Thanks to a moment of inspiration from People's Artist Cong Ly, 'Thien Loi' Minh Quan has a 'unique' nickname.

Although he only plays a "little role" and will not appear in Tao Quan in 2024, the image of Thien Loi played by Minh Quan still leaves a strong impression on the audience.

Sharing with VTC News , Minh Quan said that he was the one who "destroyed his own image", becoming the impressive "baboon" Thien Loi.

- As a singer, and never having studied acting, what chance brought you to the role of Thien Loi in Tao Quan?

In 2013, when I participated in the performance of Gala Cuoi , director Do Thanh Hai and artist Xuan Bac suddenly said they would give me a role in Tao Quan, please arrange a rehearsal schedule.

I was also quite confused and a little nervous because I had never appeared in a big program with many veteran artists like Tao Quan . But the next day, I still went to practice and accepted the role.

At first, because I was not used to the dialogue and I spoke quite fast, the crew had to correct me little by little. I had never acted before so my performance was not very standard.

After the first rehearsal, I thought I was doomed because I was too nervous, my lines were too fast, and I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up. But surprisingly, the next day the Tao Quan crew called me and asked me to come back to practice again.

At that time, I thought my performance was not too bad, so director Do Thanh Hai let me continue the practice. Gradually, Mr. Hai, Mr. Xuan Bac, and Cong Ly guided me meticulously from each line to action and I was given the role of Thien Loi.

The special appearance of the role of Thien Loi performed by Minh Quan.

- Did you know in advance about the character Thien Loi that you will play?

I had absolutely no idea what Thien Loi would look like. It was only near the rehearsal date that director Do Thanh Hai asked me to get a set of “buck teeth” to differentiate me from previous Thien Lois. It was Quang Thang who took me to get that set of teeth because he had done a similar set of teeth before.

In the first performance, my appearance as Thien Loi only consisted of black face paint, buck teeth and the character’s costume. But I still felt that this appearance was not very impressive, so in the next performance, I decided to add an “electric shock” hairstyle.

When I stepped onto the stage with that look, the audience laughed loudly, making me feel much more confident.

Minh Quan as Thien Loi "baboon".

- But because of that image, the audience remembers you as “the ugliest Thunder God in Tao Quan”, “baboon”…?

Being able to participate in the hottest show of the year, being remembered by the audience while before me many artists have played the role of Thien Loi, that is happiness for me.

Minh Quan

I am not a professional actor but being able to participate in the hottest show of the year, being remembered by the audience while before me many artists have taken on the role of Thien Loi, that is happiness for me.

As for the phrase “baboon”, it was not actually in the script but was an improvisation by People’s Artist Cong Ly while performing on stage. Since then, this phrase has been associated with the role of Thien Loi, Thien Loi’s assistant, that I played in Tao Quan .

For me, it was an unforgettable memory, I felt very happy and not sad or upset at all.

- Aren't you afraid of losing your image, because up until now you have always been loved by the audience through the image of a handsome male singer with a sweet smile?

Actually, the artists who played Thien Loi before me all had to “put on makeup” when going on stage, that was the characteristic of this role. Even a handsome man like Binh Minh was willing to put on makeup when playing Thien Loi.

Moreover, I was the one who wanted to make my Thien Loi character look really “terrifying” to be different from the previous Thien Loi. I am not afraid, nor regretful about not being able to show my real face in Tao Quan .

Being able to appear in Tao Quan as Thien Loi is already lucky for me.

- You played the role of Thien Loi many times in Tao Quan, you must have many good memories with the program?

I was quite lucky to be assigned the role of Thien Loi or Thien Loi's assistant for 8 years, and I also sang at the end of the show as a singer. So the days of practicing for Tao Quan left me with many memories.

In addition to the overnight rehearsals, my make-up for each performance is also a special memory for me. Because the look is so complicated, I have to apply “face paint” and do my hair, so it takes a lot of time.

Normally, the Taos appear first so I will be made up later. It takes time but after finishing the role of Thien Loi, I have to immediately remove my makeup to be able to sing at the end of the program. Because of that, during the days of recording Tao Quan, I am always in a hurry, flustered between applying makeup and removing makeup.

However, being able to appear in Tao Quan and work with veteran artists is always a blessing for me. During the process of making Thien Loi, I learned a lot from the artists and director Do Thanh Hai. Those lessons helped me a lot in my future work as a director for MVs.

"I was the one who wanted to make my Thien Loi character look "terrifying" to be different from the previous Thien Lois," Minh Quan said.

- Having a strong impression role in Tao Quan, and having learned a lot of acting experience, do you intend to "invade" the fields of theater and cinema?

To be honest, many directors asked me if I wanted to take part in this or that role, but I didn't dare accept. I have no training in acting, nor do I have much experience in this field, so I can only take on small and simple roles.

I feel that I am not strong enough to accept acting or acting in movies, so I refuse all invitations to "cross over" to acting.

Actually, even with the role of Thien Loi in Tao Quan , I also refused because I was not confident enough. But it was Do Thanh Hai, Xuan Bac, and Cong Ly who encouraged me to accept the role and everyone would help, so I dared to "take the risk"!

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