Living alone in Hanoi sometimes makes me sad.
- Returning to cinema with a film by director Victor Vu, what does Meritorious Artist Quang Thang expect?
I think Victor Vu found his unique personality and acting style. As for me, I really admire his talent, so when I was contacted to act in the film, I immediately accepted.
In the film, I play a district magistrate - a powerful man with hidden worries and frustrations. I tried to develop the character in a new direction to create a highlight for the work.
Every film needs an audience when it is released. The public's love is a priceless gift for us artists. I just hope that the work will be accepted as a reward for the efforts of the whole team.
Quang Thang plays the role of a district magistrate in the movie "The Last Wife".
- How is working with young actors, especially Kaity Nguyen - who is old enough to be your child - a new experience for you?
I really love Kaity, a girl who looks fragile and immature but is very dedicated to her job. In the movie, there is a scene where I slap her several times in a row. The scene was re-enacted several times, making her cry in pain. After the movie was finished, Kaity and I called each other "father - daughter" and still maintained a close relationship.
The actors today have youth, creativity and endurance. When interacting with them, I feel younger and more energized. I also learn so that I don’t fall behind. On the contrary, I try to share my experience and acting depth to support you.
Quang Thang lived alone in Hanoi for many years to conveniently pursue art.
- Living away from home, how do you take care of yourself?
Living in the capital, I take care of everything myself, from daily life to my outside artistic work. Every day I commute to the office and the film studio by motorbike. After work, I run home late at night. Sometimes I feel sad, but I tell myself to try my best for my wife and children. Recently, I raised a small dog to keep me company every day, to ease my homesickness.
Being alone has its advantages because it helps me to be proactive with my schedule. On free days, I go to the market to buy food for later use.
Some vendors recognized me and greeted me enthusiastically, saying: "Mr. Thang, what dish are you eating today? Let me sell it to you." Some people sell cheaply, some sell more expensively because they know I'm an artist. But I still bargain like everyone else (laughs) . I'm a good cook, so every time I go back to my hometown, I take the opportunity to cook my "signature" dish for my family.
- After many years away from home, have you ever thought about moving back to reunite with your family and children?
Hanoi is crowded, so I have to stay here because of my job. Everyone wants to be close to their family, but if I had to go back to my hometown and quit my job, I wouldn't be able to bear it.
A few years ago, I saved up money to buy a small house on Bo De Street, Long Bien District. My wife and children came to live with me for a while, then moved back to the countryside because they were not used to the crowded and cramped life. I thought I had suffered enough, I should not make my relatives suffer.
Even though I don’t have much time with my family, I still take care of everything. Every day I call home to ask how my wife and children are doing, and how my parents are doing. Sometimes I catch a bus back home at midnight. I rarely miss meals, because that is also the time for family gatherings and bonding.
Meritorious Artist Quang Thang believes that an artist's honor is a hundred times more important than money.
- Accepting to trade family happiness like that, the salary you receive must be quite a lot?
I am carefree and have never cared about salary. Of course I still have to work to earn money to take care of my family and support my wife and children, but money is not everything.
There are shows where I give my all without asking for pay. Some movies, when the day they start shooting, I don't care how much I get paid. I worked hard to make a living when I was young, so at this age, I don't need to worry about it anymore.
For me, the most important thing is to be able to do my job and be loved by the audience. The honor of an artist is a hundred times more important than money. If you are rich but no one knows or respects you, it is meaningless.
I am proletarian so my wife is very secure!
- Business and advertising are the main sources of income for most artists today, why don't you choose a more comfortable path?
I also accepted some advertisements before, which led to many complicated things. Images were edited, short-term contracts were signed and then used for other purposes for a long time without my knowledge… We artists are sometimes passive, and only when our names are called do we panic.
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about artists advertising things that are too much and not true. Some people make mistakes, then cry and apologize to the audience. I look at them and think of myself, suddenly worried if I were to fall into the same situation.
Advertising, making a lot of money and then losing your honor in the end, what kind of artist is that? I'd rather be a little hungry, poor is fine as long as I have to be "clean" and have peace in my career.
- Showbiz is frivolous and full of temptations, surely your family must be worried about you?
Living in a crowded and gossipy environment, not everyone is sober enough. I just tell myself how to behave so that I don't feel ashamed of my conscience and the audience.
I am an introvert, so whatever I do, I always think of my family first, then myself. I want to set an example for my children to look up to. If I don't say anything good, I will regret it for the rest of my life if I get into a scandal or bad reputation. Living a decent life and doing a decent job is also a way to keep my small family happy.
"Living and working a decent job is also a way to keep a small family peaceful."
- Does your wife have any requirements or rules for you when you work away from home?
For more than 20 years, my wife and I have been in love. That is luck, and also the result of the efforts from both sides. We are willing to give each other trust and sometimes respect each other's personal privacy. On holidays, New Year's, birthdays... even though I am busy, I never forget to give her a gift. In return, my wife also accompanies and understands my job.
Life is never a free gift, so I give all the money I earn to my wife to keep. I often joke that since I am a poor person, how can I love or take care of anyone? So my wife can be absolutely sure of me in this regard. (laughs)
- Xuan Bac, Tu Long… your colleagues are very comfortable sharing family photos, but Quang Thang has kept it a secret for many years, why is that?
I don’t have the habit of sharing my personal life on social media. I’ve been an artist my whole life, exposing every aspect to the audience is enough. I don’t want my wife and children to be under more pressure because their husband and father are artists. Of course, this depends on each person’s point of view, there is no right or wrong.
My two older children, one is in 4th year of university, the younger one is in 12th grade. Although their father is a famous artist, they don't care much. They are crazy about Korean bands like BTS, BlackPink...
I used to ask my children: “Why do you keep buying so many CDs and photos of them? Don’t you like them when your father is a famous person?” They laughed and said that their father was not their “taste”. That shows that in their eyes, their father is very normal. I want my family to be like any other family, as long as it is simple and happy, that is more than enough.
Quang Thang hopes to work until he is 80 years old.
- What do you look forward to most right now?
I have almost reached the end of my 60 years of life. Every year my health gets weaker, I just hope to be healthy enough to continue working for a long time.
There is no retirement age for art. The previous examples such as Mr. Van Hiep, Pham Bang… worked until they were over 80 years old. I will perform until I am no longer strong enough, then I will voluntarily withdraw, not force it. The important thing is to maintain the audience's affection, once they turn their backs, it will be impossible to get them back.
(Source: Vietnamnet)
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