| From TVB to
Young and Dangerous |
| |
François : How was your training to be an
actor at TVB? |
| |
Ekin : Nothing special, actually...Mmm, do you
mean the training class? At TVB, I followed the actor training course
twice (smile). |
| |
François : So, you learned directly on the
job, on the movie sets afterwards? |
| |
Ekin: Yes, day by day. |
| |
François : Was it after Mean Street
Story that you made friend with Andrew Lau? And can you
tell us more about your relationship with him? |
| |
Ekin: No, in fact we met after TVB. Andrew was
a cameraman for different kinds of movies at that time; he was joking
around by asking me to be the actor if he had even a chance to become
director. Later he really became director and he did ask me to be
an actor in his movie. |
| |
Vivian: it was for Mean Street Story right? |
| |
Ekin: Yes, it was my first collaboration with
him. |
| |
François : So basically it's a story of friendship
? |
| |
Ekin: Yes. He was actually very new at
that time and I was very new also. So we were not afraid to share
new ideas. That was how the friendship brought up. We are living
next door now (laughs). |
| |
François : You became very famous with
the Young and Dangerous series, how do you think of this character
now? |
| |
Ekin: I didn’t want to accept the role
in the first place, but I had to because of contract boundary (laughs). |
| |
François : Why didn't you like it?
Some people think those movies have a bad influence on youngsters.
Is it because of this? |
| |
Ekin: I didn’t really like its violence
and didn't want to play in a triad movie. However, I became famous
from this movie, even in New York, people recognize me thanks to
this series. I think it is like a gift given by God. |
| |
François : Which ones do you prefer in the
series? |
| |
Ekin: I like the first three ones most. |
| |
François : Very often in your movies written
by Manfred Wong, your girlfriend dies. How do you prepare yourself
in those scenes? Do you act them always the same way, or you try
to change your way of acting a little? |
| |
Ekin : (laughs) It depends how she dies.
If we were still heavily in love, I would be much sadder.
|
| Getting rid of his
idol image |
| |
François : You die at the end of “Good
bye Mr. Cool”. Was it a way for you to put an end to your
“Young and Dangerous” image, an image of an invincible
character? |
| |
Ekin: I like the script a lot at the beginning,
I didn’t intend to impose anything with this movie. But I
wanted to change my image a bit, and tell people I am a human being
as well. |
| |
François : When Running out
of Time 2 was announced, most people were disappointed
to know that you would replace Andy Lau. But you have surprised
a lot of people with a very charming performance. Do you think you
are changing? |
| |
Ekin: I just get more matured and prepared thanks
to experience, daily life experience. Personal experiences have
also changed my view for the film. |
| |
François : So is the character in this
movie is closer to your real character? |
| |
Ekin: No no! (smiling) |
| |
François : How was your relation with
Lau Ching Wan on this movie, did you have a nice time working with
him? |
| |
Ekin: yes, he is like my sifu (teacher), I already
knew him when we were at TVB. He taught me some skills on acting.
He is a bit more senior. |
| |
François: Did you enjoy the bicycle
chase in the movie, which is more about fun than speed and special
effects? |
| |
Ekin: I enjoy acting with emotion. The expression
is different. In Young and Dangerous, it’s
copied from a comic book, the image is young and cool. I just have
to follow the character. I copied the face from the book. In Running
out of Time 2, the director asked me to assimilate myself
into the character and release more of my humanity, my sensitivity
and true character. |
| |
François : Since Running out
of Time 2, you have played more human and nice characters.
Do you think this movie was a turning point which changed your career?
|
| |
Ekin: Hong Kong stars are like that, they just care about their
physical appearance at the beginning, but the audience get bored
afterwards and expect more. People want refreshment, they want
new things. So then, you have to show your real acting skills.
