原文作者：佚名

　2010年，年仅17岁的印度男孩苏拉·沙玛（suraj sharma）被李安导演选中担任电影《少年派的奇幻漂流》的主角。历经两年的拍摄时间，该片终于于2012年上映，引起全球影迷的热捧。而影片的主角苏拉·沙玛也因此一炮走红，从一个无名小卒变成一位炙手可热的影视新星。有人羡慕他，觉得他第一次演戏就有幸担纲如此重要的角色；也有人质疑他，认为从未拍过戏的他未必经得起挑战。羡慕也好，质疑也罢，苏拉·沙玛最终用实际行动向世人证明了自己。
 　　it would be an exaggeration， says suraj sharma with a laugh， to describe what he did in the adaptation of life of pi1） as "acting"， despite the admiration he is swiftly accumulating for his role as piscine patel， the boy stranded2） on a lifeboat with a bengal tiger for 227 days.
 　　in fact， suraj is wonderful in the film. it's partly the luxury of seeing an unknown teenage actor in such a big role that makes him so believable as pi， but mainly because he is so good.
 　　it was his younger brother who convinced suraj to go along to the casting call. at first he says he didn't want the role， "but by the time i reached the fourth round of auditions3）， i really， really wanted it. i hadn't really done anything in my life， and i thought， 'maybe i can finally do something and accomplish something.'"[论文网]
 　　by then， suraj knew what the film was， knew ang lee was directing. at the final audition he met lee. "and i was so nervous i forgot my lines. i thought， 'ok， now i've lost it.' [lee] gave me another chance. he talked to me， directed me. in less than five minutes—i don't even know how—it's just the way he looks at you and how he talks， it becomes very real. the second time， i read my piece and i started crying."
 　　the life of pi， which was published in 2001， was widely considered to be unfilmable—piscine patel's months at sea， with only a tiger named richard parker for company. its success would rest on its young lead. it must have been daunting4）. for much of the film， suraj had to act alone against a blue screen—the tiger， and endless ocean， were put in digitally in post-production. he got to see the tigers that were used as models for richard parker being trained， "and i would use them as reference， but i never got to be on the boat with a tiger". was it difficult to conjure up5） such convincing panic， when he had to act opposite what looked like a large blue pillow？ "it was， but ang makes things real. it's not really about what you're acting opposite， or what you're seeing； it's really about what you're feeling. that's what he makes very clear."
 　　lee coached suraj in acting； charlie croughwell6） and his son cam taught him how to swim. "one day， we went out kayaking7）. cam was sitting in front and at one point he turned round and said， 'jump off.' i said， 'no way.' cam flips the boat over so now i'm underwater upside down with my legs inside the kayak. i swim out and i try to get above the water and i'm freaking out. i looked down and there was nothing i could see and i started flailing8）. i heard charlie say， 'just relax.' at one point i came up for a second， took a huge breath， went

back down and then i gave up. and when i gave up， i came to the surface." he smiles. "that's how i learned how to swim."

