Minh Nhi (C) plays a patient in a mental institution in the play Nuoc Mat Nguoi Dien (Crazy Man’s Tears) at the Phu Nhuan Theater

After years of struggling for respect as a popular but hotheaded comedian, Minh Nhi has jettisoned his rash public behavior for a more serious career.

In Me va nguoi tinh (Mother and Lover) now playing at HCMC’s Phu Nhuan Theater, Minh has directed a riveting, psychologically taut drama, a far cry from the screwball comedies he became known for two decades ago.

It’s been a rough 20 years for Minh, plagued by stories of violent outbursts and disrespectful behavior, complete with a year of self-imposed exile. Through much of his career, Minh was as hated as he was loved.

But by any account, it looks like the former jester has settled down and transformed himself from the unruly egomaniac we once knew into a serious artist dedicated to the finer facets of theater.

Teaching troubles

After graduating as a stage director from Ho Chi Minh City’s College of Stage and Cinematography in 1988, Minh began his career by founding a comedy troupe with his friends and former classmates. Minh and one of his partners, Huu Chau, quickly shot to fame as a Laurel and Hardyesque duo whose mad-cap antics often stemmed from their humorous height difference. With his short stature, Minh fit the part of rebel with a Napoleon complex perfectly.

But the lines between art and life soon began to blur as Minh let loose a series of public outbursts that nearly ruined his reputation.

In 1992, Minh began lecturing at his alma-mater. But Minh almost immediately became one of the school’s least-popular teachers, often condemning students, teachers and administrators alike if they disagreed with him. He was quick to lash out at students and was even accused of beating them with a stick he kept in the classroom.

“I became a very bad, trigger-happy guy whenever anyone wouldn’t bend to my will,” Minh said frankly. “I was so self-centered that I was ready to cancel shows and ignore everyone else if things didn’t go my way.”

After a decade of turbulence, things could have gotten better when Minh was presented with two new opportunities in 2004. But things only got worse.

First, Minh began working on a contract for the prestigious IDECAF Theater in HCMC, which is run in part by the French government.

Then, an ambitious Minh pooled together nearly all his assets to found a private theater with Quoc Thao, a famous dramatic actor at the time. They built a theater on Tran Cao Van Street from scratch but the venture soon collapsed due to a licensing problem.

Emotionally destroyed by the loss, and a wreck both professionally and personally, Minh fled Vietnam for the US. There, where he performed in relative obscurity without so much as a word of contact with the Vietnamese theater world for a year. He got married there, but he also broke contracts with both IDECAF and the college.

It wasn’t until 2005 that Minh returned to Vietnam, but neither IDECAF nor the college would have him back. Feeling betrayed, Minh spent the next months bitter, angry and feeling more alone than he had when he left.

But the solitude did not last long.

With a little help from his friends

In the toughest of times, Minh found there were still people nearby who kept him from hitting rock-bottom.

“Actor Thanh Loc and actress Hong Van helped me understand what a real friend is,” he said. “Loc and Van opened my mind.”

Minh said heart-to-heart talks with the two friends helped him see his wrongdoings.

“I closed my eyes and focused on modesty,” Minh said. “I decided to let bygones be bygone. It was all my fault, I couldn’t blame anyone else. Nor could I sit around and waste time wondering: ‘can I ever get back to the top?’”

Upon Minh’s return in 2006, Loc convinced IDECAF to hire him again after just a six-month suspension.

Hong Van has said she always trusted Minh Nhi’s instincts and believed in his abilities unwaveringly. In 2008, after Minh had been with Loc at IDECAF for two years, Van invited him to work at her Phu Nhuan Theatre as a deputy artistic director.

Minh said it was Loc and Van’s support that enabled him to get back on the stage and begin perusing dramas instead of comedy. Van especially encouraged Minh to pursue more serious roles, saying that his talent would be partially wasted if he only did comedies.

And the critics agree that he pulled it off with both his acting and directing. His works at Phu Nhuan, particularly Me va nguoi tinh, have been praised for their incisive critiques of human contradiction.

“Actually, the credit for the success of Me va nguoi tinh belongs to Hong Van,” said Minh.

“The play focuses on northern culture, but I’m a southern man, so Van had to ‘nurse’ the play a lot. In a new upcoming play, I’ll take on a very tragic role. I will try not to let Van down.”

All grown up

After years of both bitterness and sweetness the Minh Nhi of today said he’s fully satisfied with his life.

“Now I am 47, not young enough to be superficial,” he said.

Inspired by his sister, who has become a monk, Minh has even taken up meditation.

“It makes me feel comfortable and relieved.” Minh said he’s learned to be happy with what he has for the first time.

He said his work at Phu Nhuan, his occasional film and TV roles, and his part time job teaching acting at Lasta Company – a TV and film studio – are more than enough to keep him busy and happy. He said he’s finally been able to realize his true love for both acting and teaching.

“Maybe I’m lucky to have faced so much adversity,” he said. “Thanks to my troubles, I finally grew up.”

Reported by Hoang Kim