Unexpected story about the 60-year-old Colonel in the movie "Quynh Doll"

Few people know that actor Nguyen Hai, who plays the role of owner Can of Thien Thai cave in "Quynh Doll", used to work as a worker and mine engineer in Quang Ninh and is currently a police colonel.

Among the young cast of "Quynh Doll" such as Phuong Oanh, Thu Quynh, Thanh Huong, Doan Quoc Dam, Trong Lan..., a familiar villainous face appeared with a hoarse voice, small eyes, a mustache and a "sly" smile.

That face once made the audience hate him with the roles of "bad guys" like Trinh Kha in "Chuyen Lang Nho", Le Thanh in "Chay An", Minh Hoi in "Co Con Trang"... and now Can - the owner of the restaurant and brothel Thien Thai in "Quynh Bup Be". That is Colonel - Meritorious Artist Nguyen Hai.

From the mining industry to the person who specializes in the role of "the ultimate bastard"

Few people know that before "playing the role" of the villain, Nguyen Hai graduated from the University of Mining and Geology, class 20, in 1980. After graduating, the student born in 1958 even spent more than half a year working as a mine worker and engineer in Quang Ninh.

When he had free time, Nguyen Hai often went to the stadium - where theaters were set up for theater troupes to perform for propaganda purposes - to watch. His passion for the stage lights began from then on. When the stage lights went out, Nguyen Hai had the chance to meet his idols, People's Artist Trong Khoi and People's Artist The Anh, and admired these extremely charming people. It was them and their words during a tea and wine session in the corner of the stadium: "Yes, you can do it" that gave Nguyen Hai the determination to leave Quang Ninh to return to Hanoi to pursue acting.

In 1981, Nguyen Hai decided to take the entrance exam to the Academy of Theatre and Cinema in Mai Dich Cultural Area and graduated in 1986. After a period of collaborating with the People's Police Drama Troupe, in 1990, Nguyen Hai was officially admitted to the staff.

In his acting career, Nguyen Hai has also played many positive roles such as Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Dam in the play "Fragile Moment" by author - writer Huu Uoc, which won the Silver Medal at the National Professional Theater Festival in Hanoi in 1999, the role of Intelligence Colonel Le Duc Duy in the play "Living in Solitude" which won the Gold Medal at the National Professional Theater Competition in Thua Thien - Hue in 2012... However, in general, the number of "miserable to the end" roles is still overwhelming.

Up to now, in addition to the title of Meritorious Artist, Nguyen Hai is also an actor with the rank of Colonel, former Deputy Head of the People's Public Security Drama Troupe.

During the 7 years of not acting in a TV series because of being busy with management work at the drama troupe, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Hai had to turn down many projects because of the long filming schedule. When Nguyen Hai had time, Mac Hai - assistant director of "Quynh Doll" invited his old friend to act in the film. When it came to casting, although the role of Can had been considered for 2-3 other people, it was immediately decided for Nguyen Hai.

60 year old colonel is still called "that guy"

So how does a colonel transform into an old pimp? A role that is “realistic” must be taken from reality, so Meritorious Artist Nguyen Hai took information from the press, met restaurant owners, and contacted waitresses to get the closest look.

As an experienced actor but a former colonel, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Hai must have a moderate acting style, cannot go overboard or act too inexperienced, but only evoke associations for the audience. Everyone thought that Mr. Can kept prostitutes to "eat" them before sending them to serve customers, but only saw in the film the scene of adjusting clothes, saw dozens of girls surrounding and massaging them, but there was never any aggressive action, still depicting enough image of a businessman on women's bodies.

After a long time of not acting in a TV series, but returning to act with all young actors, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Hai does not discriminate between seniority. He always believes: “Co-actors are teachers! When you act, people watch. When people act, you watch. Give each other feedback to improve together, never be offended!”

Before playing the role of Can, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Hai became a typical face for characters of the rogue, scheming, sinister intellectual type, the role of reactionary spies, traitors to the Fatherland. Because he had to play the character for a long time, it took him several months to get out of the role. Many times, when he was used to playing a big boss, in a crowded place, he would talk loudly, and only when reminded would he suddenly remember and apologize.

Getting into a role is also hard. Being cursed at, even chased away because of hatred for playing a villain role has become a daily occurrence for Meritorious Artist Nguyen Hai. “I am over 60 years old and yet people call me this guy or that guy. When riding the bus, people point at this familiar guy and call him "Hey, that Can guy" is too common." There are people who even joke and talk to the actor just to talk about the topic of cave girls, prostitutes...

When meeting actor Nguyen Hai in real life, many people will be surprised because, far from the classic "bad guy" roles on screen, his squinting eyes or smirking mouth are not cunning or mean, but extremely approachable.

In addition to his "sly" face and impressive expressions, Nguyen Hai has a rather strange voice, sometimes hoarse like the wind blowing, sometimes like a pile of broken glass thrown into a barrel. This voice was not his birth voice, but because in 2003, Nguyen Hai had to have a laryngeal polyp surgery while filming a film co-produced by Norway and the US because the weather was too cold. After the surgery, he did not abstain from drinking ice water, so his voice became so special.

With an "interface" that did not make people feel good, Nguyen Hai had a hard time pursuing his wife. As fellow students at the University of Theatre and Cinema, his wife did not like this friend who specialized in playing villainous roles. However, Nguyen Hai's sincerity and secret of "the rain gradually seeps in" won her over.

After conquering her, when they met, the future father-in-law bluntly told his daughter in front of Nguyen Hai: "If you marry this guy, he will beat you a hundred times a day." However, throughout all the years of living together, Nguyen Hai always kept in mind that movies are family movies, "sometimes even chopsticks and bowls will collide", so raising voices may be difficult to avoid, but physical violence is not allowed to happen for any reason.

Whenever he talks about his wife and children, he always shows respect and love because they are the strongest support that this artist has. They are people who understand art, know how to share, sympathize and love artists. When he was a child, Nguyen Hai was initially afraid of his father because he saw him as evil in the movies. But now, when he is an adult, seeing his father in the movie "Quynh Doll" surrounded by a group of provocatively dressed prostitutes, his son understands that it is the profession and the actor's job to act as "realistic" as possible.