People's Artist Tu Long: "The number of people who hate me is more than Xuan Bac"

"Xuan Bac has many advantages"

Since 1994, nearly 3 decades have passed, Tu Long - Xuan Bac still work together every time they perform shows or release new products - becoming an inseparable pair. What makes the two of you work together for so long?

- It is respect that helps us to go together and combine with each other.

People often say, a forest cannot have 2 tigers, a country cannot have 2 kings, a stage can have many artists combine into a group to collaborate but at some point they will separate.

It's hard for artists to work together. Yet Xuan Bac and I have "tolerated" each other, been patient with each other to perform and work together for nearly 3 decades.

This "love" is truly rare and hard to find (laughs). We are almost inseparable: With Xuan Bac, there is Tu Long and vice versa.

We both agreed that if a unit offered a high salary but only invited one person to act, we would refuse. Sometimes, when I wanted to act with someone else, I had to inform Xuan Bac: "Hey, there's a close place here but they want me to act with Quang Thang and Cong Ly. Do you think it's okay?". That's mutual respect.

Not only are we "buddies" on stage, we have also been together since our college days, so except for our wives and children, we can share almost every event or problem that happens in life.

Basically we understood each other from the old days. Even when people said Xuan Bac said this or that, I knew right away whether Xuan Bac said it or not.

We trust each other absolutely to survive. We never listen to what others say and have different thoughts and opinions about each other.

The two of us have been together for a long time so we act very well together, we understand each other to the point that we only need to look into each other's eyes to understand what tricks the other person wants to use to juggle. When acting with Xuan Bac, I feel that both of us will have the best product so I want to stick together even more.

Tu Long and Xuan Bac have been together since their student days. Not only are they "buddies" on stage, in real life they are also inseparable best friends (Photo: Artist's Facebook).

What do you appreciate and admire most about Xuan Bac?

- Xuan Bac is an example of diligence in learning and very intelligent. In Xuan Bac, besides qualities and character, seriousness in career is something that we need to learn.

Seriousness here is from creativity in art to the image of the artist when stepping onto the stage: Xuan Bac places the honor of the artist very high and carefully.

Many people may be general, but with Bac, when he feels uncertain and not ready, he always has to rehearse before stepping onto the stage. That seriousness is not only with Xuan Bac himself but also with his co-actors.

That's not something everyone can do because when they reach a certain level, people often give themselves the right to "that's enough" but for Xuan Bac, it's never enough.

From the time he was a student until now, when he held the position of Director of the Vietnam Drama Theater or performed in a group, Xuan Bac still had to concentrate seriously, every second and minute on stage had to be elegant, precise and objective.

That's what I admire and respect about Xuan Bac.

Tu Long and Xuan Bac in the program "Tao Quan" 2018 (Video: VFC).

What about Xuan Bac's bad habits? Both are famous artists, how do they control their egos?

- Everyone has their own ego, and an artist's ego is very big. If everyone defends their own point of view and way of doing things, and does not accept each other's feedback, they cannot survive.

When combined together, one must accept the best and the worst.

I compare myself to fasting for Xuan Bac as... fasting for raw food. For example, when we travel in the car together, I have to turn on the air conditioner at full blast, but Xuan Bac can't stand it. Every time that happens, Bac covers his nose with a mask because he has sinus problems and can't breathe, and I'm hot.

Riding a car is like two girls with the same husband, arguing loudly (laughs).

Or when I go to perform, I sweat everywhere, but Bac doesn't sweat at all, it's like going out, it's disgusting to look at.

I am often rude, very carefree, not neat, think like that, it belongs to my personality, now being too tactful and friendly is not me. Meanwhile, Xuan Bac is disciplined, disciplined, speaks carefully, has to think and filter, so the percentage of people who hate me is higher than Xuan Bac.

As for bad habits… Xuan Bac has many, especially being late.

I often joke that if Xuan Bac does not become the Director of the Vietnam Drama Theater in the future, he will return to be the "director of a rubber plantation". Timing... people are just rubber tires, but he is an entire rubber plantation (laughs). I work at the Army Cheo Theater, as a soldier, I am always on time.

Bac is slow, from walking to eating. Many times, when everyone is in a hurry to eat to get to work, Bac will start eating, making the whole crew wait or he will just eat and work at the same time.

Xuan Bac also often corrects, trains and reminds us. Those reminders are very small but if they accumulate into a big one, it will be difficult to work together.

It reminds me in a very annoying way, like a father teaching his son, sometimes it's stressful. I know, sometimes I get stressed, I ask if it's necessary to be so stressed, and it calms down.

