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chrisjake-cp · 1 year

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[CH-ENG translation] Interview: Find something to be wholeheartedly happy about. Jake Hsu: "Being an artist is influential work. I hope to continue to bring strength and warmth to other people."

Interview by Alec Zhan, Men’s Uno, 16 December 2022

"I want to make the world better through my works. I really believe this can happen. Being an artist is influential work. I hope to continue to bring strength and warmth to other people," Jake talked like this in the interview. After acting in several Q-series, Jake gradually grabbed the attention of the public. In 'Shards of Her', he displayed exquisite acting skills, and fully received recognition for it. In this interview, he not only shared his experiences along the way, he also brought up the reasons why he ardently loves acting, as well as his determination to become an actor. Let's walk together through these words to Jake's inner world.

A poem that let him walk to the heart of a character

Talking about the present situation, Jake indicated that he's in the middle of filming a series. In December, more details will be shared. "It's a 6-episode miniseries, and filming will soon be over. This role is very fun to play. Next to martial arts scenes that I filmed earlier, there is also much physical labor to be done for this role. [My character] is a driver of a tricycle. In the series he really has to ride a tricycle to transport goods, he's exposed to the sun a lot, he talks Taiwanese, etc. It's a character type I haven't come into contact with before."

In the recently popular ‘Shards of Her’, Jake, who plays Tiffany Hsu's younger brother, successfully attracted the attention of a lot of fans thanks to his superb acting. This included making the audience, along with Tiffany Hsu, cry with just one line.

About the how of playing the part of Lin Zhen Ye, who fell into a depression, he said: "I just want to find that burden, to the point that it I collapse under its weight myself. What is his (mental) state? How does he think? This results in him [Lin Zhen Ye] entering a state that normal people can't understand in the end, because he doesn't even talk and can't communicate with other people. But he also makes some moves that push forward the plot of this series. So this text was very important to me and helped me a lot. Whether it was lines or writings in the script, it was written for the actors to read."

Among the annotations, Jake remembered there was a poem by Lin Wanyu that kicked his heart into gear and guided him towards this role. "That poem is my favourite in the whole series. Even though it's written somewhere on set, the audience probably won't get to see it. This sort of thing is very important to me. The poem goes like this: The things I held on to are still in my pocket It's those little beliefs Supporting the entire workings of the galaxy Giving me light in the daytime And stars at night

Just like this character's affection for his sister has been in his heart all along. No matter which emotional difficulties he faces, this conviction make sure he can go all the way until now."

As for the popularity of the series [Shards of Her] at the moment, did it make Jake feel like more attention was on him [as an actor]? He explained laughing that because he cut his long hair, he wouldn't really be noticed by other people.

On the reason of him cutting his hair, he said: "I think I was a bit despressed while shooting this series. When I was in the middle of learning the character, I thought that nothing in life was happy. I lent my body to him to experience such feelings, and I in turn felt that depression [of his]. My own way of getting out of it was by cutting my hair."

Even though Jake cut his long hair short now, he indicated that if there was a series requiring him to let it grow out, he would be happy to accept.

Enjoying the compliments of others

Talking about his experiences since making his debut as an actor, Jake has gradually become famous after taking part in several Q-series. About the experiences and the training process of that time, he said that, thinking back on it, he was actually very happy, even though at that time he was short on money.

"I shared a rented room of 1 ping [3.3m2) and the rent of that room was only 5000TWD [about $162]. I spent almost two years living like this! This room, apart from our (bed)room had a communal space outside. I remember when it rained we had a pond. We had no windows, and mice would scurry in the ceilings and later die in the bathroom. It's funny thinking back on it now. That there are such houses in Taipei! But we can't complain about living in the city center for only 5000TWD [a month]."

Although many mysterious and odd things happened in that house, Jake still felt reluctant to leave when it was time to move out. "When life was really hard, I'd still have a feeling of reluctance to part with it. But that was because wanted to keep living there, so I didn't have to give up and return home."

Since childhood, Jake was fond of performing and it seems that as a child he already set the goal for himself to become an actor. "I remember that I liked performing, even when I was really young at three or four years old. At that time I was doing some silly magic tricks in front of friends and classmates. Because we were all children, they were happy to watch, no matter how silly the magic tricks were. I really enjoyed their feelings of amazement ('Wow') too.”

