If you've watched any New Year films made in China in recent years, you'd be familiar with Chinese actor Fu Biao. Fu Biao has a knack for humorous portrayals of "nobodies". His plump appearance and warm no-nonsense personality is very popular with his many Chinese fans.
So when he was recently diagnosed with advanced liver cancer, many were extremely upset. But the actor has now had a successful liver transplant and was well enough to make a media appearance last week. Fu is thinking of shooting a TV series telling stories of hospital staff, patients and their family members.
Fu Biao's success breaks the usual pattern in show biz, where it's almost impossible for ordinary-looking people to make it to the big time. Although stardom may eventually come, it demands patience of an actor.
Fu Biao began his acting career in 1983, but didn't find nationwide popularity until Sorry Baby, the New Year film for 1999. He played the central role as the boss of a private company who was in debt for about ninety thousand yuan to someone else and was always dragging out the repayments, despite being endlessly asked to pay up. In this movie, Fu Biao gave full play to his comic talent. His natural style and humor were warmly received, and his performance was regarded as being up there with previous Cannes award winner Ge You, and Hong Kong film star Jacqueline Wu, who also featured in the movie.
With the popularity of Sorry Baby, people began to look back to see what Fu Biao had done before. Fu had taken minor roles for more than a decade, most of which had gone unnoticed. But it may have been from the release of Zhang Yimou's hit Shanghai Triad that people first began to notice the actor. Fu took a supporting role in this film, as a subordinate to a underworld chief in 1930's Shanghai. Two years later he played another supporting role in Romantic Affair, a TV series directed by renowned TV drama director Zhao Baogang？.
Fu Biao's role in Part A, Part B, the New Year Movie for 1997, can now be seen as a warm-up for his star performance in Sorry Baby two years afterwards. Part A, Part B is about a company that helps people to realize their dreams. Many of their clients come to them looking to experience a role they've never played before in life. Fu Biao plays a man who often bullies his wife. He wants to experience the feeling of being bullied because he thinks being bullied must be fun. Maybe Feng Xiaogang, the director, found Fu Biao had much more talent than he was able to show off in this movie because he then gave Fu the offer of the leading role two years later in Sorry Baby. Fu's character in Sorry Baby had a nervous habit of saying "OK, OK" all the time. The expression took off among his fans and Fu was known as Mr. OK for a time.
From then on, Fu Biao began to take leading roles. In Family Under Test, Fu plays the husband who has been laid off and attends job interviews almost everyday, while his wife is crazily entering all kinds of prize-winning contests run by TV stations. They have a son who is preparing for the National College Entrance Examination.
In his next film Go ahead, Daddy, Fu plays a single father raising his daughter on his own. He works hard to provide his daughter with a decent life. He doesn't have time to take care of his own feelings. When his daughter gets a boyfriend, he worries too much that his daughter won't be well treated. Audiences loved him.
The TV series Modest Maiden, named after a particular female role type in Peking opera, was released last year. In this drama, Fu Biao plays the considerate husband of an ambitious wife, who is a famous Modest Maiden in a Peking Opera Troupe. And most recently he played another "good man" in the TV series House Husband which screened while he was in hospital.
Now Fu Biao has successfully undergone his operation, and returned home. We wish him a comfortable and speedy recovery, and hope we'll see him soon in more of his heart-warming roles.
(CCTV.com November 10, 2004)
