在浙江中部，有一个因小商品交易而闻名的城市——义乌。这个算不上大的小城吸引了一个叙利亚小伙子的关注。

        2014年，叙利亚人麦克大学毕业后选择到浙江义乌创业。他先是在义乌商学院学习汉语，之后便在义乌开了一个外贸公司，帮助父亲处理外贸业务，成为一名“生意人”。

        但麦克还有另外一个身份，那就是演员，在热播剧《海上牧云记》《鸡毛飞上天》以及正在热播的新版《倚天屠龙记》中都有他的身影。从2014年到现在，麦克已经出演了大大小小40多部影视作品。四年的时间，他从一名普通的群众演员升级为横店的特约演员，片酬也从最初的一天几百元涨到了一天几千元。

横店实现演艺梦

        横店，被称为“中国好莱坞”。在这里，不仅有光鲜靓丽的大明星，还有那些蹲在剧组等待机会的群众演员，麦克曾经也是群众演员中的一员。但幸运的是，从入行起，麦克的片约一直不断，目前已经从群众演员变成一名特约演员。

        或许就像每个天真烂漫的小孩子一样，看过几部炫酷的电视电影，就想着长大以后要做一个演员、当一个明星。小的时候，麦克经常在影视剧中看到中国功夫，而且非常喜欢李小龙、成龙。“他们的功夫很厉害，演的都是伸张正义的大英雄，演得那么逼真，太帅了！”跟笔者说到这儿，麦克情不自禁地模仿起了李小龙的招牌动作。

        在叙利亚读完高中，麦克去马来西亚留学。半工半读的他，曾经观看过一个T台秀。看到那些打扮精致、身材姣好的模特，麦克和她们一一合影。就在麦克和模特们拍照的时候，主办方发现了这个外形俊朗的小伙子。更巧的是，当天的T台秀正好缺少一个男模特，主办方当即邀请麦克上台。这让麦克对自己产生了信心。

        在义乌商学院学习汉语时，麦克参加了学院开设的模特班，表演的天赋和俊朗的外形让麦克在模特班脱颖而出。后来，一位横店的经纪人看到麦克的照片和视频，一眼相中了他。就这样，麦克开始了他在横店的表演之路。

        初来乍到的麦克什么戏都接。即使只是一些小配角，没有几个镜头，他也很珍惜出演机会并很开心地投入其中。好天赋加上诚恳认真的态度，麦克给很多合作过的导演留下了深刻的印象。经过几年的磨炼，麦克成为一名特约演员，还在横店有了自己的经纪人。更令麦克开心的是，他有了选择权。如果说以前的他是追求数量以求经验的话，现在的他则是追求质量提升演技。

        事实上，拍戏很辛苦。比如，对于一些古装的剧本，麦克要花很长时间去钻研搞懂其中的情节；对于一些武打剧中的动作要反复练习，一不小心还会受伤；在剧组中的工时都是十几小时起步，戏拍完了还要带妆等待……但一提到拍戏，麦克眼睛里充满了光，他说自己通过拍戏认识了许多中国明星，并且跟胡军、张翰甚至是最近大火的朱一龙都合作过。当然，拍戏更吸引他的是可以体验很多在现实世界中无法去做的事情。在不同的作品中，他扮演过老师、医生、士兵、飞行员等等。

人在异乡不孤单

        麦克最初来中国并不是为了去横店演戏。2014年，麦克从马来西亚大学毕业后来到浙江义乌。在这之前，他曾想过留在马来西亚吉隆坡发展，但大学几年的经历让他发现吉隆坡的生活节奏并不适合他。麦克的祖父和父亲都因为生意的缘故多次来往中国，加上义乌小商品城的名声在外，麦克最终选择来到浙江义乌创业。

        来到异国他乡，语言是一个外国人首先要面对的“硬核”难题。虽然麦克能用英语沟通，但这不能满足日常的交流。于是他报考义乌商学院，进行为期一年的汉语学习。麦克的学习能力很强，又有跨国生活的经历，所以他很快就通过了HSK汉语等级考试，并且适应了在义乌的生活。现在的他，汉语已十分流利。

