Steven Ma & Linda Chung @ 《TVB Weekly Issue 654》

Credit : Credits: magazine scans to hyn5 @ http://hyn5-hyn5.blogspot.com
Translation: llwy12 @ AsianFanatics

Steven Ma & Linda Chung @ 《TVB Weekly Issue 654》





Steven says that he really enjoyed playing this character because it is so different from the characters he has played before. People are used to seeing him in those brotherly, gentleman, “nice guy” type characters – he is happy that he gets the chance to play this “country boy” type character. He says his character likes pretty women and is always making fun of Linda’s character for being a tomboy and not having a sexy body (he calls her Chek Lap Kok, which is the name for HK’s aiport – meaning she has a flat chest and unattractive body). His experience learning some Hakka for the series was also memorable for him.

Linda’s character is very tomboyish -- Linda says this role was extremely difficult for her to play because it’s so different from who she really is. She says that she is naturally very “girlish” in nature, her voice is soft, she has long hair, etc. so to play a tomboy and have to adjust her voice plus wear a short wig, it was a very interesting experience for her. People say that with the wig on, she looks almost exactly like Fahrenheit’s Wu Zun (she already bears a resemblance), but she said they didn’t do that on purpose – originally, they were going for a much shorter, skinhead type hairdo, but it was way too short and the wig couldn’t hide all of her hair, so they decided to use the current one instead. Linda says that the best thing she likes about playing this character is that she rarely has to spend any time in makeup – she just puts on the wig, brushes up her eyebrows to make her look more like a boy, puts on some baby cream, and she’s ready to shoot the scene!





In terms of memorable experiences while filming, Steven says there was a small “incident” with Ah Huang that he will never forget. When he was posing with Ah Huang for a picture, the dog suddenly let out a huge yelp…everyone on site was very scared because they thought maybe something happened and were afraid Ah Huang might bite. Steven came to the rescue (because he’s had dogs as pets since he was little, so he is very familiar with how dogs act, what they need, etc.) He told the crew: Don’t worry, it’s nothing! Ah Huang wasn’t trying to bite me…it’s just that I accidently “stepped” on him (probably his tail or something) and he (the dog) turned around and was trying to tell me this.”

Steven says that he loves dogs and knows them extremely well (and is very close with them), so being able to film with these dogs was great for him. He says that dogs probably like being with him because he always has a “dog odor” on his body, since he’s had dogs since he was little. Though personally he doesn’t have a dog anymore since his own dog died awhile back ago, he’s satisfied with playing with his friends’ dogs or filming with dogs.

For Linda, her most memorable experience also involved Ah Huang. She says that as a veterinarian in the series, she has to be close to dogs all the time…she says she’s not afraid as long as the owner of the dog is there, since the dogs are pretty well-behaved. However there was one scene during the filming where she has to examine Ah Huang (check his fur and body, open his mouth to see his teeth, etc.), but Ah Huang actually does not like females, so he looked upset and was about to get angry. Even Steven, who was there with her, told her to be careful….he asked the director to cancel some of the shots where it would be necessary for Linda’s face and hands to have close contact with Ah Huang because he was afraid the dog might actually bite her. Linda said she was really scared, but luckily, they were able to complete the filming of that scene smoothly.




Steven and Linda's Talk about 2009 and Their Plans for 2010:

Steven – first of all, he wishes that going into the new year, everyone has good health and that the H5N1 virus will go away soon. In terms of work, he will be hosting a new variety series in 2010 – it’s a food related series (cooking show) where he will have various cooks as guests and cook stuff with them – the purpose will be to teach the audience how to make professional type dishes with just ordinary cooking. Then he talks about how he actually likes to cook and how he cooked for friends and family recently (he describes the dish that he made and stuff).

Also, the big thing for Steven next year is that he will be returning to the music scene after so many years away….most likely he will work on an album for the coming year (whether it’s behind the scenes or actually singing – it will be related to creating a record album). In terms of series, he will challenge himself to play an “evil” character this year, as it’s something he’s never tried before. He says that people keep telling him that he has been acting for 16 years, yet he has never played an evil character, so it’s time to do so now. He says the producers and directors agreed to give him the opportunity, but most importantly is to find a good script that will have a good “evil” character for him to play.

Linda – First part talks about her work in 2009 (filming the movie 72 Tenants, attending the various HK music awards ceremonies, etc.) . But she was happy doing it and never felt tired because she felt that she gained a lot in 2009 – she had the opportunity to travel to different countries to perform and also release her 2nd album.

Her plans for 2010 are to attend even more awards ceremonies (doesn’t matter if she gets an award or not – just for the experience). Also, she will continue to pursue her music career, but will completely change her image when it comes to music. She says that in the past, her image has always been “innocent good girl” type…this year, she wants to change that to a “cool girl” image…but she stresses she will not do the “sexy girl” image….

In terms of series, Linda says that she has gotten a lot of inspiration from her friends. She says that one of her friends got into an accident and as a result became a handicapped person…seeing what her friend has to go through –from being a “normal” person to having to deal with this big change (being handicapped), is a very difficult journey and internally there are definitely a lot of struggle and pain. She said it will be a challenge to play this kind of role and would help to expand her own inner emotions and feelings – plus it would help send a message to the audience to take care of themselves and cherish good health as well as a healthy body.