When Modern Romance of the Three Kingdoms premiered, social media, streaming sites, and forums went wild.
"Hahaha, this is hilarious! Who would've thought Zhuge Liang would be a stutterer!"
"I... I... I th-th-think..." And everyone completely misinterprets him. So funny!
"Ma Chao is a fitness trainer?! Zhang Fei is a bouncer at a bar and also runs a barbecue stall?!"
"Qingzhou turned into the Jingzhou Group, Liu Bei's an entrepreneur, and Cao Cao's a real-estate mogul... What on earth was the screenwriter thinking?"
"Is this supposed to be a Three Kingdoms story or an underdog business success tale?"
"Our mission? To drive Cao Cao broke so he can't buy a home! Hahaha"
As the plot unfolded, Lin Yuan's stuttering Zhuge Liang became the focal point of netizens' discussions. Each of his stutters led to unexpected plot twists, and netizens even started compiling his "famous quotes."
"Milord... Milord! I... I... think..." Liu Bei: "Great! Let's do it!"
"En... En... Enemies..." Zhang Fei: "The enemies are here? Brothers, grab your weapons!"
"How on earth do these people understand what Zhuge Liang means? Hahaha"
Even more incredibly, Lin Yuan's stuttering strategist was somehow labeled the "smartest character" in the show. Online users drew comparisons between him and the classic portrayal of Zhuge Liang and came to a conclusion:
"The classic Zhuge Liang wins with brilliant strategies, while the modern one wins through misunderstandings and luck."
"But... the results are almost the same?!"
With the drama's popularity soaring, Lin Yuan's acting caught more and more attention. His name trended on social media multiple times, but it also attracted plenty of criticism.
"Who is this actor? Never seen him before."
"His acting is okay, but he seems too green and lacks presence."
"Don't you remember he was on survival and improv acting shows? He's got talent, but he's still a newbie."
With the criticism swirling around, Lin Yuan kept his mouth shut. He just sighed internally, knowing that "more fame, more problems" held true.
...
After a few weeks of classes at the art high school, Lin Yuan arrived at a drama filming base. It was a retro - style town, with buildings that retained the architectural style of the 1990s. The bricks and tiles were weathered, and old billboards still bore the marks of that era. Lin Yuan, carrying his bag, had just gotten out of the car when he saw Uncle Chi waiting at the entrance with a big smile.
"You're here?" Uncle Chi patted him on the shoulder. "So, what do you think after reading the script?"
Lin Yuan nodded. "Seems okay."
"Just okay?" Uncle Chi chuckled. "You'll play the role till the character turns 46!"
"I know." Lin Yuan thought for a moment and calmly recapped his character's story. "I just need to play a lovestruck guy until the sixth confession. Then I see the girl get into someone else's car, ride my bike home, pull myself together, start studying, working, and doing side gigs to make money. By the time I'm 46, my on - screen part is over, and I just need to do some voice - overs, something like 'I'm off on a world tour'."
Uncle Chi roared with laughter. "You summed it up so bluntly! But don't worry. When you're playing the middle-aged scenes, our pro makeup team will make you look like you aged naturally."
"Aging by several decades?" Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.
"Definitely." Uncle Chi nodded. "Our makeup team is amazing. They can transform you from a young man to a mature adult and then to a weathered middle - aged man."
The corner of Lin Yuan's mouth twitched. "Sounds a bit scary."
Uncle Chi laughed. "You'll get used to it. Your role isn't in many scenes, but it's super important. It changes the whole story. I needed someone who could show how a young person grows after a breakup and decides to live on their own."
Lin Yuan nodded thoughtfully. "I bet a lot of people in real life can relate to this character."
"For sure." Uncle Chi slapped his shoulder. "And you're a good actor. Your emotional intensity in those variety shows was great. Show that same energy in this drama."
Lin Yuan smiled slightly. "I'll do my best."
Just then, the assistant came over to remind them, "Uncle Chi, it's time for Lin Yuan's costume fitting."
"Okay, go get fitted and see if the clothes feel right."
Lin Yuan nodded, then went with the assistant into the dressing room, ready to dive into his new filming endeavor.
