In 2001, when Liu Yanming, the owner of Hairun Film and Television, was waiting for a plane at the airport bookstore, he bought a ** to kill time.
Surprisingly, when Liu Yanming finished reading it, he immediately contacted Du Liang, the author of **, and bought the copyright to adapt it into a TV series.
The TV series "Bright Sword" broadcast in 2005 became popular all over the country overnight, and its theme song "Soul in the **" was widely popular and sung by the public.
However, before filming began, the show's director, Chen Jian, and other actors were very troubled due to funding issues.
Although "Bright Sword" is a TV series mainly set in the war, it only received a production budget of 9 million, what does this 9 million mean?
Take "Kangxi Dynasty", "Yongzheng Dynasty" and "Qiao's Courtyard" as examples, among which "Kangxi Dynasty" has 20 million, "Yongzheng Dynasty" has 25 million, and "Qiao's Courtyard" has 22 million. Compared with the 9 million, the drama "Bright Sword" seems a little simple.
Director Chen Jian followed the principle of "save if you can", and even only prepared two cameras for filming, and the entire crew could only eat one meal of "shabu mutton" at most during the filming process to satisfy their appetite.
In order to save the cost of group performances, he also took the initiative to play the role of Luo Zheng, the deputy commander of the military academy, and participated in classroom teaching and drills with Li Yunlong and others.
In the play, several other assistant directors of the crew also played supporting roles, and even the driver of the crew was invited by him to play the role of a Japanese officer.
War scenes are mainly taken in remote mountainous areas, so they are filmed in a rather difficult environment, often needing to eat cold meals, and even in windy weather, they may even eat a mouthful of sand.
After unremitting efforts and persistence, "Bright Sword" quickly attracted the attention of CCTV after the production was completed, and successfully purchased the broadcast rights of the show at a price of 650,000 per episode.
Once it was broadcast, "Bright Sword" not only ranked among the best in the ratings that year, but also won many honors in the Golden Eagle Award and the Feitian Award, establishing its status as a "masterpiece" in the history of domestic TV dramas.
According to the data, "Bright Sword" has been rebroadcast more than 3,000 times so far, and it is broadcast almost every holiday, and each broadcast has received quite good audience ratings.
Due to the huge success of the series, all the actors involved in the show reached the peak of their careers, and even those supporting roles with relatively few scenes won the widespread love of audiences across the country.
17 years have passed, and now the situation between the several leading actors of "Bright Sword" is very different, and today let's work together to ** the story behind the actors of this show and their current situation.
1, the role played by Li Youbin is Li Yunlong.
Thanks to his wife, Shi Lanya, Li Youbin was able to do so.
Whenever Li Youbin is mentioned, the first thing that comes to our minds is the character "Lao Li" Li Yunlong in "Bright Sword".
Li Yunlong is not overly educated, he is the kind of vulgar person who often "scolds his mother", although his character is straightforward, he is full of firm self-confidence in his heart, and he has never been afraid in the face of enemies.
When Li Yunlong learned that the Sakata unit was an elite unit in the Japanese army, his expression was very calm:
I never believe in the so-called elite, what I fight is definitely the elite!”
Li Yunlong's sincere roughness and the enthusiasm of a soldier made him a real hero in the hearts of many audiences, and at the same time, Li Youbin became the most eye-catching actor in the entertainment industry in a short period of time.
In fact, Li Youbin did not plan to participate in the filming of this drama, because he felt that he had already had a lot of acting experience in this theme, and he had too many scenes in war scenes, which was undoubtedly a huge energy drain for him who was about to enter his 50s.
Although Shi Lanya and Li Youbin are both actors, after reading the script, Shi Lanya reminded him many times not to miss this role, so Li Youbin decided to continue playing.
When Li Youbin participated in the performance of "Bright Sword", he had accumulated many years of experience in the entertainment industry, played the roles of decent and villain many times, and has become a recognized powerful actor in the industry.
Bright Sword" brought Li Youbin's career to a new height, he not only won the title of Outstanding Actor of the Feitian Award, but also successfully raised the popularity of the people.
Li Youbin regained the vitality of his career after the age of 50, and "Crossing the Guandong" became another of his iconic works after "Bright Sword". In recent years, he has still made frequent appearances on TV screens, and has participated in several major TV series such as "In the Name of the Law" and "Ace Troops".
Now, 64-year-old Li Youbin is enjoying the treatment of a teacher, and he who has become famous does not want to be idle, and there are many works waiting to be broadcast, including "Shaking Sand" co-starring with Huang Bo.
