During the filming of the movie "Legend of Stars," Ling Yichen and Jun Moran faced a unique challenge—portraying a cross-cultural romance. The characters they played came from different cultural backgrounds, with vastly different values ​​and lifestyles. How to realistically and movingly portray this love that transcends national borders and cultural differences on screen became a new and arduous emotional test in their acting careers.

Ling Yichen plays Lin Yu, an Eastern scholar who grew up in an ancient and traditional Eastern cultural environment. His emotional expression is delicate and subtle, emphasizing inner understanding and spiritual connection. Jun Mo Ran plays Eric, a descendant of European nobility, who grew up under the influence of Western open and free culture. He is passionate and unrestrained, expressing his emotions directly and boldly. When these two characters with vastly different personalities and emotional patterns meet and fall in love, a cross-cultural romance full of contradictions and sparks slowly unfolds.

Early in the filming process, Ling Yichen and Jun Mo Ran were keenly aware of the significant impact cultural differences had on shaping the characters' emotional relationship. In a scene depicting their first encounter, following Western social etiquette, Eric warmly embraces and kisses Lin Yu on the cheek as a gesture of friendliness. However, for Lin Yu, accustomed to the reserved manners of the East, this gesture makes him feel extremely awkward and uncomfortable. Ling Yichen, in his performance, precisely conveyed Lin Yu's embarrassment and shyness through subtle body movements, such as a slight stiffness in his body and a hint of panic in his eyes. Jun Mo Ran skillfully grasped Eric's personality traits; his embrace and kiss were natural and fluid, his face radiating a sincere smile, perfectly showcasing Eric's hospitality. Through their nuanced performances, this scene vividly presented the differences in social etiquette between Eastern and Western cultures, and the subtle emotional impact these differences had on the characters' first meeting.

As the plot unfolds, the two characters' feelings deepen, but cultural differences also lead to conflict. In a scene about expressing love, Eric wants to publicly declare his love for Lin Yu, believing that love should be passionate and flamboyant, letting the whole world know his feelings. Lin Yu, however, is deeply influenced by the more reserved and subtle view of love in Eastern culture. He feels that love is a private and profound emotion, best savored quietly in private moments. During the filming of this scene, Ling Yichen and Jun Mo Ran engaged in in-depth discussions and adjustments. Ling Yichen attempted to understand Lin Yu's cultural background, portraying his discomfort with Eric's overly direct expression of love while simultaneously conveying to the audience his deep appreciation and emotion for the relationship. Through eye contact, subtle frowns, and hesitant expressions, he delicately portrayed Lin Yu's complex inner world. While respecting Eric's personality traits, Jun Mo Ran appropriately adjusted the scale of the performance, allowing Eric's emotional expression to be passionate and unrestrained, while also taking into account Lin Yu's feelings, so as not to make the audience feel too abrupt or offensive.

When dealing with conflicts and contradictions in their relationship, characters from Eastern and Western cultural backgrounds react very differently. When the two argue due to misunderstandings, Eric tends to directly express his dissatisfaction and opinions, even raising his voice when emotionally charged, attempting to resolve the issue through heated debate. Lin Yu, on the other hand, prefers silence and self-reflection. He carefully considers the causes of the conflict, looking for problems within himself, and hopes to resolve the conflict tactfully. In a heated argument scene, Ling Yichen and Jun Mo Ran fully demonstrated their acting skills, vividly portraying the conflict arising from these cultural differences. Ling Yichen's silence and the hidden pain in his eyes contrasted sharply with Jun Mo Ran's anger and agitation, allowing the audience to deeply feel the emotional entanglements and communication barriers caused by cultural differences in a cross-cultural relationship.

Besides cultural differences, language was another challenge they faced when filming scenes depicting a cross-cultural romance. Although they had acquired a certain level of English communication skills through prior study and preparation, delivering their English lines naturally, fluently, and emotionally during filming remained a significant challenge. Especially when expressing delicate emotions like love, accurately controlling intonation, pace, and tone became a problem they needed to repeatedly refine. In a scene of heartfelt confession, Jun Mo Ran, playing Eric, expresses his love to Lin Yu in English. To make this line sound more sincere and moving, Jun Mo Ran practiced repeatedly before filming, carefully studying the pronunciation and stress of each word, as well as the intonation of the entire sentence. He tried various expressions, ultimately finding a tone that both reflected Eric's passion and conveyed the tenderness deep within his heart. When Ling Yichen listens to Jun Mo Ran's confession, he also needs to respond in English. In his performance, he pays attention to the emotional eye contact and the coordination of body language, and uses his performance to make up for any possible shortcomings in language, so that the audience can truly feel the emotional ups and downs of Lin Yu when he hears the confession.

During the filming of the cross-cultural romance, Ling Yichen and Jun Moran actively sought advice from the director, screenwriter, and cultural consultant to gain a deeper understanding of the differences between Eastern and Western cultures in terms of concepts of love and family, in order to better portray their characters. They read extensively on the comparison of Eastern and Western cultures and watched many films and television series on the theme of cross-cultural romance, drawing inspiration and experience from different works. At the same time, they also shared and exchanged their understanding of the characters and cultural differences with other actors, jointly exploring how to more realistically present the emotional story of a cross-cultural romance in their performances.

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