Acting Like it’s the 1970s 演藝夢想: Eugene Tang 飾演70年代的 譚詠麟
Written by Eugene Tang
Translated by Elaine Sun
Photography Courtesy of Author
在電影中參一角—尤其是出演在華語電影中—那一直是我的夢想。作為一名加拿大華裔，我小時候的夢想就是成為電影演員。我想在我身為移民的父母喜愛的電影中、在我們卡爾加里的家中重複播放的電影中出現。看電影是我們家庭週末的例行習慣，一種可以讓父母懷想過去家鄉的方法，儘管那家鄉是我未曾認識的。我的父母來自香港和廣州，為了讓我和妹妹能在這裡上大學，他們決定搬到加拿大。他們以前從事旅遊業，來到加拿大後仍然在這一行工作。對我來說能夠有機會與那些電影中的演員一起工作，簡直就像做夢一般，使我心存感激。
“House of the Rising Sons” «兄弟班» was my first legitimate acting role. Previously, the only acting I had done was in music videos and a couple of “cameos” in a television series. I remember when I was informed that I'd be acting as the character of Alan Tam in the film about an iconic Hong Kong band, the Wynners (an all-male band that was similar to the Beatles in an era where Canto-pop started to become very popular). There was an incredible rush of excitement. It was like winning the lottery, unexpected and absolutely exhilarating. But that feeling didn't last too long. Once the reality of having to play the younger version of one of the most famous superstars in Asia sank in, I felt anxiety and a nauseating fear. On one hand, it was an honour to portray such a celebrated icon, but on the other, the stress of doing him justice felt like a burdensome weight on my shoulders. Even my own mother was giving me some added pressure!
《兄弟班》是我演藝事業上，正式參演的第一個劇目。尤記起，當我接到通知我將擔當溫拿樂隊年代的譚詠麟，實在驚喜若狂，如中了彩票頭獎的飄飄然。不過，這個飄然只停留了短暫，很快我感到憂慮，不竟，要把這叱吒風雲巨星的少年故事演活，是一項無比光榮、但具壓力的挑戰，甚至我自己的母親也給我一點壓力。
Therefore, to prepare for the role, the internet was the first place I turned to. The results of just typing Alan Tam in a search engine was an abundance of videos and songs, and endless pages to dive into. Actually, I discovered there was almost too much to go through. Alan Tam's career started in the 70's as part of the Wynners band, then he took off as a soloist in the 80's and hasn't stopped since. Heading into 2021, he continues to have world tours and performances to this day! His output was and is incredible: numerous albums, movies, and TV shows in a variety of languages. Thus the script for the movie about Wynners spanned three decades, and I had a large time period to cover. In reality, each decade had unique nuances of character development, vernacular language, fashion style, music evolution, and so on. It was fascinating.
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為了好好準備這個角色，網絡是我的第一個挖掘材料的去處。光是搜索“譚詠麟”這三個字就湧現出大量的影片和歌曲，還有數不清的資料。事實上，我發現材料實在是太多了。作為溫拿樂隊的一員，譚詠麟的演藝事業始於上世紀70年代。80年代單飛後，他的演藝事業依然沒有止步。邁向2021年，他仍持續舉辦世界巡迴演出和表演！他的作品多得令人難以置信：使用多種語言且數不清的專輯、電影、還有電視節目。也正因如此，這部有關溫拿樂隊的電影劇本時間跨度足足有三十多年，為此我需研究一段很長的歷史。我發現每個年代的角色發展、通俗口語、時尚潮流和音樂進程等等都有著獨特的差異，令人著迷。
From the moment I started my research, my world was all Alan Tam. I became an obsessive fan. I studied nearly all his performances as a group and as a solo artist, mimicking his little movements on stage, including his way of holding the microphone, his chemistry and interaction with his band mates, even the particulars of his smile and how he waved to fans. I remember one scene on a 70's TV stage where I had to learn to dance in high heels and bell bottoms, swaying my long hair back and forth while maintaining his signature smile!
