Rich woman professional Dong Lifan, who collaborated with Zhao Benshan, was favored by Zhang Yimou. Why was she defrauded of love and money off-screen?
1. Fat girl with high aspirations
Dong Lifan was born in Shenyang, Liaoning in 1964. Because his father was the director of a factory, Dong Lifan's family was well off and he never had to worry about food and clothing like others. The only fly in the ointment is that Dong Lifan has been prone to obesity since he was a child. Coupled with his good appetite for food, he became a fat girl at a young age.
Because they were worried that obesity would affect their daughter’s future development, Dong Lifan’s parents tried various methods to help her lose weight, but they always ended in failure. Seeing their daughter who was smiling and chubby every day, Dong Lifan's parents gave up the idea of letting her lose weight. No matter whether she is fat or thin, as long as she lives a happy life.
Dong Lifan, who was broad-minded and fat, always lagged behind in class in his academic performance. He dropped out of school and returned home in junior high school. Seeing that his daughter was strong, Dong Lifan's father took her to his factory to work as a bricklayer. He also did not allow her to be special and treated her equally with other workers.
Dong Lifan is a simple and upright girl. She never spares any effort in her work and specializes in the heavy work in the workshop. Based on Dong Lifan's performance, she deserves to be ranked first in the employee evaluation at the end of the quarter.
However, Dong Lifan's father is a leader who accepts death and follows the rules. Because he is worried that others will say that he is "special" to his daughter, he excludes Dong Lifan from every advanced employee evaluation.
In this way, under his father's "suppression", Dong Lifan worked hard and without complaint, from the brick and tile factory to the steel rolling mill. After her heavy work, Dong Lifan's biggest hobby is singing. She often sings for her colleagues to help them relax. The father couldn't see his daughter's hobby at all. He always looked at Dong Lifan and laughed at her singing as a heretic.
No matter how loud the opposition, it is no match for Dong Lifan’s passion for singing and performing. Her biggest dream is to be on stage and become an actor. After arriving at the steel rolling mill, Dong Lifan joined the factory's publicity team and showed off her singing voice whenever there were major performances.
Due to his strong physique, Dong Lifan sings with a strong breath and perfect tone and timbre. Gradually, Dong Lifan became famous for her singing, and the Shenyang Song and Dance Troupe recruited her to work. Later, Dong Lifan also went to the Liaoning Opera House and Ballet Company.
In the ballet company, Dong Lifan fell in love with dancing again. When she saw the "swan" dancing on the dance floor, she wished she could dance it too, but dreams are dreams. With Dong Lifan's physique and appearance, she was destined to dance. Nothing to do with ballet.
Although she could not realize her dream of dancing, Dong Lifan did not admit defeat. She decided to go to Beijing and become a "Beijing drifter". After arriving in Beijing, Dong Lifan was studying at the Beijing Film Academy while looking for opportunities to become an actor.
After hearing her dream, everyone who knew her was shocked. The only people who can be actors are handsome men and beautiful women. When will they be able to get a role with a fat girl with a strong body and an ugly appearance?
Dong Lifan has not been defeated by rumors and rumors. She always believes that as long as she develops her strength, she will always have a chance. Sure enough, Dong Lifan's opportunity came soon.
2. Find your own way in a unique way
In the Northeast region, Zhao Benshan’s name is heard like thunder. As the king of sketches in China, Zhao Benshan has trained and supported a large number of actors from Northeast China, including Dong Lifan. Zhao Benshan met Dong Lifan as early as when they were in the Shenyang Song and Dance Troupe. Zhao Benshan was deeply impressed by the fat Dong Lifan.
In 1990, Zhao Benshan and others were going to shoot the movie "Living Treasures of the World". There is a tough and fierce rural woman in the movie who has never been able to find a suitable candidate. If the weak actresses in the film and television industry were to play the role, this character's image would not be sustainable at all. When he was worried that there was no suitable actor, Zhao Benshan suddenly thought of Dong Lifan. He slapped his thigh and it was her!
Zhao Benshan brought Dong Lifan to the crew of "The Living Treasures". This was Dong Lifan's first serious role. Be an actor. Although he doesn't have many roles in the film, Dong Lifan perfectly interprets the image of a shrewish woman.
