Steven Ma’s interview with Maggie Cheung in his freelance 2002 column for Sisters No.721.
The woman in Ma Zai’s eye 马仔眼中的女人》
Subject: Maggie Cheung - Remains True to Onself. 之忠於真实自我——张可颐
Writer: Steven Ma
Maggie Cheung entered the (tv) industry at age nineteen, crossing over through the thresholds of movie world and music world, respectively. Even though she once left this field to venture into other worlds including a dip in a 9-5 job, the title of Miss Hong Kong with the most acting potential awarded her pulled her back into it again. Because her Chan Bao Zhu’s portrayal was so realistic, her forehead was henceforth “embedded’ with these four gigantic words “natural born thespian”. (天生演员) However, only her acting potential flows into the entertainment world’s channel; her personality clashes with it.
“Better Halves” was not my first collaboration with Maggie. Two three years ago, we had already worked together in a movie called “When a Man Loves a Woman” (爱我别走). My impression then was that this girl was very punctual, which is why I found the later disseminated news of her tardiness to work very perplexing.
We did not have much on screen interactions in the earlier movie, but in the tv series, we faced each other day in and day out. I noticed that this girl was not only very punctual but also possessed a rather straightforward personality.
One Friday afternoon, we arranged to meet at a certain restaurant in Clearwater Bay for a lunch interview. And sure enough, Maggie talked as she ate; seemingly enjoying both with much relish.
The woman in Ma Zai’s eye 马仔眼中的女人》
Subject: Maggie Cheung - Remains True to Onself. 之忠於真实自我——张可颐
Writer: Steven Ma
Maggie Cheung entered the (tv) industry at age nineteen, crossing over through the thresholds of movie world and music world, respectively. Even though she once left this field to venture into other worlds including a dip in a 9-5 job, the title of Miss Hong Kong with the most acting potential awarded her pulled her back into it again. Because her Chan Bao Zhu’s portrayal was so realistic, her forehead was henceforth “embedded’ with these four gigantic words “natural born thespian”. (天生演员) However, only her acting potential flows into the entertainment world’s channel; her personality clashes with it.
“Better Halves” was not my first collaboration with Maggie. Two three years ago, we had already worked together in a movie called “When a Man Loves a Woman” (爱我别走). My impression then was that this girl was very punctual, which is why I found the later disseminated news of her tardiness to work very perplexing.
We did not have much on screen interactions in the earlier movie, but in the tv series, we faced each other day in and day out. I noticed that this girl was not only very punctual but also possessed a rather straightforward personality.
One Friday afternoon, we arranged to meet at a certain restaurant in Clearwater Bay for a lunch interview. And sure enough, Maggie talked as she ate; seemingly enjoying both with much relish.
“Is it all right to snap some pictures now?” I asked.
“Sure! Sure!” She glanced at me, and burst out laughing.
“Yee! The atmosphere is so serious ya! Even the breathing seems different!”
Can be described as serious, but the seriousness was limited. Sometimes, Maggie felt very uncomfortable having her pictures taken.
“The way you look, it's as if you were born to act. If people say this, would you think it’s unfair,” I asked.
“I’ve heard people described me as such. We tried to analyze: “Because whatever you’re thinking in your mind, people can always tell from your facial expressions!” I think there’s some truth in what they said. My kind of situation has both advantages and disadvantages. Whatever my worries, my unhappiness or awkwardness, they can be seen instantly.”
“That’s what is called 'naked emotions'.” I did not foresee my quip would provoke such a strong response from her.
“That’s why I hit so many brick walls, it’s not even funny!”
A person who is not good at hiding her feelings is, at the same time, very respectful of her own feelings. The things she likes to do she’ll do often, like drinking tea while reading at the beach. For stuff that she dislikes doing, she can only force herself to do it.
“My friend said: Maggie Cheung, besides her looks, in real life is not very suitable for the entertainment world. What they said is true. I loathe attending social functions, don’t watch premiers, don’t attend balls, don’t know how to climb the social ladder, and not good at enlivening the atmosphere. Been in this business for 8 years now, still feel uncomfortable attending public and social functions.”
“Even a press conference?”