After this, Jake dabbled in magic tricks all the way until high school, and became the president of the magic club. He also decided to attend a university that taught performing arts. "I never thought about doing anything else than acting at all. Signing up for the drama department was my only choice ever, and I always said that if I didn't pass it [that department's entrance exam], I'd serve in the army."

Still, no matter how much Jake loves acting, he still can't shake the feeling of nervousness when facing the cameras. "The first time I was looking into a camera, I was really nervous to death! There were huge differences with the stage plays that I studied. These differences still exist until today...I'm still fumbling and endlessly exploring, but learning these things is really fun."

Perhaps because the opportunities for acting became more numerous, Jake has slowly explored his own ways to prepare, such as drinking water before going on stage/walking on set. This way he can disspel some of his anxiety. But he also shared that preparing for filming is still vastly different than preparing for a stage play. "The work format is slightly different. Stage plays could be rehearsed for 3 or 4 months at a time. The director and the actors continuously work until everything is perfect. That's not the case with filming [a series or movie]. When filming you receive a script and things you film today are broadcast together with things you shot on the first and the 80th day, so the moments when your performance isn't totally okay are easily noticed [litterally: 'easy for bitter scenes to appear'].

Finding things to be wholeheartedly happy with

Jake also has a very intriguing habit, which is that before he boards a plane, he will write a death note. We're also curious about what he writes in those. "The main sentiment is using elegant and sentimental language to bid farewell to my family. The intro to each death note approximately goes like this: 'Mom, dad, thank you for supporting my interest [in acting]. I may be dead now, but I don't have any regrets. Please rest assured that I lived a happy life, even if I didn't earn big money. Sorry for not leaving you any money, but in this acting business you really don't earn much' and such. I am someone who doesn't want to have any regrets left. Suppose I took a plane today and the plane was going down ten minutes in, I would go crazy if I didn't write such a death note, but it is what it is."

The funny thing is that you can probably find the death notes Jake has written before all over his home. "I have my death notes everywhere in my home now. I'm not sure that I unearthed the previous one each time I write a new one. When the time comes, I hope the lawyer will be be able to find out which one is the most recent note."

In private, Jake is a big movie lover. He likes to look at movies with an analytical perspective. "The first time watching a movie I'm more of an audience member, but if I like the movie, the second time I watch it I might think about the director's shots or admire why actors performed something a certain way. This way you can really learn a lot of things."

Another way to recharge his batteries is by playing badminton, which he started last year. "I discovered that playing badminton makes me extremely happy. Even though I don't play very well, I don't need to think about or care about anything while hitting [the shuttlecock]. I also discovered it's extremely important to find anything you can be wholeheartedly happy about."

Apart from his private interests, Jake reckons he's a multi-faceted person. "Because I was confronted by some issues in the past two years, and I examined myself a lot, I discovered that I am a completely different person when I am on my own, when I am hanging out with friends, or when I'm hanging out with fellow actors in a work situation. If anyone overlaps in two domains [i.c. if anyone is both a friend and a colleague], they'll be surprised about how different I am. This also opened up my understanding of a role; characters can have extremely different aspects, even though they're one person."

Like when he hangs out with friends, he said that he's often acting crazily [outspoken], but when he enters his workplace, people have asked him whether he's a bit autistic. And when he's alone, he often goes into a weirdly peaceful state, so much so that he can sit on the sofa for five hours straight without doing anything.

Continue to bring strength and warmth to other people

The theme of the December issue [of Men's Uno] is 'unique style'. We also want to know how Jake cultivates his own style? "I think style is not something that you have a method for, or that you create consciously. It just happens in every decision in life. For example, I decide which clothes I'm going to wear today, or which breakfast I'll eat, what music to listen to. Every little decision like this creates a person's life style." Just like when you create a movie, he thinks that directors with style won't think about what that style is. They'll just make every decision according to their own taste, and string their movie together like that.

[Being asked about] a future challenging role and goal, Jake, after consideration, replied that he would really wants to play a lawyer. Why is that? He believes he is someone with clear expressions and trains of thoughts. "During the process of observing myself, I found that the way my brain operates is very organized, like a machine. This can hinder me when I create certain characters, but help me with characters that require logic. For example, I recently played a guest role as a prosecutor. It was incomparably easy for me speak of what the evidence pointed at in an orderly manner."

