Li Meng turned 30 last year and did not realize the wish he had made when he was young to win a Best Actress Award before the age of 30. However, with more and more roles, he has gradually become a good actor recognized for his acting skills.
The character she recently met with the audience is Pang Ning, the victim of the "Pig Killing Plate" in the currently released movie "Parrot Killing". Compared with the "turns and turns" of the heroine Zhou Ran, Pang Ning is a more direct kind of woman. At first she was not ashamed to talk about her pain, but later she became more active in seeking a new relationship and facing a new life. When she had the opportunity to meet someone who had deceived her, she calmly and angrily took the most direct revenge. In the unexpected ending, Li Meng gave an intriguing multi-layered emotional interpretation.
Stills of "Parrot Killing"
Compared to the heroine, Li Meng doesn't have that many scenes. She does not shy away from some "functionality" in the role of Pang Ning, but the character who grows up in her heart still has a complete lifeline. What attracted her to join this project was that she admired director Ma Yingxin. Li Meng was attracted by this young female director who had not left a wheelchair since she was 3 years old.
Over the years, Li Meng likes to work with young directors. When they are just starting out and have yet to prove themselves with their works, she can distinguish the different characteristics of young creators through "feelings" and make some kind of "two-way choice" based on her current status. ".
Some people say that Li Meng has a good eye for film selection and has almost never acted in a "bad film" on his resume. Now it seems that "Destiny", "Young Babylon", "The Hidden Corner", "Snowy Cloud"... works in different stages allow her to present a look that suits each moment.
"Short Story" Poster
When I interviewed Li Meng, she had just returned from Venice. "Short Stories" starring her was nominated for the best short film in the Horizon section of this year's Venice International Film Festival. It has been exactly 10 years since Li Meng walked on the red carpet at Cannes for the first time.
She once felt that "youth is very important, youth is very important", so she was eager to shout her name to the whole world. Later, when she had the opportunity to play Bai Ling in the drama version of "White Deer Plain", she refused. In addition to the frustration she once felt in this role, more importantly, she realized that her innocent and ignorant stage had passed. Therefore, in "The Hidden Corner", she is the obsessive, paranoid and hysterical mother Wang Yao, and in "Snow Cloud" she is the single mother Su Hong who is struggling in the dust of the times and unable to realize her old dreams. One of these two roles allowed her to break through the literary and artistic films she was originally familiar with and enter the wider public's horizons. The other allowed her to be seen by more people at many international film festivals such as Berlin, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Quanzhou. Actresses always hope to delay the time of becoming a mother on the screen as much as possible, but Li Meng has no such worries at all. She looks forward to meeting the kind of profound roles that can show the ups and downs of a woman's life as soon as possible, just like her idol Vivien Leigh who guided her on the path of acting since she was a child.
From feeling "separation anxiety" from parents with busy careers when I was young, to being sent abroad to study early as an "unaccompanied minor", to setting new goals for the film and rebelliously sneaking back to China to attend film school; from becoming a star with "Destiny" The first Chinese actress born in the 1990s to walk on the red carpet at Cannes, she later starred in many literary films and gradually became a regular at major film festivals; from being determined to win a film at the age of 30 and trying to prove herself to the outside world, to choosing to settle in Hainan Falling into a life of shopping for groceries, cooking, and chatting with neighbors... Time is a magical thing. Li Meng, who once said in an interview that he hoped to have a "crazy, hard-working life," can now enjoy his sense of relaxation even more.
The feeling of "holding her breath" seemed to have subsided unconsciously, but "wanting to be the best actor" is still her firm goal.
Li Meng
【dialogue】
When I play a supporting role, I'm afraid that I'm "too full"
The Paper: The inner journey of the character Pang Ning in "Parrot Killing" is not as detailed and tortuous as that of another woman. How do you understand and construct this woman's deception experience and inner world?
Li Meng: When I got this script, I felt that the character of Pang Ning needed to be in great contrast with the character of Zhou Ran. When I met the director, she thought about it the same way. In fact, before we met, we had a consensus that Pang Ning and Zhou Ran needed to use different attitudes when facing scammers. So we also control the presentation of the performance in this way. Of course I will do some work myself to enrich the character. For example, the scene at the beach only has one sentence in the script, but it lasted 5 minutes when we shot it.
Stills of "Parrot Killing"
The Paper: I saw you reposting the news about the female master who was killed and cheated by pigs two days ago. Have you ever paid attention to such social events before? What do you think?
