The February 16 episode of Melody Connection, which focused on film music, featured two special guests, actress Thuy Anh and comedian Trung Ruoi, . When host Anh Tuan asked about his path to acting, Trung Ruoi candidly shared: "To report to my boss and colleagues, I went to 20 auditions and didn't get a single role. So I had to take a different approach to entering the profession—starting with short comedy sketch online".
Trung Ruoi revealed that his first television role was in a comedy sketch. He got the opportunity thanks to director Do Thanh Hai (now Deputy General Director of Vietnam Television), who invited him to join through actor Do Duy Nam.
His path to acting was far from easy. Ruoi first studied a different major before pursuing stage acting. Born into a family with a strong artistic background, his parents were deeply passionate about the arts—his father wrote poetry, and his mother, originally from Quang Tri, was part of a performing arts troupe during wartime. Growing up in such an environment, Trung Ruoi was exposed to the arts from an early age and often performed in school plays.
Explaining his nickname, Trung Ruoi recalled: "Back in the Yahoo days, I had a super simple username: ‘Dap Con Ruoi’ (Swat the Fly). Later, when Facebook became trendy, everyone just adopted their Yahoo nicknames over. At school, my friends started calling me ‘Trung Ruoi’ to distinguish me from other Trungs. When I entered showbiz, comedian Minh Tit advised me to adopt a stage name, similar to artists like Quang Teo and Giang Coi. So I told him, ‘Just call me Trung Ruoi!’
During the show, Trung Ruoi also talked about playing Ly "Toet" in the TV series Doc Dao. At first, he assumed it would be another comedic role similar to his previous performances, bringing comic relief to a serious film.
Trung Ruoi as Ly "Toet" in the film Doc Dao
"When we heard the name Ly 'Toet' and learned that he was from the highlands, we initially thought of the character as a talkative drunkard, a classic comedy stereotype. However, I asked the director to change the meaning of ‘Toet’—instead of implying drunkenness, I wanted it to refer to his squinted eyes, making the character unique. On the set, I also suggested reducing his dialogue and using rhyming lines instead to give him a more distinctive touch", Trung Ruoi said.
The episode of Melody Connection, featuring TV drama soundtracks, will be rebroadcast at 2:10 PM on February 19 on VTV1.
