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Le Khanh, the youngest People's Artist
Mme Le Mai, mother of Le
Khanh, recalled: 'More often than not, when I arrived home after a
performance, I found my children, also with make-up, acting a play, with
bed sheets and blankets as backdrops.' At eight, Le Khanh was
selected by Director Tran Phuong to play a small role in the film 'Mother
and Two Children.' At 15, she was chosen by director Duc Hoan to play the
role of Hue in the film 'From a Forest,' a much older young volunteer, as
he realized her gift of performance and expression. Le Mai taught her how
to express herself. As for Le Khanh, this was her first lesson in the
arts, and Duc Hoan was her first teacher.
In 1978, Le Khanh officially joined the first training course for actors, held by the Youth Theatre. Combining theory and practice, the students were allowed to play minor roles together with professional actors and actresses. After a term of six
months, Le Khanh and her classmates made their debut in various roles in a
few dramas staged by the theatre. The strictness of the art induced many
of the students to give up. But with a great passion and a high sense of
self-education, Le Khanh stuck fast to her job, spurred by her own
gift and talent.
With ten years on the stage, Le Khanh has passionately lived with Miss Tam in 'Tam Cam' (the Vietnamese Cinderella), Juliet in 'Romeo and Juliet,' Desdemona in 'Othello,' Dan Thiem in 'Vu Nhu To,' truthfully portraying her characters, feeling and acting her parts, thus making a profound impression on the audience. In the first ten years of the Youth Theatre, she was seen as its 'prima donna.' Though taking a lesser
part in film, she is highly regarded as a screen star. For this very
reason, in more than a year, she was offered the roles of heroines in such
film as 'Cam bay tinh' (The pitfalls of love), 'Hai nua yeu
thuong' (The two halves of love), 'Chiec mat na da nguoi' (The
human-skin mask), and 'Ban tinh ca cuoi cung' (The last love song).
With these four films alone, she left a fine impression upon the audience
and her colleagues. She received an Award for Best Actresses for her part
of Hue in the film 'The pitfalls of love,' and at the 10th Festival of
Vietnamese Films, she got the Award for Best Actress once again. Director
Duc Hoan again asked her to take the part of the wife of a raft-trader in
the film 'Chuyen tinh ben dong song' (A love story on the
riverbank). Three times she acted in Duc Hoan’s films which represent
three big landmarks that record Le Khanh’s path in cinematography. 'From
a Forest' was just a test of strength. Ten years later, Duc Hoan again put
her on the screen with a second film titled 'Am anh' (Obsession).
Her cinematographic talent flourished, and film-directors continually
asked her to play roles in such films as 'San bat cuop' (Chasing
robbers), 'Co mot tinh yeu nhu the' (There was such a love), 'Dong
song hoa trang' (A river of white blossoms), 'Chiec mat na da nguoi'
(The human-skin mask) and 'Nguoi Ha Noi' (The Hanoian). In each
heroine, she found part of her own character; from faithful Juliet with
chastity, perfect and noble Desdemona, brave and gallant Jeanne d’ Arc
and then she turned abruptly to the submissive and resigned Lilan, a
prostitute.
She is fond of directors with strong personalities who are willing to experiments. She also likes to express herself and detect the recesses of the mentality of each human fate. In comedies, for instance, in the role of the wife in an episode entitled 'Khon ngoan khong lai voi gioi' (Wits cannot get over God’s design), her performance was quite impressive. If Jeanne d’ Arc gave her courage, Juliet triggered in her some obsession in love, and the role of 'Thuy' in 'Ben bo xa lac' (The far-off riverbank) helped her look at life with real eyes, 'Ly Chieu Hoang' made her 'more experienced' due to the changing fate of the Queen. Also in the role of 'Ly Chieu Hoang' in the film 'Rung truc' (The bamboo groves), Le Khanh delivered a monologue of nearly 30 minutes. This originality brought her one more gold medal in the 1999 Drama Festival. Le Khanh was born and brought up in a family of artists. A love of arts has imbued her since her childhood, but she said that 'genetics' is not enough to win the medals and the noble titles such as Artist of Merit and People’s Artist. She has had to train herself and work hard. Aside from the life of an artist, her biggest joy and happiness is the care of her children and her family. Whenever she is free, she often takes her children to visit pagodas.
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