Man of many talents

It is hard to define what Xiao Yang does.
肖央所做的事情很难被定义。

He rose to fame in the pop duo Chopsticks Brothers, best known for their songs Old Boys, Father and Little Apple. Now he stars in the new suspense movie Sheep Without a Shepherd, which came out on Dec 13. The 39-year-old plays a brave and tactful father.
当年，肖央以流行组合“筷子兄弟”出道走红，代表作有歌曲《老男孩》、《父亲》以及《小苹果》等。如今，他又主演了一部悬疑新片《误杀》，该片于去年12月13日上映。39岁的肖央在片中饰演一位有勇有谋的父亲。

Joan Chen, who co-stars in the movie, described Xiao as a “rare actor with the skills of multiple perspectives”.
在片中与肖央演对手戏的陈冲，称他是一位“难得一见的演员，拥有多维视角”。

From a well-known singer to a successful actor, Xiao’s transformation has surprised many people. It’s a natural fit for Xiao, however, given his educational background and life experiences.
从家喻户晓的歌手到成功的演员，肖央的转型令许多人感到惊喜。但从他的教育背景和生活经历来看，这样的转变对肖央而言其实是水到渠成。

Majoring in commercial direction at Beijing Film Academy, Xiao did lots of part-time jobs as a commercial actor to pay his tuition fees. He gradually learned the acting and directing skills. Even after joining the Chopsticks Brothers in 2005, he never gave up creating his own films. While his partner Wang Taili wrote the songs, Xiao wrote and directed the screenplays for their mini movies and music videos.
肖央曾在北京电影学院主修广告导演专业，为了交学费兼职拍了不少广告。他从中逐渐学到了表演和导演技巧。在2005年加入“筷子兄弟”组合后，他仍没有放弃创作自己的电影。搭档王太利负责创作歌曲，而肖央就为两人的微电影和音乐录影带编导剧本。

The duo peaked in 2014, when Little Apple became a global internet sensation. For the video, Xiao came up with a novel idea: to show the most tragic love stories he could think of. “Plastic surgery gone wrong, a wartime romance and a mermaid and prince forever apart,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
该组合在2014年到达了事业的一个巅峰，一首《小苹果》火遍全球。肖央为歌曲的音乐录影带想到了一个新奇的点子：展现他所能想到的最凄美的爱情故事。“整形失败、战乱时期的爱情以及美人鱼与王子永远也不能在一起，”他在接受《好莱坞报道》采访时如此表示。

People loved his idea. The song won International Song of the Year at the American Music Awards, bringing Xiao new chances to act and promote himself. However, the sudden fame and wealth weren’t easy for Xiao to live with. He began to rethink what he really wanted from life. He told Culture Spotlight website, at that time, he heard from deep in his heart that he “wants to create more good visual works in this era”.
这一创意大受欢迎。这首歌获得了全美音乐奖年度国际最佳流行音乐奖，为肖央带来了演戏和宣传自己的新机会。但突如其来的名气和财富让肖央感到难以适从。他开始重新思考自己的人生真正想要的是什么。在接受“文化聚焦”网站采访时他表示，当时自己内心的声音是“想要在这个时代创作更多优秀的视觉作品”。

So, he returned to the film industry. Compared with being a singer, Xiao is more comfortable with the role of an actor, as he gets to portray different lives.
因此，他重回电影行业。和作为歌手相比，做演员能演绎多种人生，对于肖央来说更加如鱼得水。

“For me, it’s a healing process to be an actor, presenting the emotions that cannot be shown in real life through various characters,” Xiao said on the Mtalk program.
“于我而言，成为演员是个很治愈的过程，能够通过各种各样的角色，展现现实生活中无法表露出来的种种情绪，”肖央在《今日影评》栏目中说道。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一777期