Derek Ting, tech exec turned filmmaker, pursues his passion
You don't have to be 'artsy' to have ideas, says Hong Kong-based New Yorker, who's been able to make, and act in, movies on his own terms
Derek Ting is comfortable in front of the camera, his sharp features making him an ideal leading man. And he has an equally sharp dress sense: his suit and pin-striped shirt on the day we meet wouldn't look out of place among the executives inhabiting the highest floors of IFC.
In fact, the New York native has straddled both the corporate and creative worlds. He was a successful tech executive before finding his true calling: film. And for Ting, the career shift came after a life-changing event for millions of people - the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011.
"The 9/11 attacks kind of changed my life," he says from his studio in Ap Lei Chau. "I was raised for a life in the corporate world where you work hard until you retire. But all that changed for me after 9/11 and I turned to acting. And for those people who say you can't shift from corporate to creative, that you can't have both, well, that's totally not true. Everyone has ideas. You can't say certain people have better ideas just because they're more 'artsy'."
Ting's love affair with acting started while studying at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. "Acting always gave me an amazing feeling, but I never thought of it as a career," he says.
He landed national commercials and bit parts on TV shows. But opportunities for bigger roles were scarce. "I was pursuing acting part-time, but I realised you can't take a back seat. Chances to do well are so small for anyone - no matter what colour, race or religion - so I decided to pursue my passion."
Seeing better opportunities in Asia, in 2006 Ting moved to Hong Kong, where he worked at CNN as a producer - "my first time at being a professional in the media".
