Wei Zi (Chinese: 巍子; pinyin: Wēi Zǐ; born January 1956) is a Chinese film and television actor.

Wei Zi
Born
王巍 (Wáng Wēi)

1956 (age 67–68)
OccupationActor
Years active1988 – present
AwardsPlum Blossom Awards
Best Actor
1988 Stories of Mulberry Village

Early life

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Born and raised in Ningxia, he was originally named Wang Wei (Chinese: 王巍; pinyin: Wáng Wēi).

Education

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He graduated from the Ningxia College of Art in 1978 and was assigned to the Ningxia Repertory Theatre the same year.

In 1985, he was accepted to the Central Theatre Academy. It was one of the two higher educational institutions of modern theatre in entire China and highly professional coming only second to the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

In January 1989, Wei Zi was admitted to Beijing People's Art Theatre, a first-rate national theatre company of China where he was recognized as a National Class-A Actor (国家一级演员). He left BPAT in 1994.

Career

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Early work

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For his 1988 university graduation, it was required for the students to perform in a play entitled "Stories of Mulberry Village" based on Zhu Xiaoping's three novellas about hardship and struggles in a village in Northern China. Wei played the role of a lunatic farmer and received the highest score for his performance. Later the play went public and unprecedentedly was a huge success. People's Daily described it as "Turning a New Leaf of China's Modern Theatre" and senior authorities such as drama master and Beijing People's Art Theater president Cao Yu and vice-president of the Chinese Film Artists' Association Chen Huangmei who seldom seen in public events attended the performance. Wei was and won the Plum Blossom Award for the best performer in 1988.

Wei's first appearance in front of the camera dates back to 1989 when he acted in the "Ballad of the Yellow River", a film by the famous director Teng Wenji which describes the past lives of the people living along the old course of the Yellow River. It won the Best Director Award in the 14th Montréal World Film Festival [1]. Their cooperation continued in 1996 with "The Conqueror" and "The Story of Xiangxiang" and again in 2005 with another Montréal World Film Festival nominee [2] "Sunrise, Sunset",.

Other activities

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In 1992 he starred in his second movie "The Scientist Jiang Zhuying", a biographical based on the true life of Jiang Zhuying for which he was nominated for a best actor award at the Golden Rooster Awards. The film itself was awarded the Best Feature Film Prize by the Ministry of Radio, Film, and Television [3]. The same year Wei Zi appeared in his first TV drama entitled "Qing Man Zhu Jiang". In 1994 he was nominated again for the best actor award at the Golden Rooster Awards for his notable performance in the movie "Stay in the Village".

In 2000, China Central Television (CCTV) decided to produce a mainland adaptation of one of Jin Yong's Wuxia novels entitled The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. Wei Zi was offered the role of the negative character of the novel Yue Buqun because the director Huang Jianzhong believed that he was the only one who could perform that difficult character very well [4]. At first Wei Zi showed no interest in it since it was a martial arts themed project but agreed to read the script. Upon reading the scenario he noticed the dual characteristics of the hypocrite Yue Buqun who was wearing a gentleman's face while a devil was hidden inside him. Wei Zi found this a challenging role and finally expressed his acceptance of doing it. His successful development of the character was received quite well by both the audience and the critics and paved the way more for his further presence in the TV dramas. "The Great Dunhuang", "The Red Merchant Hu Xue Yan", "Thrill", "Betrayal", "The World's First Restaurant" and "DA Division" are some of his other notable series in the 21st century.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1989 Huanghe Yao
黄河谣
Danggui
1993 The Scientist Jiang Zhuying
蒋筑英
Jiang Zhuying
1994 Xiangxiang Renews Oil Vender
香香闹油坊
He Dawang
1994 Conqueror
征服者
1994 The Day the Sun Turned Cold
天国逆子
Lover
1994 Stay in Village
留村察看
Jian Zheng
1998 Green Snake Assassin
青蛇杀手
2005 Sunrise, Sunset
日出日落
2006 Winter Waltz
冬天的华尔兹
2013 Crimes of Passion

