2012-02-23 The New Paper

JK2804 粉丝报道

JK2804 粉丝报道

Driven? But I'm lost, says Fala Chen



By Tan Kee Yun
The New Paper
Monday, Feb 25, 2013
For a shining star who is often hyped as one of Hong Kong's television queens, Fala Chen exudes a surprisingly subdued - even jaded - demeanour.

The 30-year-old TVB artiste, who was in town on Thursday to promote her drama series Triumph In The Skies II, told The New Paper that at this stage in her life, she is hardly interested in playing the fame game.

"Fame has become less and less important to me, it's more of a burden than anything else," said the slender Chengdu-born beauty, who moved with her family to Atlanta, Georgia, in the US, when she was 14.

Speaking in fluent, American-accented English, she added matter-of-factly: "Besides the monetary value, the only positive thing about (fame) is that it allows people to watch and like your shows, to listen and enjoy your music. That's it."

Chen got her showbiz break after finishing runner-up in 2005's Miss Chinese International beauty pageant.

She joined TVB and soon started snagging leading roles in big productions such as Moonlight Resonance (2008), Rosy Business (2010) and Lives Of Omission (2011).

In 2011, she was picked as one of TVB's Top Four Female Artistes (see report on facing page) and a potential successor to Charmaine Sheh, who left the station the same year to venture into the lucrative mainland Chinese market.

Yet, Chen, who is based in Hong Kong, is not much like the ambitious, driven, power-suited working professional she often plays onscreen. No clear goals

"Me? I've always been kind of lost," she said with a laugh, when quizzed on whether she was the type who sets herself clear career goals.

"Somehow, I feel even more lost when I work with experienced veteran stars. It makes me wonder what is the meaning of my job. Am I here to pursue my personal satisfaction, or to entertain people?

"I'd think about my priorities too. Is it work, or family? Do I want children next time?

"In 2013, I really hope to seek a better understanding of myself." Triumph In The Skies II, a sequel to 2003's hit airline series Triumph In The Skies, will air on StarHub Demand TV in the later part of this year.

In it, Chen plays a girl who was brought up in Britain and moves to Hong Kong in search of her roots, a role that mirrors her Westernised upbringing.

The cast includes Francis Ng, Ron Ng, Myolie Wu and Kenneth Ma. While Chen is blasé about fame, she hasn't been able to escape its pitfalls, such as the scrutiny of her private life.

Last week, netizens saw a rarer side of Chen when sexy candid photographs of her in a bikini surfaced online.

"I was on holiday in Thailand and relaxing by the pool when a stranger asked if he could take pictures of me. I didn't think much of it and agreed," she said.

"I see (the pictures) have spread."

Her romance, too, is tabloid fodder.

Despite voluntarily bringing up the topic of having children, Chen refuted recent talk of her choosing to have her career take a backseat, so that she could spend more quality time with her beau.

She has been dating a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, Mr Sit Sai Hang, since 2006.

Mr Sit helms Neway Group, a company with a successful karaoke chain and subsidiaries handling concert production, music distribution and artiste management.

There are rumours that she and Mr Sit secretly tied the knot in the US in 2008. But during previous interviews with the Hong Kong media, Chen has neither denied or confirmed this.

Instead, she played coy and said she would "announce the news when the time is right".

So was Mr Sit concerned about the bikini pictures and about her wearing so little?

"It's okay, it's normal for people to dress like that when they are suntanning," she said with a smile.

Her visibly decreased output last year - she was in only one TVB series, Queens of Diamonds And Hearts, in 2012 - was due to a combination of factors, Chen told The New Paper.

"I fell ill after shooting Queens of Diamonds and Hearts, so I took a few months off to rest," explained Chen.

"Then, I released my debut Cantonese album, Beautiful Life, and also filmed my first mainland Chinese drama series, Ballad of The Desert.

"So even though I wasn't as involved in TVB material, I was still working." Don't expect her to divert her energies entirely to singing, though.

Chen said nonchalantly that Beautiful Life was "more like an experiment". "I'd still give my all in acting, which I've been doing all this while," she stressed.

"My imagination is rather limited, so it would be challenging to get roles that surprise me."