從我開始研究的一刻起，我感覺我整個世界都圍繞著譚詠麟而轉。我完完全全地著了迷。我幾乎研究了他所有的表演，無論是以樂隊還是獨唱的身份，模仿著他在舞台上的小動作（包括他握麥克風的方式），他與隊友之間的互動，甚至是他的微笑以及他如何向粉絲揮手。我記得其中一幕是我要在70年代的一個電視節目上演出，我得穿著高跟鞋和喇叭褲跳舞，還要保持他的招牌微笑並同時來回擺動長髮！
The biggest challenge was to portray the character with honesty and authenticity. When portraying a person that is so well known to the public, it's very easy for your performance to become a caricature or a bad impersonation. I had to figure a way to internalize Alan's personality, such that his mannerisms and the dialogue would come out naturally. The best sources were his interviews as it gave audiences a window into his life and his way of thinking. Music and brotherhood was very important to Alan and you could sense it in his interaction with the Wynner's band during their interviews. Music was also a platform for them to express that bond, from the playful nature of songs like《玩吓啦》to more serious songs about friendship like《千載不變》. With different periods in his career, there were also differences in Alan's performance style and way of talking, and I tried to incorporate that into my acting. At the start of the movie, when Alan first started singing in the band, he had a kind of endearing innocence and naivety; while near the end of the movie, when Alan has become a solidified superstar, the confidence and way he holds himself becomes very different and positively apparent.
這次參演最大的挑戰是要誠實和真實地刻畫這個角色。我知道在展現大家都很熟悉的人物時，你的表演很容易成為一種滑稽的漫畫化，或者拙劣的模仿。我必須想出一種方法讓我自己內化為譚詠麟，這樣才能自然地展現他的舉止和對話。最好的材料來源於他的眾多訪問，這些採訪向觀眾們提供了解他的生活和思維方式的渠道。音樂和手足情對譚詠麟來說非常重要，在他與隊友的交談中，我可以感受到深厚的情誼。音樂也是他們表達他們之間情感連結的平台，從《玩下啦》這種俏皮的歌曲到《千載不變》這種嚴肅的歌曲都貫徹了這種連繫。在他演藝生涯的不同時期，譚詠麟的表演風格和說話方式也有所不同，我也都嘗試將其融入我的表演中。電影的開端，譚詠麟才剛開始在樂隊裡唱歌，他有著一種可愛的單純和天真。電影快要結束時，譚詠麟逐漸成為了超級巨星，那時可以明顯地看到他行為舉止的變化和與日俱增的自信。
The emotional scenes were very challenging. Acting requires humility and complete openness because in many ways it's a reflection of yourself. One scene highlighting a big argument in the recording studio was particularly difficult and anxiety-inducing. In my own life, I was part of a small Taiwanese boy band at the time, and the frustrations and misunderstandings between members mirrored very closely to what was in the script. It was almost as if one was reliving emotionally painful moments in one’s life that they would rather forget. Before shooting that scene, we had rehearsed it many times, but during the practices I couldn't control my nerves. I didn't feel I could do the scene at all. The director could sense my anxiety and I just remembered him telling me to just do whatever felt natural to me once the cameras started rolling. What you see on screen, with the pushing and pulling of the shirt, the kicking of the door, those were instinctive things taken from my own experience. The emotions in that scene were real. I remember when we finished the scene, the director rushed to give me this big hug. It was a special moment I won't forget, the show of support from him and the crew helped carry me through the whole film.
那些情緒激動的場面對我而言是很大的挑戰。這種表演需要謙遜和完全地放開自己，因為在很多方面，這一切也都是自我的投射。電影中有一個場景描述在錄音室的激烈爭吵，這場戲對我而言十分困難，也引發了我的焦慮。當時我自己的生活與劇本的內容有著非常相似的地方。我也是一個台灣樂隊的成員，我們成員之間的挫敗感和誤解令我產生了共鳴。演出這場戲似乎重演了一段我情願已忘記的痛苦時刻。在拍攝之前，我們進行了多次排練，但是在練習中我一直無法控制情緒。導演也感受到我的焦慮，我只記得他告訴我：「一旦相機開始轉動，只要做我覺得自然的事情便好。」現在觀眾在電影中看到的一切，包括成員之間拉扯著襯衫的場面、暴力地踹門，這些都是不覺間從我的親身體驗中提取出來的。這個片段中的情感是真實的，根本不曾感覺自己在假裝或在表演。我記得結束拍攝後，導演趕緊給了我一個大大的擁抱。那是我永遠不會忘記的一個特殊瞬間，有了導演和劇組的支持和幫助才有了這部電影。
As film continues to evolve and become more global, I hope I will have more opportunities to continue this dream that took flight. I hope to be able to share more stories about acting and entertainment, and to have more opportunities in North America.
能夠參與《兄弟班》，成為它的一部分，讓我感到非常幸運。自始至終，直到今天，我仍然不敢相信演員名單中，我的名字可以與眾多資深演員一起出現，像是任達華，惠英紅，金燕玲，廖啟智，甚至還有溫拿樂隊本身！被親切地稱為“校長”的譚詠麟（基於他在行業中的權威，影響力和教導）在電影拍攝的最後一天來探班，為整個經歷錦上添花。
About the writer, Eugene Tang