In daily life, Li Youbin behaves very low-key and straightforward. Not so long ago, he even publicly criticized some unhealthy practices in show business. I have to mention that "Lao Li" in real life is like being possessed by Li Yunlong, which is too bold.
2, Zhang Guangbei (playing the role of Chu Yunfei).
Chu Yunfei, a Kuomintang officer, as an old friend of Li Yunlong, showed the temperament of a general in both his words and deeds and his military strategy.
He was a soldier full of blood, and during the Anti-Japanese War, he bravely broke into the territory of the rebel Qian Bojun with only a few soldiers, and provoked the enemy in person, strongly condemning the shamelessness and weakness of the other party.
In particular, his performance with Li Yunlong and Political Commissar Zhao at the "Three-Person Forum" showed his integrity and courage of fearless sacrifice, which also made him have a deep emotional resonance with "Brother Yunlong".
The most important thing is that Chu Yunfei has an in-depth understanding of both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. When he learned that the Kuomintang had won a certain battle, he could only say with regret: This small victory in the great rout was just a battle of trapped beasts.
In the end, Chu Yunfei left this continent with the loess of his hometown, and the reluctance and deep sadness in his eyes made people feel deeply emotional.
At the beginning, Zhang Guangbei almost missed this role.
At that time, he was participating in the filming of the TV series "The Dawn Is Quiet Here" as a director, and at this critical moment, he received a call from the crew of "Bright Sword".
When Zhang Guangbei learned that this was about the subject of anti-Japanese resistance, he politely declined the invitation because he was not very interested.
However, when the production director of "Bright Sword" sent the script to Zhang Guangbei's home, Zhang Guangbei was full of passion after reading it, and he immediately decided to participate in the performance of this play.
Born in a military family, Zhang Guangbei had a strong interest in literature and art, and chose the path of acting after completing his studies in Chinese opera in the 80s.
In 1994, Zhang Guangbei successfully portrayed the role of Lu Bu in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and his heroic temperament and deep fascination with Diao Chan were perfectly displayed by him.
A few years later, Zhang Guangbei used the rich contacts he had accumulated in the entertainment industry to start his career as a producer and director, and married Chen Wei in the Chinese opera "Five Golden Flowers", which is undoubtedly a winner in life.
Zhang Guangbei is currently both an actor and a producer in the entertainment industry, and he not only produces top-notch productions such as "The Awakening Age", but also occasionally interacts with the audience through various variety shows.
Now, his daughter Zhang Sile has also entered the acting industry, she played Chen Yannian's close friend Liu Mei in "The Awakening Age", but she has also received a lot of criticism because of her acting skills and role setting.
I really hope that Zhang Sile will seize this opportunity to learn more from his father and hone his acting skills, which will still be something to look forward to as time goes on.
3, He Zhengjun (playing the role of Zhao Gang).
Zhao Gang and Zhao Political Commissar, played by He Zhengjun, show a typical scholarly temperament, and he believes that the primary criterion for being a person and doing things is "good behavior and good sitting posture", which is why Li Yunlong has been criticized many times.
However, Zhao Gang is not just a scholar who can only talk about it, he has a deep understanding of the relationships between people around him and the war situation he faces.
When he and Li Yunlong are together, they show the trait of "both civil and military", one is full of righteousness, while the other is slightly ruffian, and the two brothers always like to joke and quarrel when they get along.
When Political Commissar Zhao saw Li Yunlong "taking advantage of the fire" in the process of rescuing Chu Yunfei, he couldn't help but say sarcastically: Lao Li, you really show the true face of a treacherous businessman!
He Zhengjun brought the role of Commissar Zhao back to life on the TV screen, thanks to his rationality, fairness and calmness, as well as his simplicity and innocence in his heart.
He Zhengjun later revealed in an interview that the director initially invited him to play a different role, but after the audition, it was found that he was more in tune with the temperament of Political Commissar Zhao.
He Zhengjun has a deep connection to this play: the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army described in the play is actually the army that his father joined that year;The field hospital filmed by the crew was also where his father was stationed on the march.
Due to the influence of his father, He Zhengjun also strengthened his determination to devote himself wholeheartedly to the filming of this movie.
After "Bright Sword", He Zhengjun's fame has grown significantly, and the number of drama appointments with him has also increased. From "Canghai" and "Snow Leopard" to "Crossing the Yalu River" and "Meritorious", he has created many impressive characters.
Especially in "Ace Troop" starring with Li Youbin last year, the appearance of the two in the same picture makes people can't help but have a dreamy feeling as if they are back in "Bright Sword".
