BQ Magazine Issue 51: I will continue no matter how tired I am

The past year to Kevin Cheng is not normal, whether it is Ghetto Justice winning him 3 Best Actor titles or Scarlet Heart's stardom resulting in him being nominated for Best Actor in Hua Ding to being invited to start in the drama version of Ip Man. All of these finally bringing the taste of success to someone who has already been in the industry for almost 20 years. 2012 TVB's Best Actor will be unveiled on the 17th of December and Kevin is again nominated. The selection process this year has a significant change: TVB's top management and professionals will not be involved in the final selection. This job will be passed on to the public - each person is allowed to vote once in each of the 3 open category. And because of this change, Kevin Cheng is now officially the last TVB voted Best Actor. From now on, this award which has been voted based by professionals of the industry on the individual's skill will undoubtedly become a popularity award.

For those who fell in love with the charming 8th Prince in Scarlet Heart will assume, based on his good looks, that he has had a smooth acting journey. On the contrary, Kevin has gone through a lot in his career. Kevin entered the industry in 1993 as a singer but because of differences in view with his then manager, he was "exiled" to Taiwan. He acted in teen series but he went unnoticed. He finally caught the public's attention as Jiang Yulang, a side-kick, in the TV series "The Legendary Siblings" and continued to play supporting roles before finally rising to lead role in 2003. He won his first Best Actor award with the TV series "Under The Canopy of Love" but that award invited numerous criticism that he wasn't worth it. It wasn't until 2011 when he won Best Actor again that he shut his critics up.

To Kevin, he owes his success today to his stubbornness and strong personality. He claims that he will only leave the entertainment industry for one reason: nobody is willing to give him any opportunity. If he ever gets to that point, he will not leave the industry he loves because of any other reason "I will listen to my inner voice."

The interesting thing is he was initially trained as a civil engineer, not an entertainer/performer. Because he grew up overseas, Kevin is stronger in his sciences while his Chinese is really bad. When he was living in United States, he stayed with his uncle, "My uncle and aunt are born and bred in USA. They taught English in my school and cannot speak a single word of Chinese. When I was living with them in their home, I wasn't allowed to speak Chinese. For every Chinese I spoke, they will deduct my pocket money as punishment. I only get a dollar a day so I will be left with nothing for food if it is deducted. I will rather be dead than to be caught speaking mandarin. As a result, my Chinese deteriorated really quickly while my English improved really quickly." When he got back to Hong Kong, he worked very hard to improve his math and his Chinese started improving but he never thought of becoming an actor then. After that, he returned to USA to continue his tertiary education. Kevin claims that he was never a good student. He will only attend classes as and when he feels like it. In class he will hide his earphones in his sleeves and listen to music throughout the class. 

Kevin actually competed in a talent show at 16 but because his mum thinks that he should finish his education, he chose not to sign any deals then. Although Kevin has since have a few album to his name, he regrets not having any representative songs to his name. 

Kevin knows himself very well. "I can be very impulsive at times. Chances of me saying the wrong things is very high in the past. Communication has never been my strength. I'm not eloquent. Temper wise, I am impulsive and stubborn."

Stubbornness is always a double edged sword. Although on the grounds of principle, there are still certain issues which he is still not willing to compromise but he believes that he has become more flexible. For example he did not use to like doing interviews but now he will try to cooperate in various aspects of his work. Since competing in the talent show at 16, he is considered a late bloomer. He wants to tell the Kevin 20 years ago and all those who are still holding on to their dreams that "Don't hurry. There are certain things that you have to go experience. Tomorrow will be a better day. There are certain paths that you must walk on. If mistaken, take it as an experience and do no repeat it."

BQ: Since the beginning of 2010 you have been shooting back to back. How busy are you really?

KC: Everyday passes very quickly. There is always something planned for tomorrow after finishing my job today. When people ask me how I feel about the award ceremonies, I say I don't have time to reflect but only to think what I have to do the next day. 

I think time passes very quickly for an actor. It's my 20th year next year, I know that chances do not come knocking on your door all the time. If you do not grab it now, you will never know when the next will come by. So when opportunity is knocking, you win some you lose some. There is no way you can win them all for example, you lose your personal life, cannot do what you love to do, not there for your friends. There really isn't a choice. Even my mum only gets to see me once every few months.

Actually I have nothing to complain about. I think that's life - you win some, you lose some. I make good use of the opportunity now in exchange for freedom in the future. How do I define that? That is to be able to choose to do only the things I like. I hope I have my own family by then, I can spend more time with my family, watch my kid grow and don't have to be away all the time shooting. 

BQ: You must have "lost" that you appreciate your "gain" now. Success indeed is a little late for you.....

