Meet actor Lawrence Wong who played Hai Lan Cha in hit TV drama ‘Story of Yanxi Palace’
The star with a boyish smile and effortless charm talks about filming the period drama, the superpower he’d like and what he’d do with a penguin in his freezer
For those of us who have kept an eye on the massive hit Chinese television series Story of Yanxi Palace, actor Lawrence Wong’s boyish smile and effortless charm in the role of Hai Lan Cha have made a deep impression on our hearts.
We spoke to him about his experiences while filming the show, his forthcoming projects, as well as some other important things – such as what superpower he would choose to have if he could and what he would do if he found a penguin in his freezer.
Why did you decide to go into acting?
It was a natural progression for me because I started doing modelling, television and print ads after I graduated, and I was sort of lost; I did that for a few years. One day, the wife of a producer on one of the commercials I did called me up to go for an audition for a movie, and I went and got the lead role. As they say, “the rest is history”.
What was your favourite part about filming ‘Story of Yanxi Palace’ and what were the challenges?
Story of Yanxi Palace is my first period drama, and that in itself is a challenge for me because the lines were extremely difficult; it’s different from the everyday kind of dialogue we do in modern dramas, so I needed to put in a lot more effort in remembering lines, understanding what the lines meant and how to read certain words that I’ve never seen before in my life.
Of course the weather was really difficult for me as well, because we were wearing so many layers of clothes and costumes and, as you were trying to get into your role and remembering your lines, your sweat and perspiration just kept dripping down, so that was kind of distracting as well.
However, it was a very good experience and I think I’m going to [do well] in my second period drama.