Director Hou Minghao in the making

Translating a Cnetz commentary on HMH’s behind the scenes of episode 10:

The difference between an average actor and an excellent actor

I edited together the off-screen footage of Hou Minghao and Director Zhizhu discussing "Into the Blue Cloud" and the perfect presentation in the final play.

I really like Hou Minghao who works so hard.

He clearly grasped the core psychological state of Ji Bozai in the scene of "Into the Blue Cloud", "I know everything is fake."
Based on this premise, he carried out a rigorous logical expansion of the character's reaction (this is what Xiao Hou often does when shaping a character).

Since he knows it is fake, then the other party repeatedly using the same method to ask four times for stimulation should be ineffective or even ridiculous to him. (This reflects my brother's extreme pursuit of the rationality of the character's behavior.[Hug]
He accurately deduced that if he repeated this question (asking four times), he wouldn't be able to deliver a layered performance, as the character's internal logic wouldn't support it. This would cause the play to "fall apart," disconnecting his performance from the intended context of the script and making the character's internal logic seem untenable. Furthermore

, he didn't simply raise the question, but offered a solution:
"She then found another way to provoke my emotions."
This shifted the tension of the scene, transforming it from a single, repetitive stimulus into a dynamic, escalating one.

Even though Ji Bozai knew the master was fake, his emotions might at some point be pricked on

a rational level: knowing it was fake,
he still felt pain, leading to tears .

This rift between reason and emotion is where Ji Bozai finds his greatest human depth and dramatic tension.

The rage Ji Bozai feels when he kills the fake master is more about anger at himself for feeling pain despite knowing it's fake.
It's anger at this uncontrollable emotion.
This anger imbues the act of killing with complex psychological motivations, rather than a simple plot-based task.

It enriches Ji Bozai's character.

Although my brother is indeed a rare ceiling-level appearance in the domestic entertainment industry, he is far more than just an actor with good looks.
He is a performer with ideas, technical skills and creativity.
When he shoots a film, he is not only completing a task, but also creating art.
This deep exploration of the character's psychological logic and the pursuit of the layered performance are the key differences between ordinary actors and excellent actors.

This video will make any director, industry insider and audience take notice of him. Hou Minghao is an excellent actor!

https://m.weibo.cn/status/5220657476146077

 smoky_topaz:

Such a fascinating thread.

Thank you both for posting it here. Much, much appreciated. If you come across more of such snippets, please share these too. 

I love his acting in this drama so much. How he brings all these different layers of JB on the screen is a joy to watch. Yes, I might still riding a high after episode 13. 😅 His eyes acted the h“ll out of the story parts. All these conflicting thoughts and emotions were visible in his eyes. That is an extraordinary acting skill.

To be fair, both were amazing in these scenes. But his delivery today blew me away.

Welcome! We'll post whatever we find here in the upcoming days. 

But have you watched Hou Minghao's "FANGS OF FORTUNE" ??? He did an incredible job there. There's a scene at the last episode where he slapped himself twice. It wasn't on the script. He added that part to showcase his inner struggles. It was praised by the viewers a lot and it gave more depth to ZYZ's mental condition at that time.

 smoky_topaz:

Good tip. FoF will be my next HMH’s drama to watch, after this one is finished and my inner engagement with this story has cooled down. LOL

I had a prolonged Cdrama slump because I couldn’t get into costume dramas and the contemporary ones didn’t got me interested enough either. That changed this summer with WDBTD and First Frost. Now I am slowly catching up on the good stuff I missed during the time I wasn’t in the mood for it. 

Good Luck. FOF is definitely worth to watch. Actually Hou Minghao changed many scenes to add layer to his character. You will find that in FOF drama discussion page. You can check when you get to watch the drama. The old watchers are still lurking on that page. You can also engage with them while watching. 

He emote well in romance scenes. Most actors cant do it. They go for kiss or start doing some stunt because they cant bring emotion.

He is good.   I dropped fangs of fortune because it lacked romance and also story was not good.

Low budget drama.

This is good budget.

Also insane female lead who can act romance and also fight equally. She should do spring waltz korean drama