An article on Fung which appeared on HK Daily News on the 21st March 2008. Not a bad interview, where Fung talks about girls (lol), his life & family, and being a good person.

Credit: FungForever Forum, sdcat @ RaymondForest and hoi_1229 for the photos

Fung can hold on

Once upon a time, actually not long ago, only 4 or 5 years ago, the audiences’ views were: Ron Ng is handsome, Bosco Wong knows exactly what to say, Raymond Lam is quite boring, not much news, just a rich guy! Unfortunately in this world we love to hate rich people. But luckily, time can change everything, including how we perceive others.

In the last couple of years, Ron Ng had been affected by some negative news (such as Ella Koon, Charmaine Sheh, borrowing money from Louis Koo). So he needs to go back to study and improve, resulting in one less rival for Fung.

For Bosco, he is also affected by news linked with Myolie Wu, his ex-girlfriend getting plastic surgery, harassing Fala Chen etc.

In his generation we’re left with Fung who is still holding on. He entered the entertainment industry in 1998. As he spoke Mandarin fluently, his first job was to be a host at the TVB8 channel. He has also been a soldier, prison guard (cameo roles) which gave him a solid foundation. “Ever since I entered TVB, I wanted to keep my feet on the ground and don’t want to become famous very quickly. I just wanted more praise and less criticisms from others.” Fung speaks eloquently, without pride or shame, as a result of his upbringing. His upbringing doesn’t allow him to be proud, even when he was driving his Benz to the TVB class, it was because of family pressure.


However, even if you keep a low profile, that doesn’t mean troubles wouldn’t find you. He has had some news coming from a nightclub worker, which we can only say, “It’s hard to be a famous person.” (actually a chinese saying was used, but I have no idea how to translate it!)

Too scared to chat up girls
Last year there were some news coming from a girl who worked at a Beijing nightclub. She revealed some intimate details about their alleged relationship. When we mentioned it during the interview, Fung’s expressions hasn’t changed but felt quite angry about this news.

“I’m angry, very angry. But I won’t say too much about it because I can’t stop her from saying all these untruths. Actually, I have met that girl before. At first I couldn’t remember, but when the news came out I remembered. Just goes to show how familiar we were to each other. She is a friend’s friend, and we met once at a bar! Everytime I have a new series out there’s always some news. But if it’s this kind of news to gain publicity, I would rather not have them, thank you!”

“Actually others in the industry have warned me to be more careful when working in Mainland China. You need to be more careful when meeting friends, because there are many people who would want to use you to promote themselves. But I have to blame myself for not being more guarded, I can only be more careful next time! I am not a brave person, so it’s impossible for me to do such things. Do you think I’m crazy? You know I don’t want to cause troubles when I’ve said before that I haven’t dated in 7 years! I’ve heard rumours of others having ‘another half’ (boy/girlfriend), regardless of the news being true or not it’s still very annoying. Plus it can have an effect on your career. So truthfully, besides family, my career is my top priority.”

Girls get the wrong idea
After this incident, Fung said that he won’t mix with friend’s female friends anymore.

“You will remember that a few years ago I won’t say a lot. Some friends have said I’m very ‘inch’ (arrogant) but I say that I’m not, I’m just not talkative. I will sit in a corner and only chat or drink with the people I know. If I don’t know them I will say hi and then that’s it. Friends have said that I shouldn’t be so cool. About 2 years ago I started to change, because you can lose out if you’re such an introvert. So I’ve tried to be more outgoing. When I’m with friends’ friends, I will chat with them and be more proactive. After that I received some different feedback.”

“There was one time with this girl, I only chatted and had a few drinks with her, and the next day I heard from my friend, ‘that girl said you’re chasing her!’ There was also a time when I’ve never even chatted with that person, and she later told everyone ‘oh I’ve gone out with Fung many times la! We’re very close friends.’ Unbelievable! And then people criticise me for being too nice. If I don’t say anything I’m arrogant, if I say more there will be gossip. What can I do?”

Growing up with prejudice
The writer suspects that he exchanges his phone number with girls too easily. No doubt that some girls will think, ‘you’re a star and you’re willing to give me your phone number. So you must like me!’ Fung thinks deeply, “Maybe. But if I enjoyed talking to that person exchanging phone numbers is not a problem. Some friends have reminded me to be more careful. I am guarded, but if we’re chatting happily this guard is forgotten. Sadly I don’t know how to refuse others. Am I afraid that they will reveal the content of our SMS? I haven’t thought much about it, and it hasn’t happened yet. If she is a friend’s friend, then if there’re any problems the friend should also have some responsibility. Plus I only send collective SMS during holidays or big celebrations. Male or female will receive it. What that girl (from the nightclub) said about receiving a SMS from me saying “Rest early”, I never sent that.” Fung gives me the impression that he is a person with self control, discipline and worries a lot. When rumours arose between him and his assistant from Mainland China, he fired her. When rumours arose between him and Sharon Chan, he tries to avoid singing karaoke with her. With his wealthy background, and a father who is a famous business person in Xiamen, he can be like Edison Chen – playing around and chasing lots of girls, and doesn’t have to work.

