Quit acting to learn to fly

"The boy" Ha Duy that the 8x and 9x generations are familiar with on TV dramas eventually did not become a professional actor but chose to be a pilot.

Child actor Ha Duy once had a huge "coverage" on television with many films such as Being a mother, Xom bo song, Mua he hot dong, Mot chuy vien que, Cha an... With his biological mother being Meritorious Artist Huong Dung, Ha Duy had a great support to pursue art. But at the age of 18, Ha Duy suddenly took a different direction, unrelated to his profession, when he decided to go to France to study... piloting airplanes.

Child actor Ha Duy is familiar to television audiences.

You appeared on screen since you were very young. Do you remember how old you were when you had your first role?

I think it was when I was 4 or 5 years old. The first movie was Litmus Paper directed by Viet Bao. My mother acted in this movie and brought me along with the crew. At that time, the movie was lacking child roles so the director asked Bop (Ha Duy's nickname) to audition for the role.

At that time, mass media technology was not yet developed, so directors spread the word by word of mouth. Any film that needed a child actor would recommend “Mrs. Huong Dung’s son” who could act in that film. As a result, most of the child roles at that time were taken by me.

Was it difficult for you to act in movies when you were still illiterate?

People always say that I come from a family of actors, so acting was completely spontaneous, it was my ability, not someone who taught me. When I went to film, everyone in the crew, even my mother, guided me, but I started acting when I was very young, a child, who knew anything.

So what was your last role before you decided to quit?

If I remember correctly, it was the movie Green Desire, 2007-2008. At that time, I finished 12th grade. After graduating from high school, I took the Foreign Language University entrance exam but failed, so I studied at the College of Television, studied for 1 year in Hanoi, then moved to Saigon to work as a flight attendant because my older sister was also a flight attendant.

But when I got in here, my colleague advised me to take the pilot test, and unexpectedly I passed.

This is the "kid" that no one in the 8x and 9x generations can forget.

The most impressive role during your time as an actor?

I remember the role in the movie Winter the most. I played an orphan boy living with his grandfather. His family was poor and had no money so he went to the city to find work, sold newspapers far away from his mother, saved up money to buy blankets for his grandfather.

It was a very emotional role, usually I play naughty roles but that role was very quiet and I had to act introspective. At that time I was only 7 or 8 years old so I didn’t know what acting introspective was but this role really made an impression on me.

What was the reason for you to suddenly change direction from being an actor to the unrelated job of being a pilot?

The pilot profession chose me. The initial purpose of moving to Ho Chi Minh City was to become a flight attendant. Many people also advised me to try to study to become a pilot, but at that time I thought how could I go to school, but I still tried.

At the entrance exam, only English and good health were required to attend a course at a flight training center. Then, in 2009, ESMA School in France began recruiting students. At that time, they interviewed hundreds of people but the school only accepted 40 people and I was among the 40 people who went to France to study.

Currently, Ha Duy is a co-pilot.

How did you learn to become a pilot?

When I went to France, I was still afraid, afraid that I didn't have the ability and my English wasn't good enough, afraid that I wouldn't be able to understand.

During the waiting period to prepare for going to France, I continued to practice English and basic aviation knowledge.

The day I went to France I was very nervous and I didn’t think I could learn. But the teacher taught very easily and I tried my best. That was the theory.

The first time I flew was also memorable. The plane was a single-engine, tiny plane that could only carry 3-4 people. On that flight there was me, the instructor and another person supervising.

How long did your study last?

In Vietnam, I attended a one-year course. During that time, I learned English, physical training, basic aviation knowledge, and did military service.

Then I went to France to study for another 18 months, but in reality, I only studied for 17 months because I had a more busy flight schedule than my classmates.

After returning to Vietnam, I studied first aid, safety, aviation security, and then went to Beijing to learn how to change aircraft types. After finishing my studies, I was interviewed by the 919 flight crew of Vietnam Airlines Corporation to be assigned to the flight crews.

I was selected to fly the Airbus A320/321 and started flight training. The minimum flight time to get a commercial pilot license is 200 hours.

Ha Duy quit acting and went to France to study to be a pilot.

Why did you suddenly quit acting when you had such a solid foundation?

Because I was too carefree back then. It was a difficult time for me and I felt that if I continued to stick with acting, I didn’t know where I would go. Because acting is a very hard job, just look at my mother and I know.

I really like acting, I like making movies and plays. But that's just my hobby. There are good things about being an artist. Both the arts and aviation have something in common: they are not fixed or constrained.

So how did you get through that difficult time?

At that time, I felt that my future was a dark sky. Acting could take me to the top or it could take me to the bottom. At that time, I could not think of anything and could not do anything. Thanks to my sister who took me to Saigon and told me that I had to change if I wanted a better future. And I decided to go to the South to study to become a pilot.

Do you think being famous from a young age caused you to encounter those stumbles?

I think it's not because of fame but just the impulsiveness of youth.

Ha Duy at the age of 27 still has the same features as when he was young.

So as a pilot, what is your life like now?

My working hours are not fixed, every month I will receive the flight schedule for the following month and look at it to know my working hours. The interesting thing about this job is that the hours are flexible, sometimes it is tiring because when other people are on vacation, I go to work, when other people are working, I go to sleep.

Second, my working environment is always changing. My flight crew is always changing, sometimes the captain and the flight attendants have to fly together for 2-3 years. Because this job requires high precision and is very stressful.

Many people think that pilots have to travel a lot, but in fact I am a “time billionaire”. Aviation regulations stipulate that within 28 days, you cannot fly more than 100 hours, which is not much compared to other jobs.

According to VOV