In his daily life, He Zhengjun did not neglect his family responsibilities because he participated in the filming. His wife is a person who is not familiar with the outside world, and the two have been married for nearly 30 years, during which there have been no scandals. Now, their daughter has also graduated from college and is starting her own life.
The 60-year-old He Zhengjun has always been committed to physical exercise and continuous fitness activities while filming films, so his body shape remains young to this day, giving people a very youthful feeling.
4, Tong Lei (playing the role of Tian Yu).
In the original work, Tian Yu is described as a stunning beauty.
In **, it is described that Li Yunlong woke up after being seriously injured and lost consciousness and found **Tian Yu. Tian Yu's smile immediately made Li Yunlong fall for it, "Just such a smile is enough to captivate the country and the city, and Li Yunlong almost lost consciousness again."
As time passed, Li Yunlong was moved by her gentleness, thoughtfulness and energetic enthusiasm in the process of getting along with her, which also ignited the fire of love in his heart. Despite the great differences in age and family background, the relationship between the two is still difficult to hide and gradually becomes close.
In the play, the most memorable scene of Brother Pi is undoubtedly the "famous scene" where Li Yunlong confesses to Tian Yu. When Li Yunlong expressed his affection for her, Tian Yu was still talking happily and easily, but suddenly became dumbfounded.
From the initial confusion and uneasiness, to being deeply moved by Li Yunlong in the end, tears slipped down, she hugged Li Yunlong tightly, and Tong Lei showed Tian Yu's complex emotions vividly.
During the filming of this play, there was a rather interesting episode: Tian Yu's age in the original script was set to be 18 years old, which brought a considerable psychological burden to Li Youbin, who had already entered middle age.
When filming officially began, Li Youbin asked Tong Lei if he could adjust his age to 20 years old, otherwise the age gap between the two was too big, and he didn't dare to express his feelings easily.
After the broadcast of "Bright Sword", the name Tong Lei became well-known to many audiences, and she played the role of the heroine in subsequent films such as "Wolf Poison Flower" and "Broken Thorn".
In fact, as early as 2003, Tong Lei, who was still studying at the Academy of Drama, had gained a certain popularity through the TV series "Walking Through the Flower Season", and later she won a large number of fans because of the "heartthrob" Li Rongrong in "The Legend of Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties".
However, in this rapidly changing entertainment industry, it is difficult for an actor to always maintain her youth, especially Tong Lei's introverted personality has also made her gradually fade out of people's sight in the entertainment industry.
Today, the 42-year-old Tong Lei has also encountered the "age problem" encountered by many middle-aged actresses, and although she has been making more and more appointments with many people, it is still a big challenge to find a role that really suits her.
Outside the play, Tong Lei also experienced great changes in her family, her wealthy businessman husband was imprisoned for falsifying her finances, and she herself was heavily indebted.
Although Tong Lei is not as well-known as before, fortunately, she is not overwhelmed by the pressures of life. While working hard to make money, she is also very concerned about her daughter's life and uses her own strength to maintain the stability of the family.
5. By force (used to decorate the hole).
In the play, Kong Jie, played by Li, is Li Yunlong's old comrade-in-arms, and he shows a tenacious character that never looks back, which is why he was given the nickname "Kong Er's stunned" by Li Yunlong.
Kong Jie and Li Yunlong are both young people through and through, and the two often argue in the open and in the dark, and often hold each other accountable, but these two people with similar personalities eventually become friends who share life and death.
Kong Jie is a very sincere person, he didn't want to owe Li Yunlong any favors, and even wanted to chop off two of his fingers with a knife as a "return gift" to Li Yunlong, but was stopped by Li Yunlong after some persuasion.
He was already 41 years old when Yuri participated in the performance of "Bright Sword", but unexpectedly, this work marked his first appearance as an actor.
Before he started filming, Yuriki's experience was very rich and varied: he was the head of production at Shenzhen Film Company, participated in Nortel's director training courses, and his documentaries won major awards.
Later, You Li stayed in Shenzhen to serve as the secretary general of the local tourism association, and was favored by the crew of "Bright Sword" due to an unexpected opportunity, and since then he has been associated with his performing arts.
It was precisely because of his outstanding performance in "Bright Sword" that Yuli deeply experienced the joy of acting, so he decisively gave up his job as secretary general and chose to become a full-time actor.
Because you Li became a monk halfway through and was limited by her own image, she got relatively few opportunities in the entertainment industry, and the follow-up works did not have much impact.
6, Wang Quanyou (playing Ding Wei).
Ding Wei and Li Yunlong, played by Wang Quanyou, have a deep friendship, they are two of the most eloquent, and their attainments in military theory are unrivaled among all generals.
