"The ivory smuggling rumors affected me a lot…"

By artistQuang TeoUntil now, there are still suspicions that he got rich from smuggling ivory, although he has denied it many times.

"About 4 years ago, there was a rumor that Quang Teo smuggled ivory, so he had a lot of assets and lived a happy life. But I confirm that it was a false rumor. This rumor affected my life a lot. Now, I still occasionally hear this or that information about my ivory smuggling. I am really tired, but I cannot go and explain to each person.

More than 30 years of experience in the jobacting, I saved and lived frugally to buy a small house. Anyone who knows me knows that I am very frugal. When I go to perform in far away provinces, I don't eat at restaurants but come home to eat with my wife," artist Quang Teo said.

Artist Quang Teo: "After more than 30 years of acting, I have saved money and lived frugally...".

Previously, the actor of the movie "Dai Gia" admitted that the rumor of "cross-border ivory smuggling" had turned his life upside down. "I am an artist, a farmer... simple, rustic... In my whole life, I have never seen an ivory or rhino horn, let alone cross-border trafficking. If I were a ivory trader, I would not have to live in a house of only 35 m². I don't have to spend all day in the wind and rain chasing ducks in the fields to film scenes. I have to live in a mansion, have a car, and have beautiful girls around. I don't know anything about ivory trading," artist Quang Teo once answered onPeople's Intelligence.

Explaining the suspicion that Quang Teo owns 3 houses, he confided: "It's true that I have 3 houses, but the circumstances of those 3 houses are also very "dire". My parents gave me a small house of only 30 m²When I first started working, my company also assigned me a small apartment. I had to sell this apartment to get money to renovate my 30 m house.².

The family of four lived there for about 10 years, then my family moved to a larger apartment in Me Tri. I rented out the old house, not sold it because it was an asset left by my ancestors. The apartment was my wife and I's savings of more than 30 years, and we didn't get any support from anyone.

As for the garden house in Thach That that everyone often mentions, to "show off", it was actually a swap my fans agreed to. They agreed to take their cheap car, and I took the garden house. At that time, this property was only worth 200 million VND."

According to artist Quang Teo, he is not as rich as rumored. The actor believes that compared to the earning ability of young artists today, he is only "just enough to eat".

"The audience calls me a barefoot artist"

Artist Quang Teo became famous in the film and television industry with his roles as a barefoot, slow-witted, humorous and lovable farmer. When mentioning Quang Teo, the audience immediately remembers a comedian with a charming and funny personality. There was a time when, together with Giang Coi, Quang Teo formed a pair of actors who worked well together and were in high demand for comedy shows.

Quang Teo was afraid of breaking his image as a comedian when playing the role of a village chief in the movie "The Girl from Someone Else's House".

It is known that artist Quang Teo has retired but still performs to earn extra income. He shared that, despite performing for so many years and being loved by the audience, he has never asked for a salary.

"During the years when Quang Teo was the hottest, I never asked for a salary. When I received an invitation to act in a Tet comedy, I only asked about the script and not "how much is the salary?", he revealed.

Quang Teo confided that 2020 was not only a difficult year for him but also a difficult year for artists in general. Due to the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of his performances were canceled. He hopes that the Covid-19 pandemic will soon be pushed back, performing arts activities will be bustling again and artists will have more opportunities to meet audiences.

"For me, there is nothing happier than being remembered and supported by people wherever I go. The audience calls me a "barefoot artist" and I am happy that many people remember me," artist Quang Teo shared.