Actress Joyce Chen Yin-hang Reveals the Dark Side of Hong Kong Showbiz
Those who know her will agree she is a hybrid of sex symbol and comic—perhaps Hong Kong’s answer to a latter-day Goldie Hawn. To her friends, she is the living embodiment of compassion, as demonstrated by her work with animal welfare groups.
Photos: Kirk Kenny / studiozag.com | Venue: Le Meridien Cyberport
I joined TVB’s performing artist training program in 1995. It’s a six-month crash course with half the time spent in the classroom on theory and the remainder on actual acting. My mother wanted me to continue my studies in Canada but I knew I wasn’t too academically inclined, so after I graduated from high school in Toronto, I came back to Hong Kong to join TVB. I knew when I was a little girl that I didn’t want to settle for a rigid 9 to 5 job. I didn’t want a conventional and unpredictable life. I was interested in acting at a very young age; I think it’s in my blood.
I recall the training interview like it was yesterday, and how daunting the whole experience was. I was up against at least 10,000 other candidates wanting to jumpstart their careers. By the final round of interviewing, only 20 candidates remained, including myself. That’s the moment when I thought to myself: Wow, I made it! I was very lucky to be cast in a popular TV drama during my training. I played a teenage delinquent. That first role was memorable for both me and the viewing public—I got pretty good reviews. People felt I came across as natural and easy going.
I understand how cutthroat the business can be at times. While other actors and I may find the craft becomes second nature, some simply do not make it because they struggle to flit between their acting persona and their true, off-screen self. When I was young I thought that if I could polish and improve my acting, that would be all that mattered. But as I got older, I realized there are other factors at play: Besides having to deal with competition and building a strong personal and professional network, you also have to tackle a lot of unstated underlying rules.
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Not many people know about the darker side of the business. I recall a meeting with a talent manager from the Mainland at his hotel. I waited for almost an hour in the lobby before calling him to clarify whether I was at the right venue. He asked me to go up to his room because he was busy on a conference call. When I arrived, he greeted me in his bathrobe. His room was dark with all the curtains drawn. Without even saying a word, I turned around and fled.