=====================
"现代版三国"的首播当晚,社交平台,弹幕网站和各大论坛都炸开了锅.
[哈哈哈,这也太搞笑了,谁想得到诸葛亮居然是个结巴!]
[ "我... 我... 我觉... 觉得..." 结果大家全误会他的意思,神搞笑妙算啊!]
[马超是健身教练?!张飞是酒吧保安,还兼职烧烤摊老板?!]
[轻舟变成 "荆州集团" ,刘备成了企业家,曹操是房地产大亨... 这编剧什么脑洞?]
[所以这剧到底是三国剧,还是职场创业励志剧?]
[ "我们的目标是,让曹操买不起房!" 哈哈哈]
随着剧情推进,林远饰演的 "结巴版诸葛亮 "成为网友们讨论的焦点.他的每一次结巴都能制造出意想不到的反转,网友甚至开始总结他的 "名言" .
[ "主...主公!我...我...觉得..." 刘备: "好!这就干!" ]
[ "敌...敌...敌..."张飞:"敌人来了?兄弟们抄家伙!"]
[这帮人到底是怎么听懂诸葛亮的意思的?哈哈哈]
更夸张的是,林远的 "结巴军师" 还莫名其妙获得了全剧 "最聪明角色" 的称号.网友们甚至把他和传统印象里的诸葛亮对比,得出一个结论:
[正统版诸葛亮靠聪明决策取胜,现代版诸葛亮靠误会和运气取胜.]
[但是... 结果居然差不多?!]
随着剧集的热播,林远的表演也开始被越来越多人关注,他的名字多次冲上热搜,但同时也引来了不少质疑.
[这演员是谁啊?之前没见过.]
[演得还行吧,就是太嫩了,缺点气场.]
[你们是不是忘了他之前参加过生存挑战,和即兴演技综艺?人家能演,但确实资历太浅了.]
面对争议,林远没有回应,只是在心里默默想着:"果然,人红是非多啊."
...
在艺术高中上了几个星期的课后,林远来到一个剧组的拍摄基地.是一座复古风的小镇,街道上依然保留着上世纪90年代的建筑风格,砖瓦斑驳,老旧的广告牌上还能看到那个时代的痕迹.林远背着包,刚下车,就看到池大叔笑呵呵地站在门口等他.
"来了?" 池大叔拍了拍他的肩膀,"怎么样,看了剧本后有什么感想?"
林远点点头,表情平静地回答:"嗯...其实感觉还好."
"就 '还好' ?" 池大叔笑了,"你可是整整演到46岁啊!"
"我知道啊." 林远想了想,淡定地复述了一遍自己的角色经历,"我只要当个舔狗,一直演到告白的第六次,看到对方上了别人的车,骑着脚踏车回家.然后振作起来,开始学习,工作,搞副业赚钱,到46岁的时候,我就没戏份了,只要录音,大概的意思是 '我环游世界去了' ."
池大叔听完,哈哈大笑:"你这总结也太直白了吧!不过放心,你演到中年时,我们有专业化妆师团队,保证让你老得自然."
"老个几十岁?" 林远挑眉.
"当然." 池大叔点头,"我们团队的化妆师很厉害,能让你从少年变成成熟男人,再变成沧桑的大叔."
林远嘴角抽了抽:"...听起来有点可怕."
"哈哈,适应一下吧." 池大叔笑得爽朗,"这次的戏份不算多,但你的角色很重要,关系到整部剧的转折点.我啊,就是想找个合适的人,演出那种年轻人失恋后逐渐成长,最终选择独自生活的状态."
林远若有所思地点了点头:"这角色,现实中应该有不少人能共鸣吧."
"当然." 池大叔拍拍他的肩,"而且你演技不错,之前在综艺上表现的情绪张力挺强的,这次试试在电视剧里展现出来."
林远勾了勾嘴角:"我尽量."
就在这时,助理过来催促道:"池叔,林远的试装时间到了."
"行,去试装吧,顺便看看能不能适应这身衣服."
林远点头,跟着助理进了化妆间,准备开始新一轮的拍摄旅程.