vietnamese New Year in the US. I want to spend this time with my family.
Thanks for sharing!
