Leslie Cheung Talked About His Hesitation in Playing Gay Character in Old Interview
In celebration of the 25th anniversary for the classic drama film Farewell My Concubine <霸王別姬>, a digital remake of the 1993 film was recently re-released in Taiwan, including the release of a never before-seen 22-minute clip of the late Leslie Cheung (張國榮) being interviewed about taking on the role as our tragic hero, Cheng Dieyi.
“I don’t want to be Cheng Dieyi,” said Leslie. “I personally don’t want to become him. To be honest, I am much luckier than him, but I would still love to play a character like him, because I love playing tragic characters.”
Chen Kaige’s (陳凱歌) Farewell My Concubine, which was adapted from the novel of the same name by Lillian Lee (李碧華), was released in 1993 and tells the story of two Beijing opera actors whose lives were forever changed after surviving the political turmoil of Mainland China during the mid-20th century. It starred Leslie Cheung as Cheng Dieyi, a famous opera actor known for playing the concubine Consort Yu in the opera play Farewell My Concubine, with Zhang Fengyi (張豐毅) as Duan Xiaolou, who plays Consort Yu’s love interest. Gong Li (鞏俐) played the woman who comes between them.
In the 22-minute interview, Leslie talked about his hesitation in accepting the role as Cheng Dieyi, a role that would eventually redefine his career as a performer.
He said, “Cheng Dieyi is a narcissist. On stage, he is intensely confident. He is a character with a strong ego, but when it come to his personality, he is a tragic character. He feels the most satisfied on stage, performing Farewell My Concubine with his sihing. Those were the most shining moments of his life.”
Leslie shared that he first came upon the role in 1981, when director Alex Law (羅啟銳) pitched a Hong Kong television adaptation of Farewell My Concubine. He wanted Leslie for the role of Cheng Dieyi, but because Leslie was still an idol performer at the time, he was worried that Cheng Dieyi, a gay character, would affect his career. He ultimately turned it down.
He couldn’t, however, resist the role a second time. He said, “I first met director Chen Kaige at a hotel in Hong Kong. I felt that he was very talented, and not a typical director. We didn’t talk about whether or not I should play this character, but about how I should play this character well.”
Falling in love with the character more and more, Leslie couldn’t reject the offer a second time. “When it comes to love, [Cheng Dieyi] gets very passionate and direct, but he also feels very empty. I think that is something that we should be very careful about when it comes to playing it out.”
Leslie also thanked writer Lillian Lee for her encouragement. “In her two novels, she used me as the blueprint for her characters. This role in particular is very sensitive. At the time, I wanted to do it, but I couldn’t accept the challenge. I had to take my own image into account. Now it’s different. I’ve become more seasoned and professional, and I am no longer just a singer. I regard myself as a serious actor. Now, I have the confidence to take on this challenge.”
Source: HK01.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