Taking the debate between Ding Wei and Li Yunlong's father-in-law about war as an example, Ding Wei humbly expounded his views in front of this erudite senior scholar, and the verbal confrontation between them became a highlight of the whole play.
Ding Wei is not only quick to think, but he is also not inferior in actual battles, and he is always able to quickly gain insight into the battle situation and take corresponding measures.
At the critical moment when Li Yunlong was in trouble, Ding Wei sensitively sensed Li Yunlong's potential danger and quickly issued an order for reinforcements. When asked by a subordinate if he needed further instructions, he acted very calmly and responded:
Participate in the battle just by asking for instructions, and you won't be able to catch up with any dish!”
Wang Quan participated in the performance of this TV series, mainly due to the unknown relationship between him and the director.
Due to his deep friendship with director Chen Jian for many years, Chen Jian asked him if he was interested in participating in the crew role-playing during the preparation stage of "Bright Sword", and handed him the original work of "Bright Sword".
Sure enough, Wang Quanyou had a strong interest in this **, and he immediately decided to participate in the performance of this play, which can also be regarded as a help to his friends.
Before officially stepping into the film and television industry, he used to be an opera actor, but due to his strong interest in film, he worked in the field of opera for many years and began to get involved in the field of film and television.
In 1993, Wang Quanyou played the role of "Jade-faced Yama" in "Fang Shiyu 2" and gradually attracted attention, and then he played Lu Yuhou in the CCTV version of "Water Margin", but it was not until the work "Bright Sword" that Wang Quanyou's popularity increased significantly.
Subsequently, Wang Quanyou participated in many TV series such as "The Invincible Benevolence" and "The Legend of the Divine Doctor Xilaile", and his solid and experienced acting skills won wide acclaim from the audience, and he was successfully promoted to a national first-class actor.
Now, he is in his 60s, he has reduced his time for filming, began to enjoy life, and even built a house in the countryside, moved in when he was free, and lived a leisurely life.
7, Zhang Tong (playing the role of Monk Wei).
Zhang Tong's role of Wei Dayong and Wei Monk has become a role that is difficult for many audiences to accept.
Monk Wei did have the experience of serving as a monk in the Shaolin Temple, which allowed him to accumulate excellent martial arts, and under Li Yunlong's guidance, he received many honors, becoming one of Li Yunlong's most powerful assistants.
However, this monk was unfortunately brutally killed by bandits, and his head was also cut off, and his horrific death made everyone present deeply saddened and did not want to ** again.
Under Zhang Tong's interpretation, the image of the heroic and loyal monk became vivid, but during the casting process, Zhang Tong was able to successfully portray this role entirely due to his excellent acting skills."
During the initial casting process of the crew, since the monk was proficient in Shaolin Kung Fu, it was hoped that the actors would also master some Kung Fu in order to better control the role.
Zhang Tong, a man who had never been exposed to martial arts, mustered up the courage to demonstrate several techniques in order to win the role, which, combined with his sunny appearance, was unexpectedly chosen.
He also said in an interview later that being able to play this role was entirely the result of his own "deception".
For a long period of time, the identity of "monk" became Zhang Tong's business card, which made him famous, but at the same time brought many troubles, so in the follow-up shooting, he was never able to get rid of the shadow of the monk.
In the past few years, Zhang Tong, who has been silent for a long time, has finally ushered in the peak of his career.
In 2018, he won the Feitian Award for Outstanding Actor for his outstanding performance in "Desperate Defender Division", and last year, he became famous for his role as Li Dazhao in "The Awakening Age", which was enthusiastically sought after by many audiences.
After that, Zhang Tong played Li Dazhao in the two films "Glory and Dreams" and "Red Boat", and made it clear that he did not plan to play Li Dazhao again in the next few years.
Unless he has a deeper understanding of the role someday in the future, he is reluctant to over-portray the revolutionary pioneer.
Now, Zhang Tong has been successfully promoted from the role of male No. 6 in "Bright Sword" to a first-line actor.
He has always maintained a low profile and stability, does not get involved in variety shows or pursues fame, what he really pursues is to sincerely participate in the filming, such an actor is undoubtedly a fresh wind in the entertainment industry.
8. In the play, the other 6 high-profile supporting roles are all actors.
In the work "Bright Sword", in addition to the aforementioned actors, there are many characters who still leave a deep impression on the audience despite not having many scenes.
For example, the role of Xiuqin played by Liang Linlin.
As Li Yunlong's first spouse, her kind and gentle personality made her a female hero who sacrificed her life for justice.
