Baby Ben - Hoai Linh's adopted son makes his mark in Vietnamese showbiz

With a fair, plump appearance and intelligent acting ability, Hoai Linh's 11-year-old adopted son has been involved in acting for five years.

After six weeks of competition in the reality show for children, the contestant pair consisting of 11-year-old Hoang Quan - also known as Ben - and actor Khuong Ngoc temporarily took the lead with the highest score. The teacher and student won first prize in two weeks of competition and received many compliments from the judges.

Judge My Linh commented that Hoang Quan is a boy who "always shines on stage, sings well, dances beautifully, and closely resembles the main character". Hoang Quan's roles as singer Tuan Hung, black singer Pharrell Williams, Tarzan, Minh Thuan - Nhat Hao... received enthusiastic cheers from the audience.

It was not until this reality TV show that Hoang Quan became known to the audience. The boy who just turned 11 has had 5 years of experience working in the Vietnamese entertainment industry in many fields such as: acting, filming, singing, dancing.

Baby Ben and actor Khuong Ngoc are the "super naughty" teacher and student duo at the show Familiar Faces Kids 2015. Photo: Thoại Hà

Growing up in a family with parents who were businessmen and no one in the arts, Ben soon showed his talent for acting and was supported by his family. At the age of six, when Ben was just starting to act, he was discovered by artist Hoai Linh and encouraged to enter the entertainment industry. Hoai Linh adopted him.

When talking about her son's godfather, Ms. Minh - 38 years old - could not hide her emotions: "Thanks to Mr. Hoai Linh, I dared to let my son pursue an acting career. He played a guiding role and had a great influence on Ben. Not only did my son learn a lot from Mr. Hoai Linh in his career, but I myself was also greatly influenced by him in terms of lifestyle and how to treat people properly."

Dustin Nguyen really likes Ben's acting.

Ben always remembered Hoai Linh's father's advice: "If you don't study well, you won't be allowed to continue performing." For 5 years, the boy regularly sent his adoptive father his report card to check his academic results. Many times, Hoai Linh himself signed the report card for the school on behalf of the boy's family. When he had time, the comedian often talked with his adopted son, explaining and explaining to him about life and career.

Although he spent a lot of time filming - about 10 TV series, 5 movies, the boy rarely let his family down about his studies. Entering the sixth grade, studying in a specialized class, Ben was always aware of arranging his studies reasonably to have enough time to follow film crews and entertainment programs. "Many days, as soon as he got home from school, he sat down at the table to review his lessons. I asked him why he didn't rest a bit, Ben replied: 'My teachers and friends all know me so I don't dare to study poorly'", his mother said.

Born in Ho Chi Minh City, raised by his family since childhood, Ben was very easy to transform into the role of a poor child with an unfortunate fate. Initially, his chubby appearance and fair face caused Ben to be "wronged" many times because directors criticized him for not choosing him for the role of a rural child.

Like the casting of Hung - the son of the character played by Ngo Thanh Van in the movie Buddha's Fire, director Dustin Nguyen almost eliminated this young actor because he did not look suitable for the role of a fishing village boy. It was only when he saw Ben's performance that Dustin was completely convinced and adjusted the script to suit the boy.

After Buddha's Fire, Ben continued to make an impression in the TV series Floating Fate by director Hoang Tuan Cuong. Ben brought laughter and tears to the audience because of his sincere and innocent acting. Director Hoang Tuan Cuong later commented that he was really surprised by the child's ability.

Not only leaving an impression with gentle, poor roles, Hoang Quan also showed his diverse acting ability in the form of mischievous children, gangsters... such as the role of Ngau in the TV series Strength of Love. In the movie Trung So by Dustin Nguyen, although only appearing on screen for a few minutes as a hooligan boy, Ben left a strong impression on the audience because of his intelligent acting.

To help Ben feel secure in participating in entertainment activities, his mother sacrifices her time to always be by his side. At any activity, she is always present backstage to promptly take care of and communicate with her son. Contrary to the thinking of many people that letting their children join showbiz early will easily cause them to lose their childhood, Ms. Minh always feels grateful because her son gets to meet and work with talented artists and teachers in the profession.

Thanks to performing and participating in programs, Ben's childhood was much richer. Ben's life skills, ability to observe and handle situations were also quicker. Ben also soon had compassion for the unfortunate, especially the elderly. The boy really enjoyed doing charity work with his mother.

"What I always worry about when witnessing my child's development day by day is that being known by many people too soon can easily make him forget who he is, and thus lose himself. Therefore, I am always strict, reminding him to know that he is really just a lucky boy, and that whenever he is favored by his ancestors, he must try hard and study hard. What I hope for is that he must live right and not do anything wrong. To me, that is success," Ms. Minh confided.

According to VnExpress