On September 8, Xin Zhilei won the Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and became the first Chinese actress in the mainland.

The entire network congratulated overnight, and even major central media liked and forwarded Xin Zhilei's acceptance speech.

The Venice Film Festival is known as one of the highest halls of film art in the world, and the awards are of great value.

Before Xin Zhilei, only Gong Li, Xia Yu and Dexian Ip had the Chinese actors, and they all deserved it.

It is no wonder that the central government is excited to send congratulations to the country on such a heavyweight podium, which shows Xin Zhilei's strength.

But there is another woman. Although she stood behind Xin Zhilei, her light was not inferior to Xin Zhilei at all. She even had a better position and achievements in the film industry. She is Chinese actress Zhao Tao.

The name Zhao Tao is far less popular than that of today's first-line stars in the domestic public's perception. Many people even know her because she looks like the "Wolf Warrior" Wu Jing.

As for Zhao Tao's acting skills, many people also think that she is not as good as a heroine. But Zhao Tao has been "steadily sitting in Mount Tai" in the international film industry for decades.

Not only did he win the international award, he was also selected as the only Chinese among the "25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century" by Time magazine, and ranked 8th. Even the well-known domestic actors were willing to match her.

Although Xin Zhilei has worked as a waiter and has a rough road to becoming famous, she has graduated from the Central Academy of Drama.

Zhao Tao is not a professional and has never been involved in acting before her debut. So how did she go from an unknown ordinary person to the international film industry? What efforts did Xin Zhilei do to win the award this time?

Teacher changes career and becomes an actor

Zhao Tao was born in an ordinary working family in Taiyuan in 1978, and his parents were both employees of Taiyuan Steel Factory. When she was a child, she was introverted and quiet, just like a small flower quietly blooming in the alley.

The turning point of fate occurred during the summer vacation when she graduated from elementary school. My father sent her to the Youth Palace to learn dance. He originally wanted to cultivate a hobby, but he didn't expect that this study directly ignited her passion for dance.

After entering junior high school, Zhao Tao embarked on the art exam with a persistence in dancing and successfully entered the dance major of opera school.

After graduation, Zhao Tao went to Shenzhen for an internship for a while. But her parents had already planned a longer-term road for her - taking the college entrance examination, and finally her hard work paid off. Zhao Tao was successfully admitted to Beijing Dance Academy.

Four years of university life were fleeting. After graduation, Zhao Tao did not choose to move to Beijing, but returned to his hometown in Taiyuan and worked as a dance teacher at Taiyuan Normal University.

The days at that time were stable and dull. If that man hadn't appeared, she would have been following this steady path.

But in 1999, the gear of fate turned again. Director Jia Zhangke made a special trip to Taiyuan, Shanxi to cast the cast in Taiyuan.

Jia Zhangke is from Fenyang, Shanxi. Anyone who is familiar with his movies knows that his movies have three elements - Shanxi, coal mine, and Zhao Tao.

Jia Zhangke's movies are inseparable from Shanxi stories and Shanxi characteristics. Even the entire film is in Shanxi dialect, which is very common. And Zhao Tao is his royal heroine, and he took a look at it at first sight.

Zhao Tao, who was in class at school that day, immediately attracted Jia Zhangke's attention. It is said that Zhao Tao's simple and pure temperament is just the feeling that the character needs.

Even though she had no acting experience, Jia Zhangke decided to use her. Zhao Tao's hesitation and confusion were also resolved by Jia Zhangke's sincerity and script, so he agreed.

Just by chance, Zhao Tao entered the film industry and starred in "Yin Ruijuan" in "Standard".

Although her role experience was somewhat similar to her own, she was still panicked when she first entered the entertainment industry and even thought about studying in the film school.

Fortunately, Jia Zhangke has been encouraging and affirming her, and helped her slowly find the rhythm of the performance, and the movie was successfully completed.

After the release of "Standup", it has a huge reputation abroad and won the Best Asian Film Award at the Venice Film Festival. Zhao Tao also truly felt the charm and influence of the movie for the first time.

After the popularity passed, Zhao Tao returned to school to continue teaching. But since fate opened another door for her, it would not be closed easily. Not long after, Jia Zhangke found her again and invited her to play "Qiaoqiao" in "Ren Xiaoyao".

This character is very different from Zhao Tao himself. In order to act well, she worked hard: learning to smoke, drink, wear high heels, sitting on the street to observe the expressions and behaviors of such girls, and thinking about the inner thoughts of the characters.

Her efforts were not in vain. "Ren Xiaoyao" was successfully shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival. Zhao Tao also stepped on the Cannes red carpet for the first time, leaving her figure in the international film industry.

These two unforgettable experiences made Zhao Tao fall in love with the performance completely. She decisively quit her stable job in colleges and universities and devoted herself to her acting career, and since then she officially started her own dream-seeking journey in the film industry.

