People’s Artist Trần Hạnh (March 12, 1929 – March 4, 2021) was a Vietnamese actor. Best known to the audience for his portrayal of impoverished peasants stuck in ironic miseries, he was born in Hanoi to a worker at the Ngô Tử Hạ printing factory on Nhà Thờ Street, and to a mother who was a small-sized merchant. His dad passed away when he was 8, and to support his mother he worked as a shoemaker, during which time he also participated in drama classes at the City’s Youth Social Club; in here, he befriended many artists who would later become influential figures in Vietnamese cinema like Đoàn Dũng, Trọng Khôi,..
In the early 1950s, Trần Hạnh joined Hanoi Theatre. He achieved many accolades at national drama festivals and was a highly established actor, but the highlight of his career only came in the late 70s and early 80s when he played the role of the revered patriot and poet Nguyễn Trãi in the poetic play “Lam Sơn Tụ Nghĩa”, which won the Gold Medal at the National Drama Festival; he aslo took leading roles in the plays "Tiền tuyến gọi" (The Front Line Calls"), "Âm mưu và tình yêu" ("Conspiracy and Love") directed by Nguyễn Đình Nghi. The playwright Lưu Quang Vũ praised him as “the only person to be able to rightly portray Nguyễn Trãi”, and the General Secretary Trường Chinh complimented him in person for his performance in "Âm mưu và tình yêu”.
Trần Hạnh retired from the Hanoi Theatre in 1989 and began to work in films. His first feature film role was in "Chiếc bình tiền kiếp" by Nguyễn Hữu Phần. He then participated in many other films such as "Tướng về hưu," "Hãy tha thứ cho em," "Cỏ lau," "Người đàn bà thứ hai," "Làng nổi,"...His first TV role, also his favorite, was the role of Mr. Cần in the series "Cuốn sổ ghi đời" by Tất Bình. At the 11th Vietnam Film Festival in 1996, he won the Best Actor award in the film "Nước mắt đàn bà" ("Tears of a Woman"). At the 2010 National Television Festival, he was honored with the Contribution Award for his role in the film "Ngõ lỗ thủng," directed by Quốc Trọng. In 2017, he participated in "Cha cõng con" in the role of a blind man.
The actor passed away at his home on March 4, 2021, aged 92.