“Even a press conference!” Maggie affirmed. “Been in showbiz for 8 years now. People can’t believe I still feel pressure at a press conference. You know lah! Especially the main characters attending a press conference to publicize a series. They are obligated to lead the promotional event. But I honestly don’t know what to say to the reporters when face to face with them. So when I am in such a function, I usually just have one photo taken and then immediately do the disappearing act .”
Even though she does not know how to do promotions, still Maggie’s news will sporadically pop up now and then.
“You’re always very punctual to work! Why is that whenever the topic “tardiness” made the news, you’re always dragged into it? I’ve noticed this kind of situation for quite some time now."
At seeing my indignation, Maggie became confused. “This is what I think, maybe nowadays the headlines have to be attention grabbing. And.. I don’t have scandals.”
…besides tardiness; from outside, there is also another kind of wind blowing around Maggie.
Just realized I never finished translating the rest of his interview with Maggie. The latter portion talks about why Maggie seldom acted in period drama series. Maggie wants to clarify that it is not true she does not accept period drama just that no producers invited her for one maybe because she has ‘big’ actions, and talks fast.
**************************************
《马仔眼中的女人》之忠於真实自我——张可颐
口述：张可颐 撰文：马俊伟
张可颐十九岁入行，先後跨过电影以及乐坛的门槛，虽然一度离场，五花八门的朝九晚五的界别都染治过，一个香港小姐的“最佳演艺潜质奖”，把她又拉 回来。因为陈宝珠角色演艺得活灵活现，额头从此嵌上“天生演员”四只大字，惟潜质在演艺界水到渠成，就是性格不合……
《金牌冰人》不是和可颐的第一次合作了。两、三年前，我们曾经在电影《爱我别走》中碰过头，印象中，这个女孩子很守时，是以，对於不久後传出她开工迟到的新闻，甚是奇怪。
上次拍电影，对手戏不多，这次拍电视剧，日对夜对，发现这个女孩子不单守时，性格还挺爽直的。
一个周五的下午，我们相约在清水湾某食肆见面，边吃午饭边做访问，可颐就真的一边说，一边吃，说说吃吃都那样的开怀。
“我们可以开始拍照吗？”我问。“可以！可以！”她看了看我的表情，“吱”声笑了出来。
“咦！气氛好严肃呀！连呼吸都那麽的不一样！”
可以说得出来的严肃，严肃极有限，有些时候，要张可颐拍照，她真会感觉浑身不自在。
“你的样子，像是天生下来就懂演戏！如果别人这样说，你会否觉得不公平？”我问。
“也听过别人这样形容我，我们试图分析：‘因为你的脑袋无论在想什麽，旁人都可以从你的表情中看得到！’我觉得他们的说法不无道理，像我这种情况，有好处，也有坏处。我有什麽心事，有什麽不快或者尴尬的感觉，都会马上暴露出来。”
“那就是喜怒形於色！”没想到，我的补充会引起可以极大的反应。“所以，就撞板撞到飞奇囖！”