Li Meng: In recent years, we have often seen in the news a series of behaviors related to women being violated, such as pig slaughter, sexual assault, rape, domestic violence, etc. You will naturally pay attention to this group with whom you share a common gender identity. I retweeted it because I acted in a movie like "Parrot Killing". In the movie, these deceived girls are in the same group of deceived pigs, which is also based on reality. When news like this happens again, I hope more people will pay attention to this group and to the deceived people and the crime of fraud. I just hope that more attention will help more people be less deceived.
The Paper: There is a scene in the film at the end where you squat in front of Zhang Youhao who was in a car accident. You looked at him for a long time without saying a word, just looking straight at him. It was very meaningful. I want to know what you were thinking when you were doing this scene?
Li Meng: I was thinking about one thing at the time - this was the first time I saw the face of the man who lied to me. I never thought that I fell in love with someone in such a virtual world. It turns out that his image is He looks like this. I'm looking at him. This is the first level. On the second level, I'm thinking if I really meet him in life, will I fall in love with him? Thirdly, there is another layer: I was actually very sad at that moment. The person I "loved" was like this when I saw him for the first time and was about to die.
The Paper: As mentioned earlier, there is a contrast in the attitudes of Pang Ning and Zhou Ran. It seems that Zhou Ran is more ambiguous and hesitant, while Pang Ning seems to be very direct about love and hate. When he finds out about the liar, his first reaction is: " I'll kill you" kind of thing.
Li Meng: But I believe more or less that the end of this matter does not mean that the girls who were deceived, including the boys, will be able to come out immediately. I think she may as well send him to prison, or Even if he died like this, it didn't mean that her pain was over. So emotional fraud is the most hateful, and everyone's feelings are precious.
The Paper: The director said that before filming, he contacted many people to conduct interviews with them. Did you find some actual deceivers to communicate with them before you acted?
Li Meng: I have never communicated with actual victims, so I don’t dare. Because after all, my character doesn’t have many scenes. This is a more functional character than Zhou Ran. Of course, when I took on this project, I didn’t define her by this. It must be a complete character. roles and characters, but it is undeniable that she plays a functional role in the movie. I'm afraid that if I prepare too much, I might act too hard and full, which would be unbalanced for a movie.
My awe for movies has never changed
The Paper: Let me introduce the "Short Film Story" produced in Venice this time. What kind of tacit understanding and new sparks were there in the two collaborations with director Wu Lang?
Li Meng: This is the third time that Wu Lang and I have collaborated. The short film "Snow Cloud" is the first time, and this "Short Story" is the second time. After that, we collaborated on the feature film "Snow Cloud".
"Short Film Story" was filmed in 2020, and the process didn't take long. Compared with the filming of "Snow Cloud" in 2019, my overall feeling is that the director wants to use this short film to make his own image style more bold. direction. At that time, he also wanted to make another short film before starting the feature film "Snow Cloud" to perfect one of his own creations.
Through previous cooperation, I feel that Wu Lang is a director who is more willing to record the current state of gender relations as he understands it. In that film, my character was a wife who got pregnant unexpectedly. The relationship between her and her husband was about to fall apart. It was probably this story.
"Snow Cloud" poster
The Paper: You said before that you would have the freshness and excitement of overseas film festivals in the past. Now you are slowly becoming a regular at film festivals. It has been exactly 10 years since you first walked on the red carpet in Cannes. What was your state of mind before and after? Has anything changed, including the way you participate in film festivals?
Li Meng: I really don’t have the curiosity and novelty that I had when I went abroad for the first time, went to Europe for the first time, saw a so-called great film festival, and walked on the red carpet for the first time. These are indeed gone. But my awe for movies has not changed, and my excitement about being able to see so many excellent works from all over the world at the film festival has not changed.
The first time you participate in various activities, you will be very nervous, but now you will be much more calm. I didn't know any of my colleagues at that time, and I was relatively ignorant. When I met Ang Lee, Tony Leung, and the Coen brothers, I would be as excited as a little fan chasing stars. This year I met great directors such as Woody Allen and Hamaguchi Ryusuke in Venice. I was still very excited. I still have a fan mentality, which seems to be the same as 10 years ago.
Li Meng at Venice Film Festival
The Paper: Audiences who have watched the film in Venice will have some comments, saying that this "Short Story" seems to have no "story". In fact, many literary and artistic films will cause such confusion for the audience. The plot conflicts are not so strong and direct, and the actors mostly present their status. Is there a difference between acting in a story and acting in a situation for you?
