Vietnamese actor Liên Bỉnh Phát recently made history at one of Taiwan’s most prestigious national award ceremonies.
On October 18, Taiwan held the 60th Golden Bell Awards, an annual award organized by the Ministry of Culture to honor outstanding television and radio productions, often considered the Taiwanese equivalent to the Emmy Awards. According to Vietnam News, Liên Bỉnh Phát clinched the Golden Bell Award for Best Male Lead in a Television Series for his role in the medical drama The Outlaw Doctor. This is the first time a Vietnamese actor has been bestowed this honor in the award’s history.
In The Outlaw Doctor, Phát plays Phạm Văn Ninh, a licensed plastic surgeon in Vietnam who carries out illegal procedures in Taiwan for migrant workers to make money to cover his own mother’s medical treatment. Liên Bỉnh Phát was lauded by critics for his nuanced portrayal of a complex character that straddles many boundaries, from morality, language to, at times, literal life and death.
At the award ceremony, the actor wore an orange áo dài as he gave his acceptance speech: “On receiving the award, Phát said: "I see this as a reward for my long journey and for everyone who has always believed in and supported me. More than anything, I feel a greater responsibility as a Vietnamese artist to share our stories and spirit with the world.”
He added that he would donate half his prize to a fund aiming to provide assistance to migrant workers in Taiwan, who are likely to face situations that his character and those he operated on in the TV series have been through.
Liên Bỉnh Phát rose to fame in Vietnam after landing the lead role in the film Song Lang (dir. Leon Quang Lê, 2018), playing a gruff debt collector with a heart of gold. Before winning the Golden Bell this year, Phát also won the Tokyo Gemstone Award in the Best Newcomer category of Tokyo International Film Fest 2018 for his role in Song Lang.
Watch Liên Bỉnh Phát's acceptance speech below:
Top photo via Tai Sounds.