一个不擅长掩饰感觉的人，同样地，对自己的感觉亦非常尊重。喜欢做的事，比如到海边喝茶看看书，她会常常做，至於那些不太喜欢，却又不可以不做的事，那就只好硬著头皮上阵。
“我的朋友说，张可颐除了外表，真实的生活其实很不演艺界。他们说的很对，我不喜欢应酬，不去看首映，不去ball，不懂得出位，不擅长搞气氛。入行八年，出席公开场合，还是很不习惯。”
“即使是记者会？”
“哪怕只是记者会！”可颐强调，“入行八年，别人都不相信，我出席记者会还会感到压力重重。你知啦！尤其是主要演员，出席剧集的记者会，自然会负 起宣传的任务，但我真不是知道面对记者的时候，应该说些什麽才好。所以，每遇上这类活动，我例必拍了一张照片就消失於无形。”
虽然不懂做宣传，正可颐的新闻还是久不久就出现。
“你每次开工都很准是喔！问麽迟到新闻总是喜欢堆在你头上？这种情况，我已经留意了很久！”
看见我忿忿不平的样子，可颐反过来困惑。“我是这样想的，也许现在的新闻都要绰头吧！我又没有绯闻……”除了迟到，外头还有一种关於可颐的风在吹。
口述：张可颐 撰文：马俊伟
张可颐十九岁入行，先後跨过电影以及乐坛的门槛，虽然一度离场，五花八门的朝九晚五的界别都染治过，一个香港小姐的“最佳演艺潜质奖”，把她又拉 回来。因为陈宝珠角色演艺得活灵活现，额头从此嵌上“天生演员”四只大字，惟潜质在演艺界水到渠成，就是性格不合……
《金牌冰人》不是和可颐的第一次合作了。两、三年前，我们曾经在电影《爱我别走》中碰过头，印象中，这个女孩子很守时，是以，对於不久後传出她开工迟到的新闻，甚是奇怪。
上次拍电影，对手戏不多，这次拍电视剧，日对夜对，发现这个女孩子不单守时，性格还挺爽直的。
一个周五的下午，我们相约在清水湾某食肆见面，边吃午饭边做访问，可颐就真的一边说，一边吃，说说吃吃都那样的开怀。
“我们可以开始拍照吗？”我问。“可以！可以！”她看了看我的表情，“吱”声笑了出来。
“咦！气氛好严肃呀！连呼吸都那麽的不一样！”
可以说得出来的严肃，严肃极有限，有些时候，要张可颐拍照，她真会感觉浑身不自在。
“你的样子，像是天生下来就懂演戏！如果别人这样说，你会否觉得不公平？”我问。
“也听过别人这样形容我，我们试图分析：‘因为你的脑袋无论在想什麽，旁人都可以从你的表情中看得到！’我觉得他们的说法不无道理，像我这种情况，有好处，也有坏处。我有什麽心事，有什麽不快或者尴尬的感觉，都会马上暴露出来。”
“那就是喜怒形於色！”没想到，我的补充会引起可以极大的反应。“所以，就撞板撞到飞奇囖！”
一个不擅长掩饰感觉的人，同样地，对自己的感觉亦非常尊重。喜欢做的事，比如到海边喝茶看看书，她会常常做，至於那些不太喜欢，却又不可以不做的事，那就只好硬著头皮上阵。
“我的朋友说，张可颐除了外表，真实的生活其实很不演艺界。他们说的很对，我不喜欢应酬，不去看首映，不去ball，不懂得出位，不擅长搞气氛。入行八年，出席公开场合，还是很不习惯。”
“即使是记者会？”
“哪怕只是记者会！”可颐强调，“入行八年，别人都不相信，我出席记者会还会感到压力重重。你知啦！尤其是主要演员，出席剧集的记者会，自然会负 起宣传的任务，但我真不是知道面对记者的时候，应该说些什麽才好。所以，每遇上这类活动，我例必拍了一张照片就消失於无形。”
虽然不懂做宣传，正可颐的新闻还是久不久就出现。
“你每次开工都很准是喔！问麽迟到新闻总是喜欢堆在你头上？这种情况，我已经留意了很久！”
看见我忿忿不平的样子，可颐反过来困惑。“我是这样想的，也许现在的新闻都要绰头吧！我又没有绯闻……”除了迟到，外头还有一种关於可颐的风在吹。
“印象中，你很少拍古装剧！”我说。
“我第一部古装剧是跟伍卫国合作的，他是皇帝，我演他的妃子。跟著就是《神雕侠侣》。距离《金牌冰人》已经六、七年了。正因为拍的少，有一种流 传，说张可颐在签约的时候，讲明不要拍古装。我想在此澄清，我从来没有讲过不拍古装，只是拍古装剧的导演没有找我而已！”她失笑。
关於没有得到古装监制垂青的原因，张可颐做了以下分析：“我动作大，话又说得快，像我们这种人，要演古装，非要加倍努豢桑 ?
传言只不过是传言，可颐说到演出不同类型的角色，实在是眉飞色舞的。
“八年来，演过那麽多角色，你最喜欢，或者跟相似的是那一个？”我问。
“每个角色都有少少喜欢，有少许自己的影子！否则，就不会演得好。比如陈宝珠，人人都说我演得很像，其实，我在这个角色里，放了一点点自己。另外 一部电视剧《美味天王》，那个十三点的女孩子，我也很喜欢，里面也有一部分的张可颐，只可惜叫好不叫做……” “以前年纪轻，什麽东西都想试，做过时装、 古董生意、股票，一味无心向学，却不知道自己想要什麽。也许，每个人都要经历迷失的阶段，才会开始认识自己！”今天的张可颐，自问没什麽了不起，最有信心 的一项就是演戏了。
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