Li Meng: Story telling, acting status... This should be the director's decision. We have no right, or possibility, to interfere with the final direction of the film and the way it is presented. Is it a drama or an atmospheric one? 's film. The actor's job is still to complete the characters in the script during filming. This in itself does not affect the difference in our actors' performances. At least my performances are the same when filming. Finally, on the editing table, it is the director who decides the direction of the film.
The Paper: In recent years, you have also begun to try to make TV series, even costume TV series. The plots are denser, or require a lot of information to be expressed in lines. They are quite different from movies.
Li Meng: This is indeed true. But I have no preference. I have participated in dramas, literary films, short films or commercial films, which has trained me to a greater extent. I feel that completing different performances on different circuits is a blessing for me and makes me more familiar with the needs of each circuit.
The Paper: You have collaborated a lot with young directors in recent years. They are not like successful directors, and one can judge their level through their resumes. However, you seem to be very careful in selecting films. Can you tell me if you have any mistakes? What are your thoughts on film selection?
Li Meng: It’s not really my choice, it’s a mutual choice, but it’s really an intuition at this level. I attach great importance to the first meeting with the director, your feelings about him, the sparks and collisions between you during the conversation, about the script or about the character, or even not necessarily discussing the character.
Thinking about the many directors I met, when we met, we didn’t exactly talk about the script itself. The directors were more interested in looking at my current state, such as what I look like at this moment today. I can feel that they are more interested in me. Most of them are observing me, not necessarily knowing how much I understand or desire this role. They want to capture the taste and temperament they need in me, and we happen to be matched at that point. , they chose me.
During this process, I was also watching the director, feeling what the creator’s attitude was towards this project and the work he was currently filming, what his three views were like, and what his theme was. Kind of. During this process, we were all testing each other out, and of course we were very lucky to meet such a group of talented young directors who could work together.
Li Meng took a group photo with the creators of "Parrot Killing"
The Paper: Can you give us some examples of what qualities you find in these young directors that attract you?
Li Meng: Like Ma Yingxin in "Parrot Killing" this time, although it was her first time making a film, she gave a very complete and stylish script, and the subject matter was also very unique, at least not among the projects I have been involved with. When it comes to pig-killing dishes, it was the subject matter that first attracted me. Then when I met the director herself, I found that although she came back from Spain, she was very knowledgeable about the thing she was going to shoot. At the same time, I also liked the quality of the image she wanted to convey. I can feel that this director and what she wants to write and shoot are very mature in all aspects. It does not give me the feeling of being exposed to a new person, but rather a director who comes from a very mature system.
For example, the directors of "Short Story" and "Snow Cloud" were added to WeChat in the early stage. I have seen some photos in his circle of friends. The photos he took are special. He has unique characteristics in images and is similar to many The directors I have met are different, so I judge that he should be a director who pays great attention to image thinking. When I got in touch with him, I found that he is indeed like this. Compared to advancing the plot, he may pay more attention to the image and atmosphere. of communication.
Because these young directors are unknown or unfamiliar at the beginning, they still have to feel it through their works and some peripheral elements. From his writing, conversation, and attitude towards his projects, he has to feel what this person is like. Everyone is different, but if there is anything in common, I think these directors all know very well how they want to create.
The Paper: So there is a saying in this industry that actors are chosen. Do you agree with the "passivity" of this profession? Has the space grown from the initiative you had when you first debuted to now?
Li Meng: I think there is no complete passivity. More often, it is a two-way choice. My own space is certainly growing. When you first debuted, you were too ignorant. You were 0 in this aspect, so it was more often others who characterized you, and you also needed to understand yourself through other people's judgments. But when I am now at this stage, after entering the industry for more than 10 years, I find that I do not understand it as I did at the beginning. But every stage is very precious, precisely because when you were in a very ignorant state, others wanted the same thing. So this is still a two-way choice. People want you to be ignorant, and you happen to be ignorant. You also need to let others capture your ignorance. That's it.
When I'm not working, I'm just an ordinary person
The Paper: As a post-90s generation who has just passed the 30-year-old threshold, do you have the legendary 30-year-old anxiety?