I had to wait for my chances to come since actors are very passive
in HK, we always have to wait for someone to ask. |
| |
François : Are you afraid that Hong
Kong people will not accept your new changes of role, and want you
to go back and keep your idol image such as the one in Young
and Dangerous? |
| |
Ekin: I think it is challenging. I want to establish
a new image which can give the same impact as the Young and Dangerous
image. |
| His latest
movies |
| |
François : In My Wife Is
18, you were playing a man not at ease with women, that's
very different from your usual image. Did you choose to play this
role, or did someone propose to you ? |
| |
Ekin: I really appreciated to have this chance
to play this kind of role. It was the script writer who invited
me. I think it is very challenging to act like this. This also shows
to people that I can act all different kinds of roles. |
| |
François : So it wasn't difficult to
convince the scriptwriter to use you for the role? |
| |
Sandy: No, the scriptwriter wanted to challenge
Ekin in asking him to try to play a totally different sort of role
in the film. |
| |
François : You played with the other
Twins, Gillian, a bit later in The Twins Effect. What do you think
of the them? |
| |
|
| |
Ekin: Very annoying and troublesome (general
laughs). |
| |
Sandy: Sometimes he makes fun of them and say
that they are fat, they would usually tease him back by implying
that he likes only tall and skinny girls like Gigi. |
| |
Ekin: Yes, they are very trouble. (laughs). |
| |
François : Heroic Duo
is an action movie, but you also play with emotions, to fight with
Francis Ng at the end for instance. Are you happy to try something
like this? |
| |
Ekin: I think I need to appreciate the director
because he didn’t look at me the way people did before, as
a cool and idiot hero. I really must thank him. |
| |
François : Was it his purpose to do
action movie with human emotions like this? |
| |
Ekin: Benny Chan wasn’t a catholic before
but now he is. He was kind of inventing unrealistic characters.
But now, he puts humanity in his films. |
| |
François : What about the chase on
the roofs ? You seemed to be more comfortable with this scene than
Raymond Wong Ho Yin. Was it really easy for you to do this? |
| |
Ekin: Not easy at all. In HK, action is very
important and I think if I could make it, I would add some credit
to myself, and I like challenge myself! So I did it. |
| |
François : Now about, Floating
Landscape. Your character is important, even if he doesn't
have a long time on screen. Your voice was particularly important,
did you concentrate on it? |
| |
Sandy: Some of the audience after the premiere
even said that Ekin was the ghost in the film (laughs). |
| |
Ekin: I had been waiting long for this kind
of artistic chance, I had chance to use the skill I learnt from
TVB. I didn’t work particularly on my voice this time, I express
myself daily. Last year, I helped a radio station for an anti-smoking
campaign to shoot a short film and I met Stanley Kwan. He
encouraged me to make a short movie as well. In the process he begun
to know me and he therefore asked me to participate to Floating
Landscape. |
| |
Francois: Are you ready to do some other movies
like that, even though you aren't paid as much? (Sandy laughs as
crazy) |
| |
Ekin: Depends on the script. |
| |
François: In Anna in Kung-fu
Land, with Miriam Yeung, you play again a passive character,
especially compared to women. Men usually take the lead in HK movies
but recently, female characters always make fun of male characters.
What do you think of this trend? |
| |
Ekin: When economy is not good, men will become
more rational but women are always irrational. So when the economy
in HK is getting better, maybe the trend will switch back. |
| |
Sandy: In the old times, like my parents' generation,
my dad used to buy movie tickets and ask my mum to go the theatres
with him; while in these days, it's girls who buy the tickets and
ask their boyfriends to go with them, it's girls who decide now.
(laughs) |
| |
François: What is your next project?
|
| |
Ekin: Another movie with Twins is coming...
So I'm planning a lot of troubles for the next month (laughs) |
| Various questions
about his career and HK Cinema |
| |
François : Any character you dream
to play? |
| |
Ekin: I think I need to be a director for that
– it would be a science fiction romantic story with lots of
visual effects. An unrealistic love story is the most romantic and
touching one. |
| |
François: Talking about special effect,
you have worked a lot with “Blue screen”, how is it? |
| |
Ekin: It is the most difficult one. But unfortunately
I never received any award by acting in these movies (smile). I
enjoy it a lot since I am full of imagination. It is indeed a challenge
of one's acting skill. |
| |
François : You have played a lot of
times with the same actors/actresses, like Jordan Chan, Cecilia
Cheung. Were you afraid of repeating yourself by working with the
same people all the time? |
| |
Ekin: It was a challenge at the beginning to
work with them all the time. But now, I stopped working with them.
