The Actor’s Actor

He is not very tall， a little dark and brooding， but stands rigidly straight. When talking to others， his gaze shoots piercingly into their eyes. At the March 19， 2014 Chinese mainland premiere of Black Coal， Thin Ice， Liao Fan’s arrival inspired riotous cheers from the crowd.

In mid-February， Black Coal， Thin Ice won the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. Liao Fan， who starred as a gloomy ex-cop investigating a series of grisly murders， took the Silver Bear for Best Actor for his “ability to surprise the audience with his performance.” The crime thriller is more than a detective story： A half decade earlier， the husband of a launderer Wu Zhizhen was killed and chopped into pieces. After five years， former police officer Zhang Zili （Liao Fan） begins investigating a series of serial murders and discovers that all the victims were romantically linked to Wu Zhizhen. Zhang was the investigating officer of Wu’s husband’s murder years ago. As the new investigation progresses， truths about the earlier murder are uncovered. This Chinese thriller， with a well-crafted plot， was highly praised by the film festival’s organizing committee. Liao’s outstanding acting in the film earned him the best actor award.

Perennially Supporting

Many believe that 40-year-old Liao was lucky to nab the best actor award in Berlin. In a sense， he was. Throughout his career， Liao has been cast in lead roles only three times. However， those three roles have rewarded him richly： In 2005， he won the Best Actor Award at the 18th Singapore International Film Festive for his performance in Green Hat. In 2008， he was nominated for Best Actor at the 45th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival for his performance in Ocean Flame. His latest role in Black Coal， Thin Ice won him the Silver Bear for Best Actor. Yet most of the time， Liao has been found in supporting roles.

Many in the film industry believe Liao’s looks are the reason he is seldom cast in lead roles. Liu Fendou， director of Green Hat and frequent collaborator with Liao， explains that his appearance subverts Chinese aesthetics. He is neither exceptionally handsome nor ugly. “Liao has a very average， everyman face，” he says. “He was born to appear in artistic and indie films.” In China， in reference to movies， “artistic” and “indie”are not necessarily positive words. Being“artistic” implies that an actor may never achieve commercial success nor be cast in mainstream commercial productions.

This has been the situation for Liao for many years. After graduating from the Acting Department of Shanghai Theater Academy in 1997， Liao joined Beijingbased Central Experimental Theater （now part of National Theater of China）. The young actor worked persistently and tirelessly prepared for every role. His diligence eventually led to a role in a TV series Eternal Moment， an early hit in 1998. Almost every actor appearing in the show found popularity in its wake – except Liao.

Afterwards， Liao worked with a number of renowned Chinese directors and appeared in many TV series and movies. However， he played mostly supporting roles and remained on the B-list for years. Over the years， Liao， who once believed he could play any role， realized that an actor’s appearance is closely tied to the films in which he appears.

He did become angry， but not disheartened， and ultimately vowed to act in whatever small roles the best he could. Liao eventually discovered that supporting roles are often more dramatic than leads and afford actors more room for creativity. He became particularly fond of “not so simple， complicated” small roles.

In 2003， Liao was finally cast in a lead role as a bank robber in Green Hat. Although he was named Best Actor at the 18th Singapore International Film Festive for his work in this film， his status didn’t change much. He remained on the B-list in China. He found roles in mainstream movies including The Game of Killing and Curiosity Kills the Cat， and several blockbusters such as Assembly， If You Are the One II， and Let the Bullet Fly. However， his precise and insightful performances were still overshadowed by leading A-listers.

Before Liao won the Silver Bear for Best Actor， many considered his face“familiar” as Liao describes his own appearance. While many people recognize him on the street， instead of calling out his name， the first words out of their mouths are something along the lines of， “You must be...”

“I am an Actor.”

Green Hat， which brought Liao his first Best Actor award， felt like a graduation ceremony. Before the film， he had played many small roles as bandits， pimps， and tough guys. Although such character roles helped Liao improve his skill， their lives on screen were generally short. Thus， more effort was required to inject life into the role despite only a few takes and lines. Green Hat finally gave Liao the opportunity to portray a deeper character. “I think he mulled over every detail in his head， and figured out the best way to combine his lines and movements，” commented director Liu Fendou. “He is super serious when it comes to acting.” Such extreme commitment to the craft of acting is not very common in modern Chinese film.“Liao possesses the kind of power and strength many Chinese actors lack these days，” Liu adds.

His “diligence” is well known in the film industry. Black Coal， Thin Ice was shot in winter in Northeast China where temperatures drop as low as 30 below， and the shoot lasted three months. To portray the depressed and gloomy former police officer who endured many hard times， Liao put on more than 10 kilograms in a short period of time. He embarked on the“method” style of acting， locking himself away to drink large quantities of alcohol， as the officer does in the movie. He believes that acting requires hiding things as well as creating. Professional actors may prepare for months for a role， yet the fruits of such dedication are only a few stellar seconds on screen. “I am just an actor，” Liao declares.“Acting is doing things you won’t or can’t do in your real life， using another person’s background or wearing a mask.”

After winning the Silver Bear for Best Actor， Liao has finally grabbed more attention from journalists， fans， and agencies. But inside， he still feels uneasy about becoming an inspiration and remains stunned. Questions swirling in his mind now include： “Am I that old？” “Was my career so pathetic before？” and “Am I successful only because of this award？”

Yet he maintains that he has always enjoyed his work as an actor， despite the scarce opportunities to carry a film. He is happier to talk about the craft of acting than the trait of persistence. “I am confident in my acting，” he says with a shrug. “I know I always have been. The Silver Bear for Best Actor will surely help my career. Now I have more leverage when negotiating roles， and I have something to brag about.” He pauses， dramatically， as if to reveal grisly details surrounding a decapitated corpse， “I will continue doing my thing， and being myself.”