INTERVIEW: Hong Kong artists Moses Chan and Ali Lee on their TV chemistry
SINGAPORE – TVB artiste Moses Chan may have been away from the small screen for two years, but he has been levelling up as a coffee connoisseur by becoming the owner of Blooms Coffee, located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. He is thankful that the “business is doing well” and is not as affected from the Hong Kong protests as much as he thought.
Being a café boss is not easy. He has had to do coffee taste tests. Often he would experience tummy-ache, bad breath and nausea from drinking a lot of coffee, all part of what he has to do to ensure the quality of the coffee.
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When you own a business, it is all about solving every problem. He takes every single customer review seriously.
“When a customer writes, ‘It doesn’t taste good’, I read that and I would be, ‘Okay, I read that and I will go down to my shop and I will just tell them to give me every drink on the list. I have to taste it one by one and I am going to find out what the problem is,’” said Chan.
“Nowadays, the coffee business is competitive and everything is about experience. And this is important to make the customer feel happy,” he added.
We made sure to turn the spotlight back to acting as he is still best known as an actor. When asked about his experience filming his latest comedy-drama Amelia’s Rhapsody, the veteran actor said in amusement, “I always see myself as a joke. I have a crazy mind. When you see me, I’m actually a mellow person but I’m pretty crazy inside. I just have to pull it out, time to time, but in a controlled manner.”
Was it a challenge to create fresh chemistry with co-star Ali Lee on their latest drama, Amelia’s Rhapsody as they have already worked together on many projects previously?
“It was a little difficult. Sometimes you need the other person to bring something different out. In order to do that, before we film a scene, I won’t tell her what I will do in advance. In order to generate something fresh from her, you have to draw something out from your opponent. I think this is good to get some new chemistry by not knowing what the other person is going to do. If you already know what the other person is going to do, you will in turn think of what you will do. But no, the first take is the best. Because you don’t know and it is instant reaction – that’s what I’m looking for.”
Co-star Ali Lee also has the same thoughts about it.
Are there any kiss scenes in Amelia’s Rhapsody and if yes, what does his wife, Aimee Chan, has to say about that?
“Well, I just make sure I tell her when I have a kiss scene or love scene,” said Chan, with a coy smile.
The couple prides their long-lasting marriage on the rule of “no secrets”. They keep their relationship transparent and do not withhold anything from each other.
Both Moses Chan and Ali Lee were in town for a meet-and-greet for StarHub Night of Stars 2019 with fans on 3 Nov at Causeway Point, along with Taiwanese actor Derek Chang.
When Yahoo Lifestyle tried to ask about how Ali how she stays grounded amidst the recent negativity that hit her, Ali Lee politely rejected the question and says she hopes to put everything behind her and move on.
She suffered a nasty situation when netizens attack her political views regarding the Hong Kong protests.
Moses mentioned that he likes to be spontaneous and not follow the script word-by-word, did she get the same feel?
“Yes, he does that all the time. We always try to bring something fresh to the scene and improvise the script,” Ali agreed.
There were many mixed feelings about Big White Duel’s open ending where her character, Kennis, was held at gunpoint and the drama ended with the sound of a gunshot. What was her ideal ending?
“I actually like an open ending like that. Do you think Kennis died? We have no idea and I think this can give room for imagination.”
Derek Chang is most known for his roles in My Dear Boy (2017), Stay With Me (2016) and Da San Yuan (2019). He just wrapped up filming for his latest drama and is here to promote Yong-Jiu Grocery Store (2019) where he plays a grocery store owner. He had to learn swimming and singing – his two biggest fears due to his phobia of water and his lack of singing capabilities.
The 1.8m tall Derek Chang with his poster boy good looks may have been a tad too modest. When asked if he thinks that he is a pretty face, he said that he doesn’t think he is handsome and he cares more about inner beauty. We think that if Derek Chang is not good-looking, this makes the rest of us ugly.
On what particular role he wants to challenge himself with, he said, “A role like Joker. I always thought that everyone has a dark side to them, whether disclosed or undisclosed. It doesn’t have to be Joker, but it can be something rebellious, against the world.”
His 11-year age gap romance with S.H.E’s Selina, who announced him as her boyfriend earlier in the year on a Chinese reality show, was widely publicised. As they were cast mates on the reality show, Daughters’ Romance, fans suspected that it might be a publicity stunt.
When asked about his romance with Selina, he was adamantly mum about it, gave curt replies and avoided the question altogether. When probed further on whether they spend their off-days together, he said that they are both busy and he is very much a homebody, choosing to play PS4 games or watch movies during his rest days. This further raised our suspicions whether the relationship is a bogus one.
StarHub Night of Stars will take place on Sunday, 24 November 2019.
Revisit some of Moses Chan’s most iconic roles on StarHub with the Moses Chan Special (陈豪特辑)! Starting from 2 November 2019, 11am, all viewers in Singapore will have access to Moses’ TVB series like Line Walker: The Prelude (使徒行者2), My Ages Apart (誇世代) and more. For more information, visit www.starhubgo.com.
Catch Derek Chang on Yong-jiu Grocery Store (用九柑仔店), premiering 1 November on Hub Drama First (StarHub Ch 860).
