Ethan Juan Gets Inside Serial Killer Mindset for “The Liquidator”
New suspense film The Liquidator <心理罪之城市之光> stars Deng Chao (鄧超), Cecilia Liu (劉詩詩), Ethan Juan (阮經天) and Karena Lam (林嘉欣). With the help of forensic fingerprint expert Cecilia Liu, criminal psychologist Deng Chao tracks down serial killer Ethan Ruan.
Portraying a serial killer who targets people that have been acquitted of their crimes, Ethan’s character is a complete 180-degree turn from his usual roles. In order to adjust his mindset and get into character, Ethan spent many hours watching films that possess serial killers with a twisted mind, including Joker in The Dark Knight, to get inspiration. He even isolated himself from the cast and crew and rejected Deng Chao’s social invitations.
Reflecting on the rejection, Deng Chao jokingly said, “During filming, it was obvious Ethan was purposely avoiding us. But I think he was doing the right thing! After a while, we would know what to do without him telling us. Everyone would see him and say ‘He’s here! Everyone walk away now!’”
Ethan also expressed his embarrassment over the matter, “During filming, whenever I showed up, the entire cast and crew would automatically avoid me! I feel very bad about it, but I’m also very conflicted. A part of me is very sad to depart from my character, but at the same time, I feel that a part of the character is already in me!”
Despite not socializing with the cast, Ethan was still full of praises for his costars. “Filming with them is not like filming at all. There is a strong sense of being in the character. It feels very real and draws on experiences that occur in real life.”
Karena Lam especially allowed Ethan to get into character, as she made him truly believe that she is one and the same as her character.
Reflecting on his own acting experiences, Ethan shared that now he has a different mindset when it comes to honing his acting skills. “Before, I felt that I needed to experience a lot of ups and downs in real life. I once even hated myself for living in such a peaceful and happy place. But my perspective has changed these past few years. I began to feel that what I needed in real life was a sense of stability – a stable life and stable emotions.”
Ethan Ruan’s Performance in “The Liquidator”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aM-bFDrI6E
This article is written by Huynh for JayneStars.com.