After **, she stood on the city tower and shouted: "I am your person in life, and your ghost in death", this scene made Li Yunlong open fire, and every time I recalled it, it was deeply touching.
Subsequently, Liang Linlin and Li Youbin participated in the filming of the movie "Breaking through the East", and played the role of Li Youbin's daughter-in-law, which also won wide acclaim from the audience.
However, after this drama, Liang Linlin did not establish her reputation in the entertainment industry, and did not release any relevant information after 2017.
For example, the character played by Chen Yige is Zhang Bailu.
Zhang Bailu, a beautiful and elegant mixed-race girl, plays a crucial role in the later stages of the show, intervening in Tian Yu's marriage to Li Yunlong and employing various strategies to try to take Li Yunlong.
Chen Yige, who plays Bailu, is also of mixed Chinese and Russian descent in real life, and in addition to participating in "Bright Sword", she also participated in the filming of TV series such as "Red Scorpion" and "Wolf Poison Flower", but since 2012, this information has disappeared.
and Duan Peng, a character played by Zhang Xiaojun.
Duan Peng is also proficient in martial arts with Monk Wei, he has a straightforward personality, and Monk Wei is like a friend of life and death, and his loyalty to Li Yunlong is incomparable.
In the work "Bright Sword", Zhang Xiaojun's role as a soldier was loved by the audience, and since then, most of the roles he has played have been related to war.
In the large-scale war work "Changjin Lake", he successfully created the role of **, and in "Crossing the Yalu River", he played Cai Changyuan, the commander of the 189th Division of the 63rd Army of the Volunteer Army. When the enemy attacked, he bravely stood on the front line and engaged in a fierce battle with bayonets, a scene that moved the audience to tears.
In addition, there is also Zhang Dabiao, a character played by Zhan Weihua.
Zhang Dabiao was another brave general under Li Yunlong, who was promoted from an ordinary soldier to the commander of a battalion, and won Li Yunlong's high praise because of his bravery.
In stark contrast to the tough guy portrayed on the screen, the real-life Zhan Weihua is more inclined to literary creation, often immersed in painting and poetry.
He was born into a military family, and due to his deep affection for military personnel, he preferred to participate in various military war-related dramas during filming.
In the work "Bright Sword", the commander of the 386 Brigade is a different character.
In this dramatic work, Li Yunlong is fearless of the brigade commander, and whenever he meets the brigade commander, his character immediately becomes obedient and does not even dare to act rashly.
Playing the role of brigade commander is Zhang Wei, whose main job is to provide dubbing for CCTV's translated films. Later, he mainly provided dubbing services for domestic TV dramas, and occasionally played other roles in the process.
In the work "Harem: The Legend of Zhen Huan", he provided dubbing for four characters alone, which is enough to prove his superb skills.
In the past few years, Zhang Wei has remained active in the film and television industry, providing voice and cameos for several popular TV series, such as "Changed World", "Shangyang Fu" and "Armageddon".
Just because their styling is different, it is really difficult for many viewers to determine that this is exactly the past brigade commander.
In the work "Bright Sword", Wang Yousheng's performance deeply touched the hearts of the audience.
Wang Yousheng successfully portrayed the role of a soldier in the reconnaissance company under Duan Peng, although the camera was not frequent, his unpretentious image won the love of many audiences.
Just now, he was still immersed in the pride of capturing a large amount of enemy supplies, but in the next moment, he was slapped hard because the people of another army grabbed the supplies. He sat on the ground, his legs kicking, tears streaming down his face, like a child who had lost his toy.
After "Bright Sword", the role of Cao Qifeng has not received widespread attention and development, and he is still only a supporting role. Sadly, he sadly passed away in 2018. Now, the Wang Yousheng he plays has been made into emojis by a large number of netizens, and is still widely popular on the Internet, which is enough to prove that this role is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Today, 17 years have passed, and some of the 13 actors are still shining, while some are not as famous as they used to be.
Many audiences are eager for the cast of "Bright Sword" to find a suitable time to get together again, have a casual conversation, and if conditions allow, they are also willing to work with the original team again.
In fact, this kind of reunion has existed and has happened several times.
For example, "Legend of the Time-honored Brand" broadcast in 2017, "Life and Death Sniper" in 2021, and this year's "Bright Sword: The Battle of Ghost Crying Valley".
Despite the mediocre word-of-mouth, in fact, the audience's hearts have long been clear, and these movies and TV series are all based on the theme of "Bright Sword", just to meet the emotional needs of the audience.
If such a reunion is meaningless, it may have a negative impact on several actors.
Regardless, we would like to express our gratitude to the actors in the show for creating these impressive characters and bringing us the classics of this TV series.