Phan Huy Khang - a promising child face of Vietnamese cinema

Phan Huy Khang (born in 2012) is currently a child actor who is loved by the public. Huy Khang has appeared in dozens of TV series, movies, music videos..., and has won many proud awards. With his natural and genuine acting ability, the boy has not only left his mark on the screen with memorable roles but is also the hope for a successor generation for the previous generation of talented artists of Vietnamese cinema.

Family always accompanies and supports Huy Khang on the path of pursuing his passion for acting - Photo: NVCC

Innate talent

In recent days, the film Mother Sea by director Nguyen Phuong Dien, shown in prime time on VTV1, has received enthusiastic support from audiences nationwide.

The film tells the story of a coastal village once filled with laughter that suddenly became desolate and ruined after a storm. The men went to sea and never returned, leaving behind widowed women and fatherless children. The spiral of hatred, love and forgiveness swept the characters in the small fishing village through countless unexpected situations. The main role of Bien (as a child) in this film is Phan Huy Khang - a familiar child actor who won the "Best Child Actor" award at the Asia- Pacific Film Festival in 2020.

Huy Khang is from Hai Tho commune (now Dien Sanh town), Hai Lang district, currently living with his family in Ho Chi Minh City. “When he was in kindergarten, Huy Khang often went to the swimming pool to practice and soon showed his talent for swimming. Seeing that he had a cute appearance and communicated confidently, many people advised his family to let him try casting for commercials. At first, his parents were a bit hesitant, not knowing if their child would like it and be able to do it, but unexpectedly, he was very excited. During the casting, Huy Khang acted confidently in front of the camera, which surprised me quite a bit. When he was less than 5 years old, after 2 castings, he was chosen to play the role of the son of singer Dong Nhi and Ong Cao Thang in an advertisement for EVA Air,” said Mr. Phan Van Toan, Huy Khang’s father.

Huy Khang and actor Truong Minh Quoc Thai in the movie Mother of the Sea - Photo: NVCC

At the age of 5, Huy Khang had his first role on television, which was the role of Gia Bao in the long-running TV series Nhung bien song tuoc by director Nham Minh Hien. Without any professional acting training, the boy received many compliments from directors and screenwriters when he naturally played the role, portraying the character's emotions. With a bright face and soulful eyes, Huy Khang always satisfied directors because of his innate sensitivity in front of the camera and his clear aptitude for acting. Starting from around 2018 until now, Huy Khang has appeared frequently in a series of TV series, movies, commercials, MVs... Not only attracting viewers with his cute appearance and "handsome" face, the boy also conquered the audience with his rustic, genuine acting ability and passion, striving to conquer each role...

Progress through each role

In September 2018, singer Phi Nhung released the music product Orphan's Fate - a song combined with a touching short film about the fate of newborn children abandoned by their parents. Child actor Huy Khang, who played the main role in the MV, brought tears to the audience when he brilliantly transformed into the image of an orphan with a leg disability, forced to sell lottery tickets for those who "herd" street children and were abused. After many efforts of the crew and singer Phi Nhung, especially the acting talent of Huy Khang, the MV Orphan's Fate was awarded the 2018 Golden Apricot Award in the category of Most Favorite MV.

Seeing that their son increasingly loves acting and participating in films, Huy Khang's parents have spent a lot of time accompanying, encouraging and supporting him on his artistic path. Mr. Toan shared: "Before each project starts filming, I always spend time reading, carefully studying the script and analyzing the character for my son. Because he is still young, sometimes he does not fully understand the psychology and circumstances of the film as well as the character. Fortunately, Huy Khang is diligent and grasps the character's psychology very quickly. Later, when he goes to school, Huy Khang always tries to complete his homework so that his parents can let him act in films."