        说起义乌，麦克赞不绝口，四年的时间足够让他爱上这里。虽然这几年来麦克走南闯北，去过中国很多的地方，但他还是最喜欢义乌。义乌不比大城市，却胜在生活简单舒适，方便快捷，还有不少的外国餐厅让他能享受家乡的味道。而且义乌人热情包容，浓厚的小商品交易氛围也让他保持创业的初心。目前，在帮助父亲处理外贸业务的同时，麦克还打算和朋友开发一个APP，帮助外国人在中国做生意。

        今后的他，在创业的同时，还会坚持在横店拍戏，享受拍戏带给他的乐趣。当然，他也希望自己能够早日攒足钱，和女友一起在义乌买一套属于自己的房子。

The Way to Stardom：A Syrian in Hengdian World Studios

The story of Mike, from Syria, is a vivid illustration of the trials and tribulation as well as the rewards of all the effort of the aspiring dreamers in the Hengdian World Studios experience on their way from extras to stardom.

After graduation from college in 2014, Mike landed in Yiwu to pursue his entrepreneurial dream and help with his father’s business. His foreign trade company in the world’s largest small commodities trading hub opened its door right after he finished his language study at the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College, where he honed his Chinese.

Over the years, Mike worked up the ladder from a nameless extra into a legendary guest actor, releasing his passion and talent in more than 40 films and TV dramas, including  (2017) and  (2017). He will also appear in the new TV edition of Louis Cha’s  ready to make its debut.

In what’s dubbed “China’s Hollywood”, Mike started off as a temporary actor, just like all the others struggling to catch the eye of talent scouts and film directors. He fell in love with Chinese kung-fu when he was a child. “The kung-fu films and TV dramas I watched when I was a little boy turned me into a huge fan of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. They are the symbol of justice, and they are so cool,” recalls Mike.

Mike’s stage debut was in Malaysia, where he spent a few years after graduation from high school in Syria. His handsome face caught the eye of an organizer of a runway show when he was taking photos with the models. The experience gave him self-confidence that he thought becoming an actor someday might be a little more than just a daydream.

It did not take Mike too long to stand out in the “model class” he attended at the Yiwu college. One day he got a phone call from a middleman based in Hengdian, where the Hengdian World Studios is located. The rest of the story is pretty much plain sailing.

As an extra, Mike could not afford to say no to any role he was offered a chance to play. His patience and full devotion paid off. Finally the day came when he had the freedom to choose what he wanted to play.

For Mike, the language obstacle sometimes brings enormous extra pressure to handle, especially when it comes to scripts written in classical Chinese. “It is not easy for native speakers to figure out everything, not to mention for a foreigner.” The action scenes also involve a lot of hard work, and practice does not necessarily make perfect. “You get hurt easily, and it is commonplace to wait on the spot for hours for the next scene to start,” Mike shares, his eyes shining. For him, however, all the hardship is worthwhile. He has worked with some of the most popular TV and movie personalities in China, including Hu Jun, Zhang Han and Zhu Yilong. In Hengdian, he has made many friends over the years.

“It has been exciting because what I can do in those movies is not something I can possibly try in the real world; and being able to live the life of a pilot for a while is pretty thrilling,” remarks the Syrian.

It took Mike only one year’s study in Yiwu to pass the HSK, the standardized test of Standard Chinese language proficiency for non-native speakers such as foreign students and overseas Chinese. Now speaking fluent Chinese, he calls Yiwu his second hometown. Over the years, he has traveled a lot and has been to many places all over the country, but the small-city lifestyle, together with its vibrant business atmosphere, seems to have met all the needs of his living a comfortable life in a foreign country. With a good many restaurants representing a smorgasbord of culinary styles, he never feels the need to be homesick when it comes to food. Outside the showbiz engagements, he is still a businessman, lending a hand for his father’s foreign trade business and working with his friends to launch an APP that promises to provide valuable tips and information for businesspeople in China.

One of his New Year resolutions is to make more money so that in the near future he and his girlfriend will have a sweet home in Yiwu.