Li Meng: I thought I would, but I don’t seem to understand what “anxiety” is, so it’s hard for me to express it. It seems that I celebrated my 30th birthday last year, and I didn’t have any special feelings. I thought it was okay. But now that I think about it, I don’t seem to love birthdays so much anymore. I used to have a sense of ritual when it comes to birthdays.
The Paper: The biggest change for you after filming "Snow Cloud" is that you chose to move directly to Hainan. Are you still living in Hainan now? Is it a temporary "escape" to seek some kind of relaxation, or do you think you can live like this forever?
Li Meng: I still live there, almost two years ago. I still feel good and can continue to live like this. When I'm not working, I live like an ordinary person. I wake up, go to the supermarket or vegetable market to buy groceries, take a lunch break, read a book or watch a movie in the afternoon, meet up with friends, drink coffee, chat, and then have dinner in the evening. son. Nothing special, just a very ordinary life that I want, with a much slower pace.
Li Meng shares life in Hainan
The Paper: I saw an interview you gave a few years ago, in which you said that you wanted to live “crazy and hard.” Then in a state a while ago, you wished you had a more “relaxed feeling” and had the ability to observe yourself. How did this change happen?
Li Meng: I really haven’t observed it. I don’t even remember saying that I wanted to live “hard”, but there was indeed a stage earlier where I was crazy about proving myself. But you see, now that I am 30, I no longer have the same state of mind that I had when I was 18, as if I wanted to "shout my name to the world."
The Paper: Is it because you feel you have proven yourself? Or did you later get more roles that required "crazy exertion" that made you take off this part?
Li Meng: It’s no longer a matter of proving yourself. Maybe people’s growth will bring about these mentality. I really don’t know. I don’t know why I wanted to prove myself so much back then, and I don’t understand why that desire has dissipated now. But it seems that I haven’t stopped working hard because of this.
But it is indeed possible that because I have played more roles and experienced more life, I have never played some crazy and hard-working roles before. Now that I have played them, I may not have to work too hard in my life.
The Paper: In the past, many news about you said that you were too serious in your dramas. Are you a person who is prone to "internal friction" in life?
Li Meng: When you talk to me, do you feel that I am very internal? I have never been very persistent in anything, ever since I was little. I think it's really a two-way choice. Film productions are a collective operation, and all departments are responsible for the results.
I haven't stopped to think about my current status so far this year, but I have already thought that after I have been busy for a while, I will stop and think about my current status. But I have indeed become much gentler. I don’t know why, but I don’t think I am “not gentle” either. This is really a philosophical question, are you who others see you? Or is it who you are in your eyes?
Stills from "The Hidden Corner"
The Paper: Acting in a literary film like "Snow Cloud" can lead you to a high-profile red carpet, or the TV series "The Hidden Corner" has been introduced to ordinary audiences, or the blockbuster commercial film "The Octagon" has achieved good box office , which one is more fulfilling for you?
Li Meng: I don’t have much different feelings. In fact, I was quite unaware of it. I think Wang Yao ("The Hidden Corner") is the one who has been discussed more. I have some female friends who, after they become mothers, will also tell me that they think you act very much like a mother. I am not in the stage of being a mother, and when I don’t fully understand the mother’s state, I feel quite accomplished to be able to complete such a role.
"In the Octagon", I am very grateful to Brother Baoqiang for giving me this opportunity to try such a role. If he hadn't discovered me, I would never have thought that I could play such an intellectual and white-collar character.
The Paper: It is true that Wang Yao is a very different character from you. Many actresses would avoid playing mothers even after they become mothers. How did the showrunners convince you at that time?
Li Meng: No need to convince, I found them. Because I like novels, I went to recommend myself. I didn't want to play Wang Yao at the time, but as a reader and fan, I especially wanted to play this novel. In the end, they didn't give me a choice. They just said that there is such a role for you, and you can play it or not. So I didn’t think too much about it, and I didn’t think it would be particularly difficult to do. I remember that my agent told me at that time that I would have to get a reply within two hours, so you should make a decision as soon as possible. I replied in two minutes. I always trust my intuition when accepting roles and never get entangled.
The Paper: Do you think your current situation is the kind of actor you once wanted to be?
Li Meng: I can only say that I am still on the way to becoming. I wanted to be an actor because of watching "Gone with the Wind." Scarlett has achieved so much, Vivien Leigh should be one of the best actors in the world. You see, when Vivien Leigh passed away, the whole UK turned off the lights for her for a minute. She was a very great actress. I hope I can be such a person, but I am still far away from "greatness".