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1992 Qing Man Zhujiang
情满珠江
Lin Bicheng
1994 Fei Jia You Nü
费家有女
1995 Beijing Shenqiu De Gushi
北京深秋的故事
also known as Dushi Ping'an Ye (都市平安夜)
1997 Thousand Years
百年沉浮
Pei Yijiang
1998 Shanghai Cangsang
上海沧桑
Tang Tongshu
1998 Fengyu Aomen
风雨澳门
Li Jinyun
1999 Bairi Zhuizong
百日追踪
Wei Bingnan
1999 Meiyou Jiayuan De Linghun
没有家园的灵魂
Zhang Shaojie
1999 Shengsi Jiaoliang
生死较量
Yang Yisong
2000 Laughing in the Wind
笑傲江湖
Yue Buqun
2001 Betrayal
背叛
Song Yikun
2001 Soft Pitfall
温柔陷阱
Zhang Dawei
2001 Feichang Jiechu
非常接触
Lei Heping
2002 DA Shi
DA师
Zhao Ziming
2002 Days of Passion and Spirit
激情岁月
Wei Yanzhou
2002 The Price of Glory
刺虎
Yongzheng Emperor
2003 Wolong Xiao Zhuge
卧龙小诸葛
2003 Hong Qi Pu
红旗谱
Feng Guitang
2003 Changping of the War
铁血长平
Bai Qi
2003 The World's First Restaurant
天下第一楼
Lu Mengshi
2004 Lihun Zai Hun
离婚再婚
also known as Nüren Buhao Re (女人不好惹)
2004 The Red Merchant Hu Xueyan
红顶商人胡雪岩
Hu Xueyan
2005 Blossom of Hibiscus Flowers
芙蓉花开
Su Shilong
2005 The Great Dunhuang
大敦煌
Liang Moyan
2005 Fanhei Shiming
反黑使命
2005 Undercover Swordsman
剑出江南
Prince of Ning
2006 Weixian Guanxi
危险关系
Su Shilong
2006 Chuan Zheng Fengyun
船政风云
Shen Baozhen
2006 Xuese Shaji
血色杀机
2006 Xuese Nianhua
血色年华
2007 Wang Zhaojun
王昭君
Shepherd
2007 Shanghai Wang
上海王
Chang Lixiong
2007 Qinhuai Beige
秦淮悲歌
Qian Muzhai
2007 Menghui Chun Gu
梦回春谷
Master Xie
2007 Xuanfeng Bao
旋风暴
Yan Zhanfei also known as Canghai Yingxiong (沧海英雄)
2007 Thrill
心跳
Zhou Zhilong also known as Zhenfeng Xiangdui (针锋相对)
2007 Juechu Fengsheng
绝处逢生
also known as Chun Xia Qiu Dong (春夏秋冬)
2008 Lang Yan
狼烟
Zhongtian Yingxiu
2008 Tai'an Tang Yu Jing Chuanqi
太安堂玉井传奇
Ke Yujing
2008 Qiongtu Molu
穷途末路
Zhang Shaojie
2008 Xiongbing Chuji
雄兵出击
also known as Tejing Xiongfeng (特警雄风)
2008 Jinqu
禁区
Xu Hangzhou
2009 Tie Lihua
铁梨花
Zhao Yuangeng
2009 Dixia Dishang
地下地上
Xu Yinchu
2010 Jiang Jun
将·军
Guo Jingyu
2010 Shangri-La
香格里拉
Lecangduoji
2011 Journey to the West
西游记
Jade Emperor
2012 Chinese Traditional Magic
大戏法
Shen Wankui
2013 Dagougun
打狗棍
Dai Tianli

Notable Stage Performances

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  • Stories of Mulberry Village 《桑树坪纪事》 (1988)
  • Tiger Tally 《虎符》

Sources

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  • Fei, Faye C; William H. Sun (1994). ""Stories of Mulberry Village" and the End of Modern Chinese Theatre". TDR. 38 (2): 131–137. doi:10.2307/1146336. JSTOR 1146336.
  • Xu, Linzheng (2005-08-10). "Late Bloomer Wei Zi: From the First Level Actor to Entrepreneur 巍子:从一级演员到个体户" (in Chinese). Sina. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  • "Wei Zi 巍子" (in Chinese). China Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  • "Wei Zi 巍子" (in Chinese). MdbChina. Archived from the original on 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
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