People's Artist Lam Toi: From a child herding buffalo, stuttering to the best actor, "transforming" all kinds of roles

People's Artist Lam Toi is a famous film actor and film director in Vietnam. With a natural, honest performance, Lam Toi left many deep impressions through many characters in films such as The Road to Motherland, The Wasteland, The Windy Season...

Lam Toi's real name is Lam Thanh Tong, born on January 15, 1937 in Dong Thap, in a family with poor circumstances, when he was 7 years old, he went to hire hundreds of buffaloes to help support the family.

When he was 12 years old, he was assigned by a commune guerrilla squad leader to feed buffaloes near the garrison, get acquainted with the soldiers, and report back when he heard anything about it. In February 1954, he joined the army and belonged to Company 949, Battalion 311, as a liaison. Then gathered to the North, he studied culture at the Southern Student School No. 2, Thanh Hoa. In March 1955, he was recruited into the unit 36 Youth Volunteers to work in the railway Hanoi - Muc Nam Quan. After that, he returned to work as a medical officer at Viet Xo Friendship Hospital.

He is a famous actor, a director of Vietnamese cinema. He is a multi-talented actor who can skillfully transform from villain to protagonist. The most impressive roles must be mentioned: the role of Nui in The Road to Motherland, Ba Do in the Wasteland, Eight Quyen in the Windy Season...

Coming from a poor family, Lam Toi soon participated in revolutionary activities and then gathered to the North to study the first actor course at the Vietnam Film School in 1959 with Tra Giang, The Anh, Phi Nga, Thuy Van, Tran Phuong... Graduating with honors from the Cinema School in 1964, he returned to work as an actor for a Vietnamese feature film studio. Lam Toi had his first role in the movie "Two Soldiers", which won the first prize of the Golden Globe in Czechoslovakia.

In 1966, Lam Toi appeared at the same time as two villains in "Floating Wind" and "Nguyen Van Troi". In the movie "Burning the Wind", he played the role of a henchman of an American officer. In the scene using alcohol to burn the hand of a female revolutionary soldier named Van (played by Thuy Van), Lam Toi shows the change of emotions on her face, from victory, challenge to fear before the indomitable will of the female revolutionary.

In the movie "Nguyen Van Troi", Lam Toi shows the aggressive attitude of an officer who bullies innocent people. "Lam Toi has a face that can transform into many types of roles. He never uses acting techniques. Standing in front of the camera, we think Lam Toi is the character, not he is acting," said director Dao Ba Son about his senior in the profession.

Lam Toi's most successful villain role is Tran Sung in the movie "Seventeen Days and Nights" (1972). The late director Hai Ninh said he needed to find an actor to play the role of an educated villain. Lam Toi liked the role very much but was not initially cast because of his stutter. "Lam Toi was not discouraged, a few days later, he came, spoke a whole line without stuttering and then walked and walked clearly showing the style of an educated enemy" - the late director Hai Ninh once told about the moment he was surprised and conquered by Lam Toi's determination to do the job. With the director's strict requirements, Lam Toi had such a successful role that many people later called him Tran Sung in real life.

Before playing the role of Tran Sung, Lam Toi sympathized with the role of Nui in the movie "Road to Motherland" (1971). The film, directed by Bui Dinh Hac, praises the brave engineer soldiers who paved the way in the resistance war. Lam Toi impressed with the image of a soldier named Nui lone still patiently carrying each bomb, displaying a continuous minefield against the enemy. During his lifetime, the late artist once told that after the movie was released, a young man before going to war came to him and said: "Dear Mr. Lam Toi, I am going to be in the army this time, in birth and death, I may return or not. Either way, we will fight like a group of three - Mountain (Lam Toi), Du (The Anh), Ly (Ho Truong) - yours".

In 1977, Lam Toi "makeover" with the role of Tam Quyen in the movie "Season of Obstacle". The performance of the late artist portrays the image of a simple, resilient and compassionate Southern farmer. Cinematographer Duong Tuan Ba told that Lam Toi's role in the film made many viewers sob, especially the part where Tam Quyen was buried alive by the enemy.

In 1979, the artist continued to conquer the audience with the role of Ba Do in the movie "Wild Field". The image of Ba Do fighting alone in the middle of a wasteland to protect his wife and children has become a monumental monument of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema. Lam Toi has continued to successfully portray the image of a simple, straightforward Southern farmer who wholeheartedly loves his family, lives and fights for the national ideal.

Especially for the role of Tam Quyen in the movie The Windy Season , Lam Toi won the best actor award at the Vietnam Film Festival Congress in 1982. The film The Wild Field by him was also evaluated by experts as the best film of Vietnamese cinema in the 20th century.

"Wild Field" was born in 1978 and is considered one of the classics of Vietnamese cinema. Contributing to the creation of the film are famous artists such as screenwriter - writer Nguyen Quang Sang, director of People's Artist Hong Sen and music by musician Trinh Cong Son. The film was honored in the Golden Lotus category in the 1980 Vietnam Film Festival and won the Gold Medal at the 1981 Moscow International Film Festival.

After attending an internship as a director in Germany in 1974. Actor Lam Toi returned to work as an actor and director at Liberation Film Studio. Here, he directed the films: The Wasteland, Between the Two Waters, The Windy Season, The Red Sun, The Left Turn on the Trail,...

He was awarded the Third-class French Resistance Order, the Third-class Anti-American Resistance Order, the Ho Chi Minh City Badge, the Medal for the Young Generation and was awarded the title of Distinguished Artist in 1984, People's Artist in 1997.

In the following years, Lam Toi rarely participated in films due to poor health. In 1999, he reappeared in the movie "Blood and Blood Money" as an upright and talented director who had achieved many illustrious achievements in the past but was powerless before the changes of the market economy. This is also his last role. The artist passed away in 2000 after a long time fighting illness, leaving behind grief and admiration in everyone's hearts.