If I can work with them on other types of movie and it is still
good, it is an improvement. But if a while later we can act in different
movies, that’s even better, we can meet again and share new
things. |
| |
François : Are they your good friends
in life also? |
| |
Ekin: Cecilia is not my good friend (laughs),
she is like a younger sister. Jordan Chan, we are good friends but
we don’t contact each other. We just talk together when we
meet. It's just like in ancient time, two Chinese swordsmen bumped
into each other occasionally and said a good greeting like: “Hey!
You're still alive!”. |
| |
 |
Ekin talking about
his favorite actresses |
|
| |
François : Do you plan to put all your
movie songs in a CD like Sammi Cheng did? |
| |
Ekin: I have. In BMG, a few years ago. The CD's
named "Ekin 13". |
| |
François : The question's actually
for a friend of mine, he's your fan and has seen all your films.
(<-- very cowardly attempt from the webmaster to put the blame
on the lousy question of Alain)
Did you receive a special training at TVB for action movies?
|
| |
Ekin: At TVB, I made a lot of ancient style
dramas sold overseas. I picked up the skill at that time. But in
real movie, I have never received special training for every different
action movie, I just picked up during the shooting, I learned bit
by bit. |
| |
François : Can I ask some questions
about Gigi ? (smiling) |
| |
Sandy: yes, you can try (smiling) |
| |
François : People thought that you
were not a very good actor, and that Gigi was not a good actress.
But then you made Running out of Time 2, and she
was nominated for the best supporting actress for A War
Named Desire. You were both changing into better actors
almost at the same time. Did your relationship helped you in your
careers? |
| |
Ekin : In HK, it's a very sad thing for an actor
and an actress to go out together since the press keeps chasing
you. All these daily experiences help us to improve our acting skills
now. |
| |
François : What do you think about her career
in HK cinema? |
| |
Ekin: She is a bit too tall and it's hard to
find an actor that suits her (smile). |
| |
Sandy: Besides this physical handicap she's
perfect. Andy Lau is too small for her... there's only Takashi who
is tall enough to suit her. But it's really a miner problem though
in the HK movie industry (laughs) |
| |
François : What do you think about the recent
HK cinema evolution after all the big troubles since 1995? Many
stars going to US, economic problems... It's slowly getting better
and better. |
| |
Ekin: When I arrived in the movie industry,
it was the bad time already. But life has to go on. It is my work
and I try to survive. |
| |
Sandy: The really worst time was 1995... |
| |
François: Or maybe 1997. |
| |
Ekin: No, I disagree, I've already thought
about that, ten years earlier, the boxoffice was almost the same
as now... |
| |
Sandy: But the truly dead period of the HK movie
industry was 1995-1997 as François says, really!... Even
for Taiwan and mainland China at the time. You may think about just
Hk, but ten years before, it was dead everywhere. |
| |
François : Talking about China, the Chinese
market is waiting for HK movies. Are you afraid of censorship? |
| |
Ekin: No, I'm not, China has been more open since the
last few years. |
| |
François : How do you see the future
of HK cinema? |
| |
Ekin: A good script is very important. Human
resources are very essential. HK cinema is quite conservative, while
Korean movies are more creative and bold to try new things. |
| |
Sandy: They dare to try new scripts. While
the HK movie industry is very conservative and movie directors are
very safe, they always follow current trends and use popular actors.
|
| |
François: How do you see your career
in the future? |
| |
Ekin: Level one is finished. Now is the level
two, but I don’t actually know how many levels there are.
A Chinese fortune teller said I would work until 60 years old. Maybe
I will. Maybe one day I can be the new Sean Connery! (laughs) |
| |
François: Thank you! |
| |
Ekin: Thank you! |
All our thanks to Koris, Sandy and Ekin Cheng for their help, kindness
and availability.
From TVB to Young and Dangerous