After the movie was released, Dong Lifan left a deep impression on the audience and made many well-known directors look at her with admiration.
With her first acting experience, Dong Lifan officially entered the entertainment industry, and she appeared in more and more film and television works. "Everyone Is Coming", "Sending You a Tenderness", "The Temptation of Beauty"... Dong Lifan's acting skills have been recognized time and time again.
In 1993, director Zhang Yimou was preparing to remake the novel "To Live" by writer Yu Hua into a movie. There was an image of "carrying husband" but no suitable candidate was found. Later, Zhang Yimou thought of Dong Lifan and decided to let her give it a try. Every time Ge You gets drunk, Dong Lifan's character always carries him home, with only one line in the entire movie.
Even if he is a supporting role, even if his role is pitiful, Dong Lifan plays every role seriously. With this first cooperation experience, Zhang Yimou found Dong Lifan again when he was filming "Happy Days". This time, the "Fat Mom" played by Dong Lifan is a serious character, and he also has a lot of scenes opposite Zhao Benshan.
Whether it is his appearance and image, or his grasp of the character's psychology, Dong Lifan fits the character of "Fat Mom" very well. Domineering, philistine habits, fierce and domineering... these have become Dong Lifan's inherent role positioning.
In 2007, Dong Lifan ushered in the peak period of his career. Ning Hao filmed the comedy movie "Crazy Racing", in which Dong Lifan played the wife of unscrupulous businessman Li Farah. This wife was unruly and strong, and had a vicious nature and many tricks. Li Farah even wanted to hire a murderer to kill her.
Dong Lifan became famous in the world of supporting roles because of his wonderful performance as the "strong wife" of this rich woman. The 230-pound fat girl found her own "role in drama". After that, whenever there was a similar character, directors would always find Dong Lifan, and she became a professional "rich woman" and "shrew woman".
In terms of appearance and figure, these are Dong Lifan's fatal flaws. These shortcomings have also become Dong Lifan's unmatched advantages, and she has used this to create a special acting path of her own.
3. Different fireworks
Now Dong Lifan is 56 years old, but age is not an obstacle in her acting career. There will still be roles tailor-made for her. .
In addition to his unique acting career, Dong Lifan's personal life is also different from ordinary people. He is almost 60 years old and is still single. He has no children or family, and his love life is completely blank.
Behind Dong Lifan’s celibacy is a touching story. In his early twenties, Dong Lifan also had an unforgettable love affair.
Dong Lifan’s boyfriend is a businessman, but for some reason he has never made much achievements. Dong Lifan, who loves her boyfriend deeply, is full of confidence in him. She believes that the person she loves is a nugget of gold, and the time has come. will shine.
One day, her boyfriend came to Dong Lifan and said that his business had cash flow problems and hoped that she could lend him 50,000 yuan. Today, 50,000 yuan is not a lot of money, but in the 1980s, it was equivalent to a "huge sum of money."
The simple and kind-hearted Dong Lifan spent all his money and collected 50,000 yuan and gave it to his boyfriend, hoping that he would make a comeback. However, Dong Lifan, who was immersed in love, did not see his boyfriend make a comeback, but got the news that he had run away. It turned out that the boyfriend was jealous of the money, and after planning for a long time, he ran away after receiving 50,000 yuan.
She devoted herself wholeheartedly but was let down. The failure of this relationship was a big blow to Dong Lifan. From then on, she decided not to fall in love or get married, nor to force love.
And Dong Lifan's unique acting style has also become a "stumbling block" on her emotional road. Just like people hate Grandma Rong when they see her, many people like to bring the characteristics of the characters in the play to the outside. The "tough" character Dong Li and Fan Qi also had bad luck, and there were very few people pursuing her.
As time goes by, Dong Lifan’s parents also fell ill and died one after another, leaving her alone in the world. Although he seems lonely, Dong Lifan also lives a comfortable and calm life. He does not force his fate or be harsh on himself. Everything is just right as it comes naturally.
Although God failed to give Dong Li a beautiful appearance and figure, it gave her the courage to pursue her dreams and a happy-go-lucky attitude towards life. She is a different kind of firework in this world.