But Jake also found out that emotionally outgoing roles are currently his weak point, "because my brain doesn't work like this, my rationality will be ahead of my emotions. So I'll be a little jammed. Intellectually I'll feel I don't need emotions to do things. Since I'm obviously able to solve things this way, why would I need to be outspoken? But currently I often accept roles with outspoken characters, so that's just as well for tempering my own [character].

At the end of the interview, we want to ask what Jake thinks is the happiest, most accomplished part of being an actor? "When someone gets strength from my work. I remember going to Taipei Film Fest one time. Getting out of Zhongshan Hall [an auditorium in Taipei] about to flag down a car, there was a boy running over to me clutching a slip of paper in his hand. Until now I still remember the contents of that piece of paper. It said 'thank you, Zishuo, [Jake's character in Close Your Eyes Before It's Dark] for allowing me to die, and at the same time be reborn.' After reading that note, I cried heavily in the square in front of Zhongshan Hall. I couldn't imagine that that was the strength I gave people, so that he felt he was reborn and was able to tell his story. That power, that continues to push me forward to be an actor, is that through my works I want to make this world a better place. I really believe this can happen. Being an artist is influential work. I hope to continue to bring strength and warmth to other people."

#jake hsu #interview #my translation #徐鈞浩 #她和她的她 #天黑請閉眼 #商魂 #shards of her #close your eyes before it's dark #trade war #history 3 trapped cast #photoshoot

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grand-theft-carbohydrates · 9 months

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i literally spend at least 2 hours a week just looking at various pictures of the terracotta army. utterly entranced. look at the details in the hair. you'd never see ANY of this when they're lined up in formation, but they're there.

theres about 8000 of these guys down there, no two faces are alike. they're works of art. they're the manifestation of a cruel despot's delusions of grandeur. a talisman against the terrible inevitability of death, both pathetic and strangely pitiful. like watching a child clinging to his blanket, begging you not to turn off the light. they were a bunch of insignificant clay statues from a side chamber that was so small and unremarkable, no one bothered to write down the location. they were modelled after real people. their only purpose was to serve qin shi huang in the afterlife, so he could reign in heaven as he did on earth. now the emperor is just a ghost and his pawns are immortal. my dad and i visited them in the dead of winter, on a weekday, just so we wouldn't have to deal with tourists like us. the place had easily 500 people--not including the ones below ground. we traveled to xian via the old "green skin" diesel train. there are faster means, like highspeed rail but dad insisted i try the authentic way, the same way he would have traveled when he was my age it was also like, a quarter of the price but im sure that had nothing to do with it! back in the 80s carriages would get so packed people had to have their luggage passed in via the windows. as we chugged along, i read my book and my dad made us cup noodles. car is just a shortened version of "carriage", the word is the same but the mechanism is different. it's the same in chinese. i think if i told someone from the warring states period i could travel from the Kingdom of Qi to Qin in just four hours with my metal carriage, i'd be laughed out of town--or accused of being a spy and sentenced to 'death by carriage.' we hopped off the train at 4am and took a different "carriage." the taxi driver joked; "basically every dynasty put their capital in xian, stick a shovel anywhere and you'll turn up some national treasure or another." i wonder what it would have felt like to be a farmer digging a well and then out pops a remarkably realistic human head. statistical analysis show the soldier's faces bear a strong similarity to people living in the region today. the taxi stopped in front of a jewellery-hawking tourist trap and refused budge an inch until we went inside. did you know the terracotta soldiers were originally multi-coloured and painfully gaudy, just like the greek marbles? they were made assembly-line style. the arms and legs were made from the same workshops that made clay plumbing pipes and roof tiles. for quality control, the artisans were required to stamp their names. the workers who built these tombs were executed shortly afterwards, because only dead men can be trusted with secrets. qin shi huang's mausoleum is unlikely to be excavated in my father's lifetime, or mine, not unless i'm willing to take a BIG ONE for the team... instead of the tomb, they built some kind of qin shi huang-themed theme park next to it. not only was it tacky as hell the entrance fee was like $50. we went to the museum and i looked at bronze tools and pottery shards for three hours. look why can't we just crack the thing open i can't be the only one here whos dying from curiosity what if we all just took turns digging

#qin shi huangs terracotta army #warring states #qin dynasty #thinking about Her...<3 bronze tools and pottery shards <3 #my writing

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