Huy Khang and actress Cat Phuong in the movie Mother's Happiness - the movie that won the "Best Child Actor" award at the 2020 Asia-Pacific Film Festival - Photo: NVCC

Serious and progressive through each role, Huy Khang has become a familiar name that many directors have "tailored" for their films. Thanks to that, the young actor has collaborated and worked with many famous directors such as: Vu Ngoc Dang, Nham Minh Hien, Hoang Tuan Cuong, Nguyen Phuong Dien, Huynh Dong... Huy Khang has always been loved by everyone because he is obedient, polite and good at acting, leaving an impression with his eyes that know how to smile, talk, and feel sad and happy according to the character's emotions. In particular, director Vu Ngoc Dang is the one who discovered, helped and introduced Huy Khang to participate in many high-quality film projects. According to the family, in the beginning when taking their child to act in films, both parents and Huy Khang had to overcome many difficulties. “Once, I stood watching my son play the role of a homeless child, with a disability, having to drag his feet and kneel down to pick up rice from the ground to eat, and I felt so sorry for him. But he acted calmly and passionately into the character, which surprised the whole film crew,” said Huy Khang’s father.

Knowing that the job of an actor is very hard, having to stay up late, wake up early, many scenes in deep forests or in the rain still have to be filmed continuously day and night, Huy Khang always focuses on physical training and improving his health. The boy plays well and regularly practices many sports such as badminton, swimming, cycling... From his own efforts combined with the guidance and instruction of many famous directors and actors, the audience sees Huy Khang's progress through TV series such as: Teasing the Beloved Wife; Stolen Happiness; Evil Mother, Angel Father; Wealthy Ambition; Vortex of Love and Hatred; Mother of the Sea... Especially, in the children's film Secret Garden, broadcast on Vietnamese film channel SCTV14 in 2023, Huy Khang plays the main role with more than 400 segments. For Huy Khang's parents, seeing their child love and progress through each role is a joy, and also a motivation for them to accompany their child more.

The first "sweet fruits" of the season

Although he is only 13 years old this year, Huy Khang has appeared in dozens of TV series and movies, and has won many prestigious individual awards. Among them, the highlight of his artistic career is the role of Tim in the movie “Mother’s Happiness” directed by Huynh Dong.

Along with actress Cat Phuong in the role of a poor mother in the coastal region, Huy Khang plays an autistic boy who loves his mother very much and always tries to overcome his circumstances. Huy Khang's role has brought life to the character, contributing to bringing the audience a humane and emotional story. The role brought Huy Khang the "Best Child Actor" award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in 2020 and the "Promising Actor in a Feature Film" award at the Golden Kite in 2019. For Huy Khang and his family, this is also the most surprising and proud award when the role was highly appreciated by the jury and audience in Asia, surpassing major films from many participating countries.

Talking about the days of practice before starting to shoot the role of Tim in the movie Mother's Happiness, Mr. Toan said that Huy Khang and his mother (actress Cat Phuong) had to sit on a motorbike to practice driving on the coastal slope many times. One day, the steering wheel was too hard, unable to turn around the corner, causing the two actors to fall down the cliff, leaving bruises, scratches, and bleeding a lot. After several days, the film crew was able to start filming. For that reason, the awards achieved are the sweat, tears and efforts of the boy as well as the entire film crew, the "sweet fruit" of his wholehearted efforts for art.

More than 8 years since the first day of his relationship with the 7th art, not only participating in TV series, Huy Khang also has many roles in movies, music videos, commercials... Outstanding movies such as the movies Happiness of Mother, Cu Lao Zombie, Ben Pha Xong, Vo Sinh Dai Chien, Thanh Soi...; music videos Phan Coi, Clover Four Leaves; filming and taking commercials for many brands such as OMO, Dien May Xanh, Pepsi, But Chi Mau Thien Long... The special thing is that Huy Khang is mostly chosen to play the main role or the main role when the main actor was young. "Currently, regarding his acting talent, the family has not oriented or forced him into a certain mold because they want him to develop naturally.

Moreover, the directors all told me to let Huy Khang act in the natural, rustic way he was born with. When he is not filming, Huy Khang focuses on studying culture at school and playing his favorite sports. I also always remind him to balance his time to both study well and have the opportunity to pursue his passion. In addition, I often spend time with my son watching and interacting with fellow Quang Tri people through social networking sites, introducing everyone to the movies Huy Khang has acted in,” Toan confided.

Nguyen Minh Duc

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/phan-huy-khang-guong-mat-nhi-trien-vong-cua-man-anh-viet-193358.htm