'Is there any actor uglier than me?'

Making an impressive appearance with the role of Thi Lam in the horror film Tet in Hell Village that is causing a stir, Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy took the time to share with VTC News reporters many interesting things about her journey to take on this role.

- It seems that during this time, you have a special affinity for roles in horror movies?

Perhaps so, first of all, the role of the crazy woman in the movie Monster Heart, although that movie only had 3-4 segments. But then came a series of “crazy” roles like in The House is Not for Sale, Glorious Ashes and now Tet in the Village of Hell.

Maybe because there are no uglier actors, I'm suited to horror roles (laughs). I'll be taking on one or two more roles like that in the future.

- You have shared your interest in gritty and horror roles. Can you share more about this strange hobby of yours?

Usually, such roles bring very strong emotions, not only to the audience but also to the actor himself like me. But there are also roles that are so strong, even after filming I feel scared like in the Tet movie in the village of hell .

Actually, at first I did not accept the role of Thi Lam in this film because I felt the story was too intense so I was scared. Then the director tried to convince me and shared more about the character and the idea of making the film so I accepted.

However, after accepting the role, even while filming, I was still scared. In addition to the extremely brutal content of the role of a crazy woman possessed by a demon, especially the cannibalism scene that scared me the most. I was also worried whether such things would be accepted in Vietnamese films. When the film aired, I felt very happy and lucky because it was enthusiastically received by many audiences.

Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy: 'Is there any actress uglier than me?' - 1

- Besides the high evaluations, there are also some comments that the film "Tet in Hell Village" was limited in terms of budget so it was not as grand as expected or there were some points that the audience felt were not satisfying. Can you share more about this?

I don't know how much people want the film to be, but as an actor who participated directly on set, I saw that everyone organized it very well. The entire film crew was larger than the current population of the village, and people almost created a new village here to make the film. At first, there was no electricity or wifi, but everything was gradually improved, and each day it got better and more complete.

Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy: 'Is there any actress uglier than me?' - 2

- What was your biggest difficulty when participating in the movie "Tet in Hell Village"?

The first thing that came to mind was the biting cold weather in Ha Giang – where the film was filmed. I had to stick a lot of heat pads directly on my body to avoid affecting my appearance and costume. But the result was that my skin blistered like it was burned and it took a month or two to heal.

Then I had to dress up with bloody scenes, sticky sugar water, but I always had to "struggle" whether to take a shower or not because most of my scenes were filmed at night, after finishing filming until 2-3 am, the weather was very cold, the water was 8 degrees, hot water for bathing was not easy... However, I saw that everyone had difficulties when participating in this film, so I tried to overcome it.

Another difficulty is probably that I have to be away from home and my children for a long time because of the travel between Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi to the filming location, because the traffic at this point is quite far from the center, so the travel takes a lot of time. I and the whole crew lived and worked in the village, completely isolated from the world . In return, the picturesque landscape and peaceful life here made me feel like I was lost in a fairyland.

- In return for the hardships of you and your crew, the film was well received. Do you think that was worth the effort you put in?

The film's effect also helps me recreate a new energy, a new emotion. Now, whenever there is a bad role, a villain role, directors think of me. Maybe they think: "It's hard to find someone as ugly as Hanh Thuy in Saigon, so I'll just use my full potential" (laughs).

But maybe in a few years, if I keep taking on these types of roles, I'll feel bored. As an actor, I always want to challenge myself with different types of roles.

Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy: 'Is there any actress uglier than me?' - 3

- Playing so many roles, do you feel shy if you are given the title "Ugly Woman of Vietnamese Cinema"?

I'm like any other woman, I don't like people calling me ugly, but if it's a "movie brand" then I don't mind.

Actually, at this stage I was feeling completely “bored with myself”. I rarely uploaded photos to my personal page because I was not used to using the app. To find a good photo, I took thousands of photos to choose one that was “not ugly” (laughs). However, sometimes I consoled myself, perhaps because of that appearance, the profession assigned me to very special roles.

- What do you think about the rise of Vietnamese horror films in recent years?

I feel like horror movies are in a good season these days. 10 years ago it was plays, now it’s starting to be movies because of the opening up of censorship.

Movies with horror elements are like dishes with new spices, making the audience, especially the young audience, excited. My eldest daughter tells me every day how her classmates like the movie Tet in the village of hell, so I feel happy too.

Source