　　in the following weeks， lee had filled suraj's ipod with what he calls "spooky9） god music" to help him connect with the polytheist10） pi's spirituality. hours of yoga and meditation helped with this too， though it also taught suraj how to hold his breath for the long shots he would be doing underwater. around four hours a day were spent swimming， and he had to lose 20% of his body weight to portray the malnourished11） castaway12）.
 　　to help him feel pi's isolation， lee had asked him to try not to speak to anybody. how long did that last？ days？ weeks？ "about two months，" he says with a laugh. "i felt like i was going insane. i was so far away from everybody i knew. i was doing things i had never done before. i got scared of myself at one point. everything is so surreal and dreamlike."
 　　with the film's release， suraj's fame growing， he is wary13） of how life could change. do the other people at college already treat him differently？ he nods. "they've started to. too much attention， stuff like that， is not good." he gives a small smile， a teenage boy who has gone on his own transformational voyage. "things have changed， i guess."
 　　皮辛·帕特尔是那个和一只孟加拉虎一起被困在一只救生船上长达227天的男孩，尽管苏拉·沙玛凭借这一角色迅速积累起人气，但他却笑着表示，如果把他在根据小说《少年派的奇幻漂流》改编而来的同名电影中的表现称为“表演”，那就有点言过其实了。www.11665.Com
 　　其实，苏拉在影片中的表现非常精彩。这一方面是由于难得看到一个无名的少年演员担纲如此重要的一个角色，令他扮演的派十分真实可信，但更主要的是因为他确实表现出色。
 　　当时是苏拉的弟弟说服他一起去试镜的。他说自己最初并没想演这个角色，“但当我进入第四轮试镜的时候，我真的发自内心想得到这个角色了。那时我的人生中还没有真正取得过什么成就，于是我就想也许这次我终于能做点什么并把它做好”。
 　　到那个时候，苏拉已经知道这是怎样一部影片，也知道李安是影片导演。在最后一次试镜时，他见到了李安。“我紧张得把台词都忘了。我想：‘好吧，这回没戏了。’[李安]又给了我一次机会。他和我谈话，指导我如何表演。只用了不到五分钟——我自己甚至都不明白是怎么回事——仅仅只是他看你的眼神和他说话的口吻，就让我入戏了。第二次试戏时，我读了自己的台词，然后就哭了起来。”
 　　2001年出版的《少年派的奇幻漂流》一书被人们普遍认为是无法搬上银幕的作品——皮辛·帕特尔在海上漂流了好几个月，陪伴他的只有一只名叫理查德·帕克的老虎。影片要想成功就要看其年轻主演的表现，而这一直以来必定都令人望而却步。在影片拍摄的大部分时间里，苏拉必须在蓝幕前独自表演——那只老虎和无边无际的大海都是在后期制作时通过数码技术加进去的。他看到过那些“扮演”理查德·帕克的老虎接受训练时的情景，“我在表演时会参考它们，不过我从没和一只老虎一起在船上待过”。对着一个巨大的、蓝色的、看似枕头的东西表演，还要表现出如此真实的恐慌感是不是很难？“是很难，但是李安导演让一切都显得很真实。关键并不是你在对着什么表演，也不在于你看到了什么，而在于你感受到了什么。他把这一点说得很明确。”
 　　李安指导苏拉演戏，查利·克鲁维尔和他的儿子卡姆则教他游泳。“有一天，我们出去玩划艇。卡姆坐在前边，突然他转过身来说道：‘跳下去。’我说：‘决不。’卡姆就把小艇弄翻，结果我腿还在划艇里，人就头朝下栽进了水里。我从划艇下面游出来，想要回到水面上。我当时吓坏了。我往下看，什么都看不到，就开始胡乱地扑腾起来。我听到查利说：‘放松点。’有那么一瞬间，我的头露出了水面，我换了一大口气，然后又沉了下去，于是我放弃了挣扎。就在我放弃时，我又浮到了水面上。”苏拉笑了笑，“我就是这么学会游泳的。”
 　　在接下来的几周，李安在苏拉的ipod里装满了被他称作“鬼气森森的宗教音乐”，以帮助他和有多种宗教信仰的派的精神世界产生共鸣。持续数小时的瑜伽练习和冥想对此也很有帮助，而且这还让苏拉学会了在水下长时间拍摄时如何屏住呼吸。他每天要花大约四个小时来游泳，并且为了达到与营养不良的海难幸存者形似的效果，他不得不减掉20%的体重。
 　　为了帮助苏拉体会派的那种与世隔绝的处境，李安曾要求他尽量不要和任何人说话。他坚持了多久？几天？几个星期？“大概有两个月，”他笑着回答，“我觉得自己快要疯了。我远离所有认识的人，做着之前从未做过的事。我曾一度被自己吓到。一切都如此不真实，恍如梦境。”
 　　随着电影的上映和自己名气的增长，他对自己的生活会发生怎样的变化十分小心。大学里的其他人已经对他另眼相待了吗？他点点头。“是的，已经开始了。过多的关注以及诸如此类的事情让人感觉并不好。”他微微地笑了笑，这个少年已经踏上了自身的蜕变之旅。“我想，一切都不同以往了。”
 　　1. life of pi： 《少年派的奇幻漂流》，是加拿大作家扬·马特尔（yann martel，1963～）的第三部小说，荣获布克奖（booker prize）。小说讲述了少年皮辛·帕特尔（piscine patel）在海

上漂流的奇幻经历。
 　　2. strand [str?nd] vt. 使滞留
　　3. audition [???d??n] n. （拟进行表演者的）面试（指试演、试唱、试奏等）
　　4. daunting [d??nt??] adj. 令人畏缩的
　　5. conjure up： 设想，想出
　　6. charlie croughwell： 查利·克鲁维尔（1959～），专业的特技替身演员、特技协调员、导演，首部参演的影片为《回到未来》（back to the future），曾担任《蝙蝠侠归来》（batman returns）和《黑衣人2》（men in black 2）等多部影片的特技协调员。
 　　7. kayak [?ka??k] vi. 划单人划子；坐单人划子式小艇航行。n. 单人划子；小艇
　　8. flail [fle?l] vi. （胡乱地）摆动
　　9. spooky [?spu?ki] adj. <口>鬼一般的；阴森森的
　　10. polytheist [?p?l?θi：?st] n. 多神信仰（或崇拜）者
　　11. malnourished
　　[?m?l?n?r??t] adj. 营养不良的
　　12. castaway [?kɑ?st?we?] n. 乘船失事的人
　　13. wary [?we?ri] adj. 警惕的，小心的