Nguyen Hau was born in 1953 in Sa Dec – Dong Thap. When he was young, his brothers and sisters often took him to Sa Dec Town to see film so he loved movies from a very early age. Mr. He loved movies so much that when his family forbade him many times, he ran away from home and walked dozens of kilometers from the countryside to the town, standing in front of the movie theater to beg to watch. Many times, his mother caught him and beat him severely Hau still couldn’t give up his love of movies.
When he was 14 years old, his whole family moved to live in Saigon, thinking that in the new environment he would be less stressed. He is addicted to movies, but the special thing is that in class he sits next to the son of the owner of Lidac studio.
This person invited him to participate in a number of supporting roles in the films: Flowers just bloomed, My Neighborhood… Unlucky weather causing Nguyen Hau to prepare for the baccalaureate exam in the same class as the daughter of late director Bui Son Duan (Lam Son). One time, I followed a friend home and found out that his father, director Nguyen Hau, came along and asked about everything about movies. And it was director Bui Son Duan who “gave wings” for Nguyen Hau to come to the seventh art.
The year Nguyen Hau failed his Baccalaureate II, it was director Bui Son Duan took care of the probation papers and then sent him to Viet Anh Film to learn a trade with compensation. In 1974, Nguyen Hau had his first role as a young sailor in the movie Hai Phong 79 in collaboration with Thailand.
After 1974 Nguyen Hau followed his mother back to his hometown. Grandma was in Vinh Long right when the Cuu Long Music and Dance troupe was recruiting actors. He signed up to try out and was one of 8 selected faces. After spending time arranging chairs, stringing up ticket sales and a series of backstage jobs, he was given the dual role of husband and wife by artist Viet An and artist Chi Cong in the comedy play “Determined to Leave”. One rehearsal and one stage assembly Nguyen Hau quickly created a buzz and brought home an individual Silver Medal at the Festival of Professional Art Troupes.
After 4 years of wandering around remote areas, he was promoted to captain of the theater team and then performance commander of the Cuu Long music and dance troupe.
In 1982, director Bui Son Duan made the film The Silver Bracelet. Nguyen Hau plays the role of bandit K’Nhin and acts very well. After 13 years with the Cuu Long music and dance troupe, he left the troupe and went to Ho Chi Minh City to pursue his dream of making movies.
He took his career into his own hands and made a living. Nguyen Hau’s life also had to go through many ups and downs. The actor once said that in order to earn money to support his family, he had to constantly act in movies. One day, after performing in Vinh Long, I would go to Ho Chi Minh City and return to Dong Nai in the evening. In his memory, he still cannot forget the meals with just a loaf of bread and an old banana instead of rice or often skipping breakfast to save money for gas to go to the film set.
Cat-se Acting in few films but only playing supporting roles like him makes it even worse, so the family’s life becomes even more difficult. To earn more income, Nguyen Hau had to write articles to record the behind-the-scenes content of the movies he participated in. This job did not help him make a lot of money, but it helped his family have enough money to go to the fields when filming was not enough to make a living.
In 1995, after 15 years, he moved to the city. When he started his career in Ho Chi Minh City, he also collected enough money to buy a small house in Cau Kinh – Thanh Da area (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City). The house was small, but it took a lot of sweat and tears that he had accumulated to buy it.
After about ten years, his daughter lost money in business and was in debt. He decided to sell the family’s only asset to pay his children’s debt. The whole family pulled together to rent a house. At an age where he should be resting, Nguyen Hau still works hard on the set to have money to make ends meet. When his son-in-law passed away in an accident, he extended his arms to welcome his daughter and grandchildren back to the family. At this time, the artist’s wife was also elderly, so he advised her to quit her job and stay home to take care of her grandchildren so that he and his daughter could take care of the family finances.
Because of the family burden. In his family, when he is still healthy, he will take on any big or small role. Some months I can film 2-3 movies and earn nearly 20 million VND, but there are also months I sit idle. Therefore, money for filming movies has to be rotated in the style of “taking the short term to maintain the long term”.
The actor once said that in his life of filming, he once received more than 200 roles, big and small. The most notable ones are in the movies: Mr. Counselor, Mr. Ten Beard, Southern Forest Land, Black Water Hamlet, Weak Woman, Deserted Valley, Tay Do Beauty, Heroic Blood… Yes It can be said that most of Nguyen Hau’s roles express the character’s personality and fully express the director’s intentions.
Once he went to Hanoi to prepare to go to Sapa to film Desolate Valley by director Pham Nhue Giang. When he stopped by the stall to buy a newspaper, the boss immediately noticed and asked, “Mr. ?”. He was a bit surprised but extremely happy because he was recognized by the Hanoi audience even though his role was a supporting role.
Then when he went to Sapa to film the market scene, the The mothers there recognized him and surrounded them, startling everyone in the film crew. Occasionally when he visits a coffee shop, many viewers still recognize him and secretly pay to show their admiration. For him, it is the joy that acting has brought him after the hardships of life.
More than two months ago, he still participated in filming even though The body shows signs of fatigue. It was only a week ago that the actor discovered he had liver cancer. However, he still took his own medicine and ate normally.
The sudden passing of the talented actor in the days approaching Lunar New Year makes both family and colleagues extremely sad. Many artists choked up when remembering the days when they traveled with him along the film crew on every road.
Ha Tung Long“
