Police lieutenant colonel trusted by directors to play criminal roles
Lieutenant Colonel, Meritorious Artist Ho Phong real name is Ho Quoc Phong (born in 1972). He was born and raised in a family with a rich artistic tradition. His parents are both actors of the Quang Ninh Drama Troupe. His father is Meritorious Artist Ho Thap – former head of the Quang Ninh Drama Troupe, his youngest brother is Meritorious Artist Ho Phi Diep.
When mentioning “bad guys” or “big bad guys” on Vietnamese screens, audiences certainly cannot forget Meritorious Artist Ho Phong. He made his name known through a series of VTV television projects such as: Land and People; When the Birds Return; Candles in the Night; Secrets of the Golden Triangle; Taste of Love; Battle of Minds…
Meritorious Artist Ho Phong is a police lieutenant colonel. Photo: VTV
In the near future, he will continue to be “chosen” to play a boss role in a film in the Criminal Police series about to air on VTV3 called Doc Dao. His role is a drug lord named Duong “muscle”.
Share with Dan Viet, Meritorious Artist Ho Phong said, in the movie “We of 8 Years Later”, he had to lose weight from 84kg to 74kg for his role for a few months, then had to gain weight for the role of “Muscle” Duong. He had to urgently practice and eat for 1 month before filming to get the look for this character. Because this villain has many similarities with the previous role, he had to create a highlight for the role of “Muscle” Duong with a long scar on his face. This scar caused him pain because he had to continuously apply scar-making substance on his face.
Meritorious Artist Ho Phong in the role of Duong “muscle” in the movie Doc Dao. Photo: VTV
Perhaps this character is not difficult for a veteran artist like Meritorious Artist Ho Phong. Because before that, he was familiar to television audiences through the films: Land and People, Flavor of Love, Battle of Intelligence. Currently, Ho Phong holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and achieved the title of Meritorious Artist in 2019.
To be able to handle any role, Meritorious Artist Ho Phong also had to undergo training and development in an artistic family environment. When he was young, Meritorious Artist Ho Phong saw his parents struggling with their acting career, so he wanted to find another job. However, he later returned to work behind the scenes at the Quang Ninh Drama Troupe.
Meritorious Artist Ho Phong (left of the photo) and the drug trafficking “bosses” in the movie Doc Dao. Photo: VTV
After that, Meritorious Artist Ho Phong decided to pursue an artistic career professionally by spending 4 years studying at the University of Theater and Cinema. Here, he met People’s Artist Tran Nhuong and was officially accepted to work at the People’s Public Security Drama Troupe after graduating. From here, his career developed and became Meritorious Artist Ho Phong as he is today.
Throughout his youth, Meritorious Artist Ho Phong was familiar to small screen audiences when he continuously played roles in films such as Land and People, Tears of Ha Long, That Night, Someone Left, Candles in the Night, When the Birds Return, Secrets of the Golden Triangle… Perhaps he possesses a rare face in the art world when directors “choose” him to play a villain. The appearance of artist Ho Phong was like a breath of fresh air for Vietnamese cinema when he played the role of a villain. The more the audience hated him, the more successful his role was.
Meritorious Artist Ho Phong is the face that directors “choose” for villain roles. Photo: VTV
Many times when he was on the street, he was “pointed” at by the audience, someone approached him and said: “You look so mean”, or “Why are you so evil, so evil”. Although he knows that accepting the role of a villain means suffering a loss when the audience “turns their back”, artist Ho Phong still takes care of each of his roles, acting in the most memorable and realistic way.
When the show Taste of Love aired on television, audiences across the country were “shaken” by the role of Mr. Tan (Mrs. Sa’s lover) – a role that was the ultimate in evil, despicable but interesting. The cunning and life experience of a cunning, strange gangster, each jerk of the chin, each sharp look with an unmistakable voice made this gangster “stoned to pieces” by the audience.
Meritorious Artist Ho Phong is hated by the audience because of many villainous roles. Photo: VTV
The role is suitable for the person, Ho Phong plays the role “sweeter than sugar cane”, acting as if he is not acting, his movements and gestures bring authenticity to the role in particular and the film in general.
Meritorious Artist Ho Phong in real life is a loyal man, devoted to his family. Although he is secretive about his love life, he still occasionally reveals about his small family. Meritorious Artist Ho Phong’s wife is named Minh Dung, 7 years younger than him, currently working as a deputy transaction manager of a bank with a branch in Hanoi. After a period of living together under the same roof, Meritorious Artist Ho Phong and his wife has 4 children, the eldest daughter was born in 2000, the second daughter was born in 2005, the third son was born in 2017 and the youngest was born in 2023.
Meritorious Artist Ho Phong in a scene from the movie Doc Dao. Photo: VTV
Meritorious Artist Ho Phong and his wife both value family. In addition to the time spent on work and filming, the male artist spends all his time playing with his children and sharing housework with his wife. This also helps Meritorious Artist Ho Phong’s wife trust him completely and feel comfortable with her husband’s work.
Meritorious Artist Ho Phong said that his wife is a kind, capable person and is a solid support for him to pursue his artistic career. He believes in “reducing the heat when the rice is boiling” and “tying the rope tightly”, so both husband and wife maintain harmony, respect each other and work together to take care of their children.