Who is Wang Yantong, the male lead of A Love Letter to Mom? Twenty-some days ago, nobody knew him. Now, some call him Zheng Musheng, others call him Grandpa, and many have cried their eyes out for him, ruining their makeup. Twenty days ago, he was still delivering food on the streets of Shantou, relying on friends to help pay his rent. Twenty days later, he has become the leading actor of a billion-yuan box office hit, moving audiences nationwide to tears. In March 2024, the crew of A Love Letter to Mom was holding open auditions in Shantou for the male protagonist, Zheng Musheng. At the time, Wang Yantong had recently graduated from the Broadcasting and Hosting Arts program at the Zhuhai Campus of Beijing Normal University. He had interned at a television station for three months, and after participating in a local Chaoshan commercial shoot, the idea of becoming an actor sparked in his mind. However, reality was far harsher than his imagination. With no background, no connections, and no formal training in acting, he could only pick up odd jobs across various crews, working as a clapper loader and running countless extra roles without a single line. When he heard that director Lan Hongchun’s new movie was casting, he decided to sign up just to give it a shot. Yet, he was eliminated right in the first round of interviews. The reason was simple: he looked too delicate. He had fair skin, a youthful aura, and eyes full of worldly innocence. But the Zheng Musheng that Director Lan Hongchun was looking for was a Chaoshan youth in the 1940s who crossed the sea to Thailand to make a living, a laborer who rode a tricycle to haul goods under the scorching sun every day—weather-beaten, sturdy, and resilient. "You're too clean, you don't look like a manual laborer." Director Lan’s words threw cold water on Wang Yantong. Anyone else might have given up right there. But not Wang Yantong; in his bones lay the unyielding grit characteristic of Chaoshan people. He asked himself, Can I really not play this role? The answer was no. For the next six months, Wang Yantong vanished from everyone's sight, embarking on a near-laborious transformation. To get the dark complexion of a Southeast Asian laborer, he exposed himself to the most blistering sun on a Shantou rooftop every day from noon to 2:00 PM. His skin peeled and darkened layer by layer, eventually turning a healthy bronze. To build the rugged physique of a working-class laborer, he woke up at 5:00 AM every day to run, followed by strength training at the gym, and climbed dozens of flights of stairs at night to simulate the physical toll of Zheng Musheng riding a tricycle daily. He chopped off the hair he had grown for years, shaving it into a buzz cut, and grew out a beard. To correct his soft and gentle Shantou urban accent, he specifically went to Chaoyang Gurao to learn the heavy, powerful Chaoyang dialect word-for-word from local elders. There is a local saying: "I'd rather argue with someone from Shantou than chat with someone from Chaoyang," because the Chaoyang dialect carries an inherent, undeniable forcefulness. Wang Yantong said that it was precisely this accent that helped him tap into Zheng Musheng's straightforward and stubborn character. What commands the most respect is that he truly lived Zheng Musheng’s life. He moved goods in logistics warehouses, carried heavy sacks on his shoulders at docks, and learned to ride an old-fashioned tricycle. Exhausted, he would fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Thick calluses formed on his hands, and his shoulders became red and swollen from the heavy loads. Six months later, Wang Yantong filmed his transformed self and sent the video to Director Lan Hongchun. The boy in the video bore absolutely no resemblance to his former delicate self; he had dark skin, solid muscles, and a hint of weariness and determination in his eyes. Speaking in authentic Chaoyang dialect, he delivered a few of Zheng Musheng’s lines to the camera. - @user842113337885946