Unexpectedly, a dance teacher who is not from a professional background not only walked out of the Avenue of Light, but also gained an enviable love.

Join hands with Jia Zhangke to create glory in the film industry

After resigning from his job as a teacher, Zhao Tao began to work in-depth with Jia Zhangke, and collaborated with several movies such as "The World" and "The Good People in the Three Gorges".

There is a small episode when filming "The Good Man in the Three Gorges": In the original script, Shen Hong designed a plot of poisoning after finding her husband who changed her heart. But Zhao Tao felt that this was not fair to women, and believed that "just separate if you don't love me", and there was no need to go to extremes.

In the end, the director adopted her suggestion, changed it to Shen Hong who found her husband, and then asked for a breakup and turned around and left. This detail also shows Zhao Tao's independent and self-esteem personality in his bones.

"The Good Man in Three Gorges later won the Golden Lion Award at the 63rd Venice Film Festival, and Zhao Tao was labeled as "Jia Zhangke's Royal heroine".

But she didn't stop there. She was thinking about her acting skills every time she collaborated, and the role she played gradually became more and more tenacious from weak.

She played the forbearance, dignity, loneliness and stubbornness of the little characters in an all-encompassing manner, and was rated by film critics as "the most vivid feminist declaration on the screen in China."

In recent years, Zhao Tao has made great progress in the international film industry and has won mercy in winning awards. In 2012, she also won the Italian Film Award for Best Actress with "I Am Li", becoming the first Asian actor to win this honor.

In 2018, she became the third Chinese actor to win the Asia-Pacific Film Awards Best Actress after Zhang Ziyi and Lu Zhong with the role of "Qiaoqiao" in "The Children of Jianghu".

The films played by Zhao Tao can almost all appear on the stage of internationally renowned film festivals. Whether it is her acting skills or her profound intentions in the film, they are all recognized internationally.

According to this, she has fought in the three major European film festivals nine times and has long been recognized as a world-class talent. Even the three actors Zhang Yi, Liao Fan and Dong Zijian are willing to match him, and the opponent's scenes are very exciting.

The reason why Zhao Tao's acting skills have always been online is mainly due to her observation of life. The other actors became popular and were busy participating in activities to show their presence.

But Zhao Tao's life is low-key and simple. She is not keen on socializing and rarely goes out for socializing and eats, but she insists on walking at least seven kilometers to the park every day, just to maintain the most realistic touch of life.

Because she knows very well that only by living in real life can an actor better perceive the feelings of ordinary women, and then integrate this reality into the performance and resonate with the audience.

This may be why Zhao Tao can win big prizes in every movie and has a well-known international reputation, but domestic audiences don't like her very well.

In addition to the smooth career, Zhao Tao and Jia Zhangke also have an enviable marriage in their personal life.

Although they were controversial when they got married in 2009, Jia Zhangke had a marriage and had just divorced his ex-wife, he married Zhao Tao.

But Jia Zhangke publicly stated that he was single, and the two got together, and Zhao Tao did not interfere in marriage. The two have been respectful for so many years since they got married, and there has never been any scandal.

Zhao Tao once said in an interview that the secret of marriage stability is mutual understanding and respect.

She also likes an independent life very much. She will not feel lonely when shopping, buying groceries, or watching movies alone. Therefore, two people can support each other and be busy with their own things, without affecting their relationship.

It's just a pity that both of them have been busy with their careers over the years, and now Zhao Tao is 47 years old and has no children. However, having pets at home makes up for some of the shortcomings in this regard.

Zhao Tao helped Xin Zhilei win the award and was called the woman who "brings glory to the country"

Although the couple has collaborated on many good movies, there has been no news of new works since "The Romantic Generation" released last year.

And Jia Zhangke became obsessed with cooking and fishing. Netizens went to the comment area to shout, asking him to take Zhao Tao to do his career. Jia Zhangke also replied that he was about to retire.

However, even if Zhao Tao did not appear on the screen, she did not stop contributing to the Chinese film industry.

At the 2019 Shanghai Film Festival, she strongly recommended that 96-year-old Chang Feng win the Best Actor for "The Heart of the Countryside".

At the 2023 Tokyo Film Festival, she also vigorously promoted "Snow Leopard" to win the Best Picture and "Old Gun" to win the Art Contribution Award.

Now in Venice, she helps Xin Zhilei become the best actress in the Chinese Venetian film industry.

Every time he is a judge, Zhao Tao actively explains the cultural background in Chinese films to foreign judges, helping to break the cultural barriers.

She just wants Chinese movies and Chinese actors to be treated more fairly on the international stage, so that the whole world can see the value and unique charm of our Chinese movies.

When Xin Zhilei won the award this time, Zhao Tao handed the silver cup of Best Actress to her, and the audience suddenly became excited.

This moment was not only a recognition of Xin Zhilei's good acting skills, but also a hidden glory that Zhao Tao won for our Chinese actors with his international influence.