Colonel, People's Artist Nguyen Hai: 'The role of a corrupt police officer made me tormented many nights'

I have been in Ho Chi Minh City filming a new movie since February 18th, working from morning to night so I have no time to watch the movie or read reviews online. That is also my problem, when I finish a scene I keep asking the director if it is ok, if something is not ok I want to reshoot it but when the movie is shown I cannot watch it right away.

People's Artist Nguyen Hai plays a police officer on screen for the first time.

- Playing the role of a corrupt police leader, when you accepted the role, you certainly predicted that the character would receive attention?

Since 1996, when director Le Hung was looking for an actor for a villain role but couldn't find one, he let me try, that was Khanh "trang" in the play.Karma.After that, Mr. Bui Bai Binh gave me the role of Trinh Kha inStory of Nho village.After that, I continued to slide on both stage and television in villainous roles. Wherever there was robbery, murder, embezzlement, fraud, evil schemes, in short, the dark side of society, I was invited by respected and loved directors. But I still worried about how each role must create attraction and novelty.

Inpolice forceThe people are a miniature society, in which there are good people and bad people, but the majority of police are good people. But the police also have a few individuals at different levels and ranks, including Generals, Colonels, and soldiers, who have violated the provisions of the law and the People's Police, causing people to not maintain the qualities of the People's Police, their political ideology and stance are not steadfast. At that time, they become greedy people, unable to control themselves. In each of us, there are two sides, good and bad. When the bad overwhelms the good, they will become degenerate people and not in tune with society, or more accurately, the police lose themselves.

My role is a senior officer with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel holding the position of Deputy Head of the Investigation Department on Drug Crimes and Social Order. But in the process of striving, he had the mindset of wanting to become a leader, and also wanted to be richer than others. When people are pushed by money and power to dominate in the mindset of ambition, they will slide faster on the road to the prison gate.

I really love the script.Stormby Dao Trung Hieu because the work won the A prize in the People's Police Works Competition in 2015. I once suggested that Hieu turn it into a stage work, but it is difficult to stage. In early Spring 2016, I told Hieu that if this work was turned into a TV series, it would be very good. The role of Than Nhu Tuat will develop in a way that gradually reveals his ambition for money and power. To prepare for this role, I consulted and learned a lot of documents based on reality, experience and the real lives of many officers and soldiers who have worked and are working in the People's Police force.

I used to be the deputy head of the People's Police Drama Theater, attended meetings with many generals and understood the personalities of each person. Many leaders of the General Department were disciplined and I understand very well the psychology and ideology of those who are in that position and are doing things that are not in accordance with the regulations of the Public Security sector.

People's Artist Nguyen Hai held the rank of Police Colonel before retiring a few years ago.

- Many viewers commented ifPeople's Artist Nguyen HaiIf you were not a police officer, it would be difficult for anyone to play the role of a corrupt police officer as well as Lieutenant Colonel Nhu Tuat because he understands them so well?

Having worked as a real police officer will help me a lot in my role and it will help me to be meticulous in my manners and movements like a police officer. For me, every role is invested like a scientific project, I have to research carefully to perform it best. The role of Nhu Tuat inStormas a message to officers and soldiers that we must tighten political and ideological work, and organize work more closely to manage people so that the People's Public Security force can become increasingly stronger.

- You have played many impressive roles, but is Lieutenant Colonel Nhu Tuat an impressive role for People's Artist Nguyen Hai personally?

This is the first time I have played a corrupt police officer, so I must admit that I am very nervous. It is not a real character, it touches on this person or that person, but there are many details that are based on real situations in the cases of many characters who have appeared in court. But I must say that playing the villain as a police officer has tormented me many nights. How do I act so that my colleagues who are still in office, my retired colleagues, my teammates, and even my younger brothers and older brothers who are criminals cannot look down on me. I sympathize and share with them because who knows, if I were in their position, pushed by circumstances, I could not control myself and I would become a criminal myself? Who can say for sure?

Real life image of People's Artist Nguyen Hai. He often appears in white clothes.

- That means for you, playing the role of Lieutenant Colonel Nhu Tuat is very stressful?

A lot of pressure, pressure on thinking about the role! Normally, playing a good police officer carrying out a case is simple because it is based on orders and criteria. But playing such roles is more pressure than in real life. With this character, I have to measure every sentence and every word to match the character. Sometimes when wearing police uniform, Nhu Tuat has to speak more gently and softly, but when wearing civilian clothes, doing illegal business, his voice has to be more harsh. I want to turn this character into a chameleon that changes color to adapt to many situations. That reflects reality and also warns, sending the message that we are always vigilant about color change, evolution and degeneration within ourselves.