KC: I won't dare say that I am successful now but I will say that things are smoother now than before. My journey hasn't been smooth, turning from singing to acting. From the TV series in Taiwan to going back to shoot in TVB, my journey has always been up and down. This makes me even more grateful with what I have now. It has taught me not to take things for granted - you need to give a lot but you might or might nor be rewarded but whatever it is, you must be able to give first.

BQ: As an outsider, you seem to hit rock bottom in 1997. Nobody offered you jobs. You even had to ask your mum for money.

KC: That's right. I had too much time on my hands then. Time passes very slowly and for a man, that's quite an agony. I am much happier now than before, at least my life is meaningful now and I am living my life to its fullest. It is definitely tiring but it is the same for all industry. Actually I don't always think about the unhappy stuff, is it important to me? Of course it does. I will not be where I am today if I have never gone through them. I clearly remember the unhappy days because those are the events that will push me along. I want to continue to be tired.

BQ: When you were down, did you still hold any hopes for the future?

KC: It never crossed my mind what the best case scenario will be. I just know that it shouldn't be like this *laughs*. How should I put it? To be resilient, you first have to have confidence in yourself. If there isn't even an opportunity holding on is a waste of time. I have a feeling that I shouldn't be eliminated of this game.

BQ: Was there a time when you thought of giving it all up and switch industry?

KC: No. My mum told me to leave and stop wasting my time endless times. You know how it is when your kid does not have a proper job or income. She's definitely worried about how I pass my time everyday. I totally understand how she felt then but I know that if I do not hold on, I will never know how my outcome will be. Whenever I'm tempted to give up, I will reflect why have I held on for so long in the first place.

BQ: Looking back, I think you owe it to your stubbornness. Is your mum relieved now?

KC: At least I don't have to take money from her anymore *laughs*! It's the opposite now - I give her what she needs. I owe her big time. (With your career on the right track, what gifts have you been giving your mum?) To be honest, my mum never liked any of the gifts I got her. I don't get my mum's taste. I have bought too many gifts which she doesn't even like so she told me: "Why don't you just give me cash and I'll get them myself." She thinks buying something she doesn't like is a waste of her time because she ends up having to bring them to exchange for other things. So I give her cash now *laughs*

BQ: Have you thought about your personal life? I'm sure this is your mum's biggest worry as well?

KC: This is not something I alone can control. God will arrange it for me. There should be someone out there for me I hope. It works in its own way so how can I not leave it to fate? *laughs*

BQ: In this industry, there are too many cases where on-screen couples become real-life lovers. Will that ever happen to you?

KC: I will not say it will never happen to me. In fact I have never thought about if my future wife will be from within the industry or out. I don't think that's relevant. What's important is that she is willing to move on in life with me and we must, of course, be right for each other.

BQ: Usually actors are more sentimental. I didn't expect you to be so rational.

KC: Relationships cannot be too sentimental. The thing you see when you first meet someone is his/her looks. I don't even know who he/she is or understand him/her. Do you know his/her character? How can she be my wife if I don't know her at all? Chances of love/marrying at first sight happening to me is close to zero. I'll be surprised if this marriage do not end up in divorce, totally not realistic.

BQ: There is really no point we get anxious on your behalf. Hopefully 2013 will bring some good news in this department.

KC: Yup, even my mum has given up and stopped being anxious about it. I will not get married for the sake of getting married. I will only marry the person who is right for me. If I know the marriage will most likely end up in a divorce, why marry in the first place? I hope if I meet that someone, we will grow old together.

BQ: In your job, are you those who can zone in and out from the character you are playing easily or is it difficult for you to pull away?

KC: In "The Last One Standing", I played a person who has just been released from jail after spending 10 years in there and out to seek revenge. He maintained a very nervous state of mind. I need to keep that state for 2 months. It was really tough! Everyone around me was afraid of me. I felt like people around was going to collapse, I was going to collapse but it helped me in playing the role. I was able to get into the state very quickly but I realised that I should not continue doing this in the future.

BQ: That's right. This way will hurt you mentally.

KC: But that time, I wanted that effect so I used the most traditional way of doing things (A stupid way?) I won't use that word to describe it. There are still a lot of actors out there who are still using this way *laughs*. So it's not about if it's stupid or not. I will describe it as tough. As you become more experienced, you will realise that it is possible to control. Back to your question, every character/role that I play, I put a part of me inside. Some people become the role while I make the role become me. If you think about it, the two are very different.

Whether it is Law Ba in "Ghetto Justice", Fu Chai in "Hero" or 8th Prince in "Scarlet Heart", they all reflect a part of me. I turn the character into me and then magnifying the particular characteristics of that role. For example, I magnified the mischievousness in me that you don't normally see when I played Law Ba. There are many sides to a person. With you I am one person, with my boss I am another person and when I'm with friends, I am again another person.