But basically, out of 10 times I'm reminded, I absorb 9 times. I repeat it, but later I still have to listen because it's correct and has good intentions.

"Xuan Bac never let me lose"

People say "when you're too close, you'll bite each other hard", have you two ever argued or had conflicts to the point of wanting to "give up" on each other?

- We resolve conflicts and disagreements on the spot through debate, not hiding or putting them away.

There were many arguments, every time Xuan Bac corrected and corrected me, we argued but then it was over. It was not something that needed to be remembered or kept in mind.

However, to be honest, in 29 years, we almost broke up twice. One time, Bac asked me to go to a tea shop in Phan Dinh Phung (Hanoi).

Bac said: "I think it's time to separate", then analyzed a series of advantages and disadvantages of performing separately. But in the end, everything went back to normal, they couldn't leave each other.

What do you say about the news that many units wanted to invite Xuan Bac - Tu Long to perform but couldn't because the show fee was too high?

- That's true. There are situations that are literally "for fun", not being pretentious, but we don't want to do it for real, so we keep challenging "sky-high" pay to make people get bored and run away.

Our point of view is that there are service objects that do not need to put money first, such as soldiers, police, children... For the rest, of course, we have to ask where it is, who it is for and what the purpose is, it cannot be performed whenever we want.

I have an audience, a purpose, and the money issue… it's endless because each person perceives art at a different level and looks at artists from different angles.

Honestly, there are places that pay us hundreds of millions or more like for weddings, but we still don't perform. Because there's no one there to watch.

For me, performing must have a certain space and respect. The happiness of an artist is to be loved by the audience, to spread art to the public, I really respect that so I don't have to do it everywhere, at all costs.

How do you and Xuan Bac divide the show fee?

- Bac is more skillful, so he is in charge of money matters. Bac negotiates and sets prices with the show organizers and producers. Whatever he gives me, I take, never haggling. I know Bac will never let me lose.

My wife is also an actress but never interferes in her husband's work, nor does she ask about his salary or complain about our division of earnings.

I have been with Xuan Bac for many years, even before I got married (laughs).

"My wife is gentle and patient with me"

At the age of fifty, you became a father for the second time, so was it difficult or interesting?

- Actually, being the child of an artist means suffering many disadvantages. The nature of my job means that in the morning I go to work before my youngest child wakes up, and when I come home, he is already asleep. It is my job and my career, I had to go through it before, and my child will have to go through it in the future. I will find a way to make it up to him.

Every morning, I still love taking my eldest child to school. Other people may just take their children to school, but I have to take them all the way to the classroom door. I feel that happiness because I didn't have that in the past.

Wherever I go, at 10:30 pm, my children start calling out: "Dad! Where are you? Come home and sleep with me." Everyone says their wives are waking them up, but that's not true. Xuan Bac is often jealous, at times like that, sitting next to him, he gets very nervous (laughs) and says he's been gone from morning to night and no one has called.

I don't think taking care of children is difficult or hard, I like to buy things and cook for them. My children like the food I cook, it suits my taste. As a chef, I also give myself a 9.5!

My family has a maid, but she never cooks. She can't even cook, and the food I give her to cook is ruined. So I just cook for myself.

Marrying a young wife, 12 years younger than you and beautiful, do you pamper your wife or does she pamper you more?

- I will not do it (laugh).

My way of caring for people in the family is often not detailed, but my wife is very patient and attentive to details.

I was born and raised in a life that was not prosperous, not necessarily like this or that, but my wife thinks that I am a public artist so wherever I go I need to dress neatly, always wanting my husband to be beautiful in the eyes of everyone.

My wife buys and forces me to change my bag constantly. Before, I only changed my clothes every 1-2 days. I used to only like one type of perfume, but now, seeing that my wife has many, I often... secretly spray it.

In general, I also feel lucky that when I go to perform, Mr. Xuan Bac corrects me, and when I come home, I have a wife.

The secret to a lasting marriage even though you've been through a breakup?

- I think, besides the power of love, there is also something called fate. Now saying I have any talent or secret is a bit empty.

I believe that there must be true love, and secondly, fate. In life, just like Xuan Bac and me, if we want to live, we have to endure each other. And for husband and wife, endurance is voluntary. That means we accept both the good and the bad, even the shortcomings of each other.

In my opinion - a traditional man, family cohesion and sharing are extremely important. If we do not truly trust and share with each other, cracks can easily occur.

I am confident that I have a strong support system. My wife not only loves me but also devotes herself to our children and family.

Thanks for sharing!

Photo: Toan Vu

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