“Because I’m the big brother, and also the eldest son in the extended family, my position in the family is quite high. In my family I have many cousins who are looking up to me. So ever since I was young my family have taught me to listen more, and speak less as they were afraid that I would say the wrong things. So compared with others in my age group I am more thoughtful and quiet. My father always wanted me to set a good example and be more stable/reliable. But being a 20 something guy, how can I be more stable?

In the past when there is a family dinner (meal), the atmosphere is very serious. We couldn’t speak during the whole meal, our chopsticks can’t cross over others, can’t make a noise when we eat rice and drink soup, so I was trained to have self awareness and discipline. Even though I came from a wealthy family I would never be arrogant. My father always says the higher a person stands, he also needs to be more modest. When you have some achievements it’s easy to be attacked by others. When I first entered the industry I didn’t say much about my background, but others had negative perceptions about me. They thought that I was some rich kid who won’t take work seriously. In that situation would I dare to be arrogant? Only in the last 2 or 3 years I felt that I’m more personable, just gave the audience more time to get used to my acting.”

Learn how to do business
When watching TV we always see the sons from rich families not wanting to take over the family business. They want to break out on their own. Fung has these aspirations, but being the eldest son in his family, he has responsibilities and pressures. He frankly admits, once he acquires acceptance in the industry, or when he wins a big award like Best Actor, he will go back and work in the family business.

“I know in the end I have to help my father manage the family business. There is a lot of pressure because my father is so good at what he does and I don’t know anything. I only know how to act. Recently I thought, do I not care too much about what’s happening in the world? Once I was with some classmates from kindergarten and primary school and felt that they were very bright people. I don’t have the knowledge they process. Some work in banking, others in manufacturing and some are stockbrokers. For me I’m left with half a life when filming, and have to socialise. The money I earn can’t match up with what others can earn in a few days. I have thought about studying some business management courses. I guess what I’ve learnt in entertainment (and can use it in commerce) is public relations. Slowly I will build up a network of bright people, who maybe able to help me in the future.” Showing that he already has the manners of a big boss, but Fung also leaked that he is quite rich, so he immediately switched to crying poor again. “Ever since I was young I don’t get a lot of pocket money. During high school, they gave me $1,000 but in $10 notes. They then put them in a draw so I can take them as I need it. But everyday I would only take 2 or 3 out so that money can last for a few months. So in reality I’m not loaded as others would think, so please stop misleading your readers. As a result of this misconception, some organisers think they don’t need to pay me but I would still do their shows, and that’s not true. Everybody misunderstands. I actually want to earn more so I can purchase a home. At the moment I’m living in a luxury home but that’s not mine, so there’s no meaning in that. I’m the eldest son so I need to set an example (? Sorry can’t read that part) even if it’s only a honorarium, please give me more chances to earn money!” Do you think that’s convincing? I don’t think so!

A good person
Looking back on Fung’s role in “Heart of Greed”, even though it was originally a cameo, but that cameo lasted for 30 episodes. Fung smiled and said, “I wasn’t going to accept that role, I wanted to take a holiday. But I felt bad about it because previously I had turned down another role from this producer. So I accepted it. See I told you I don’t know how to say no!” He portrayed a two-timing lawyer, going out with YoYo Mung while he had a girlfriend (Linda Chung). “Both YoYo and I thought we played our characters too well, we’re such a bad couple. We always comforted each other – ‘don’t worry, as long as the audience can see into our characters then that’s ok.’ We both had to convince ourselves, when we didn’t know the ending I felt I had to die to gain some sympathy. Luckily I died, I was so happy!” Fung is not used to portrayed the bad guy, he’s afraid that he will be disliked. In reality, he is also afraid of confrontation, even against his rivals he is quite protective of them. For example, his good friend Ron Ng is guilty of chatting up girls, not knowing English, not repaying after borrowing money. “Don’t even know if it’s true, he didn’t? He’s just a big kid. We always drink tea and play video games at home. We don’t even drink!” About Moses Chan, “he has a sense of humour, very funny and also a gentleman.” Kevin Cheng is very much favoured by the TVB executives. “Kevin and I are good friends, we would go out to eat together.” In the entertainment circle, even when you’re rich others may not respect you. But you can never go wrong if you say nice things about others.