Le Giang - comedian specializing in 'hundred billion' movies

Le Giang is currently an actress who is favored by directors Tran Thanh and Vu Ngoc Dang to write scripts and act in many films with the highest revenue of hundreds of billions of dong on Vietnamese screens.

Early July, Meet Ms. Bau again - The film in which Le Giang plays Mrs. Le, a landlord who takes care of a group of young people in the 1990s - exceeded 100 billion VND (including foreign markets). The work helped Le Giang become the actress who has appeared in the most hundred-billion-VND films to date (five films).

Le Giang's appearance at the age of 52. Photo: Character provided

Before gaining attention on the big screen, Le Giang was a familiar stage comedian. In 1990, she joined the Thanh Nga Cai Luong troupe and won the gold medal of the Professional Stage Performance Festival with the play Swamp River . In the 2000s, she gradually turned to comedy, winning the Promising Artist award at the Gala Laughter 2005. Thanh - office worker in the movie Ugly Girl (2008) - also a rare role she left her mark on the small screen.

In 2019, Le Giang participated in Get pregnant wife back (Director Nhat Trung) in a supporting role - mother of the female lead Nha Linh (Lan Ngoc). The actress made people laugh in some scenes with artist Huu Chau. Although she had little "space" to act, her name was noticed more when the film was unexpectedly successful during Tet that year, with revenue reaching over 190 billion VND.

The turning point came to the actor when working with Tran Thanh 2020 with web drama The Godfather . Le Giang plays the main character's wife - Mr. Thanh (Tran Thanh), who makes a mistake out of pity for her husband and children who are struggling to make a living. The project became a social media phenomenon, with each episode reaching tens of millions of views, topping the YouTube trending list.

The film version of the same name - released on Tet 2021 - created a buzz when it earned 420 billion VND, becoming the most popular Vietnamese film at that time. Continuing to pair with Tran Thanh, Le Giang plays the role of a neighbor who falls in love with Mr. Ba Sang. Amidst the tragic story about the lives of poor workers, the love story of the two characters creates gentle laughter.

After the success of Godfather , Tran Thanh assigns the main actor to play Mrs. Nu's house (2023) - his first film as a director. Her character is a difficult mother, burdened with the burden of making a living. Having been betrayed, she forbids Nhi - her youngest daughter (played by Uyen An) from having romantic relationships. The climax occurs when Nhi gets pregnant, disobeys her mother and leaves home, continuing her mistakes.

Unlike many previous comedic characters, Le Giang surprised everyone with a role that focused on psychological depth. The artist portrayed the emotions of a mother who realized she had failed in raising her child, but did not know where she went wrong. In many scenes, the actress evoked emotion when expressing the character's loneliness, such as the scene where Mrs. Nu sat alone combing her hair at night.

The project continued to help Tran Thanh set a revenue record of 475 billion VND, while Le Giang won the title. Best Actress at the Green Star Awards. Sister sister 2 (Vu Ngoc Dang) - the film in which Le Giang plays a supporting role - also surpassed the 100 billion VND mark on Tet 2023. The actor had a booming year in his career.

Le Giang, Trung Dan in the scene "Chi chi em em 2". Video : CGV

Despite her many successes, Le Giang has received backlash for her noisy acting style. In Mrs. Nu's House , the director and actress caused controversy because of the loud dialogues, such as the scene where Mrs. Nu scolds her own son, son-in-law, and scolds customers in a noodle shop. In many other films, Le Giang was also accused of repeating her style with theatrical acting, lacking restraint in expression, creating heavy emotions for the audience.

Le Giang admitted that she used to overdo her dramatic acting. In response to criticism that "every role is noisy", she said she learned from her experience, choosing diverse scripts, prioritizing calm characters with few argumentative lines.

In Meeting Ms. Bau again , she plays Mrs. Le - a loving landlady who treats the group of young people in the boarding house as her own children. Director Nhat Trung said that in many scenes, Le Giang moved him because of her sincere acting, such as the scene where Mrs. Le takes care of Huyen (Dieu Nhi) at her hospital bed. Anh Tu - his co-star in the film - said that even though he only plays a supporting role, the artist helps "prime" his emotions and supports him in completing the psychological scenes.

At one point, Le Giang also received criticism for her "stiff" expression after many cosmetic surgeries. The actress said that she initially changed her appearance because she wanted to appear in front of the public with a perfect image. When her face began to show flaws due to excessive surgery, she was afraid that directors would not invite her to act in films. "I tried to use acting techniques, trying to get into character naturally to cover up my flaws, thanks to that I gradually became more confident in front of the public," the actress said.

Looking back on her acting career, Le Giang said she was grateful to many colleagues, including Tran Thanh - who once advised her to return home to act after settling in Australia. Through many projects, the 37-year-old director's strictness helped her improve her acting. Le Giang used to have a "memory problem", sometimes forgetting her lines while acting, forcing the crew to start over. Tran Thanh was patient and directly demonstrated to help her understand how to capture psychology. "Thanks to Thanh, my career has had many memorable milestones even though I'm no longer young," she said.

Le Giang received the acting award with Tran Thanh at the beginning of the year. Photo: Character provided

At the end of the year, Le Giang will participate in two movies - Get rich with ghosts (directed by Nhat Trung), starring Hoai Linh, Tuan Tran, and The Bride of a Noble Family (Vu Ngoc Dang). Although many Vietnamese films have failed at the box office recently, the artist said he is not too pressured by the title "billionaire actor". "After 30 years in the profession, I do not ask for more fame, I just hope to have good roles and be recognized by the public", said Le Giang.

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