Nnadia Chan's (陳松伶) Interview with MingPao

Here's another great interview from Mingpao (I'm a huge fan of their interviews!)...I actually translated this interview a few days ago for AF and figured I'd post it here as well.

It's been awhile since I've heard anything about Nnadia Chan, since she pretty much left the HK entertainment industry. And from the looks of it, she isn't going to be returning to the industry any time soon -- therefore, interviews such as this one will probably be few and far between.

Not sure how many people reading this are Nnadia fans (I have to admit that I'm not a fan, but I really like Nnadia as an actress and a singer), but regardless, I'm sure that you will enjoy this article. The message it conveys is a very positive one as well (one that everyone can learn from)!

Enjoy!

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Mingpao Interview: Nnadia Chan forgives and forgets

Source: HKChannel (Original source: MingPao)

Translation: llwy12

Many years ago, Nnadia Chan sang a children’s song called《烏卒卒》[loosely translated as ‘Dark’], which became so popular that it was known and sung by everyone ‘from the streets to the alleys’. She had also participated in many of TVB’s ‘classic’ series such as《Songbird》, 《Instinct》,《Cold Blood Warm Heart》, etc. in which she got the chance to collaborate with such ‘cool’ guys as Leon Lai, Ekin Cheng, and Louis Koo, and also became one of TVB’s fa dans. Behind all the fame and fortune however, Nnadia had to endure some painful experiences: she once ran away from home and broke off all relations with her family for 20 years, plus her relationship with her former manager ended unhappily due to a misunderstanding – within a day, she was left to fend for herself, with barely a penny to her name. Despite going through so many peaks and valleys in her life, Nnadia continued to hold steadfastly to her belief in the ‘2Fs’ – Forgive and Forget – believing that as long as one is alive, there is always a chance to start over again. In the end, she was able to achieve this – not only had she made amends with her family and now has a great relationship with them, but she is currently a happy housewife, as she recently revealed that she married Mainland actor Zhang Duo and the couple are living a wonderful life together.

In recent years, Nnadia has virtually disappeared from the Hong Kong entertainment industry; even in the Mainland, she is barely seen in any recent series – her last Mainland series was 2008’s 《Single Mother》. Recently, Nnadia returned to HK and while attending the Book Fair in July, she announced that she and her boyfriend, Mainland actor Zhang Duo, married already and so she is officially ‘Mrs. Zhang’. In addition, she has agreed to film the new ICAC series for RTHK,《ICAC 2011》, in which she will participate in one story. Nnadia expressed: “The main reason for my return to HK this time around is to oversee the remodeling of my mother’s house and also to sort out my massive book collection; because of the huge number of books, there is no way to ship them to the Mainland, so I decided to donate most of them to the library. I also checked my emails online and discovered that a lot of people had contacted me, including RTHK. Apparently, ICAC had chosen me for an upcoming collaboration and I also was interested in the role, so the agreement was made almost immediately. Actually, I’ve been wanting to give back to society for quite some time, so this is a great opportunity to do so.”

In between a foolish person and a nice person

Nnadia has high praises for the ICAC, saying that the bureau is one of the most righteous agencies in government. Asked whether she had ever encountered a situation involving corruption in real life, Nnadia replied: “I never encountered a real corruption situation, but I’ve seen people give small gifts – in my opinion, that’s not considered bribery, but just a normal human act, usually as an expression of gratitude…the most important thing is that it doesn’t cross the line. It’s just like in life, when people take things to the extreme – helping someone too much can lead to spoiling that person, while reprimanding too much could push the person over the edge. In all matters, it’s necessary to find the proper balance – I’m actually still learning this right now, don’t know if it’s too late.” (Could it be that you are relating your own experience of helping someone to the point of spoiling them?) Nnadia responded: “Of course I’ve experienced it, which is why I would think that way. Actually, all along, my personality has always been one that is very tolerant and forgiving of others, to the point that I can’t even tell whether I’ve become a foolish person or an extremely nice person – I feel that I’m probably somewhere in between.” (Are you referring to your former manager?) “I’m just relating experiences that I’ve had, it doesn’t matter whether it was with my former manager or with someone I may encounter again in the future – what has happened is already in the past.”

Fell painfully, picked herself up quickly

With regard to the breaking off of her relationship with her former manager, it had actually resulted in Nnadia losing all of the money that she had put in much ‘blood and sweat’ to earn during her 20 years in the entertainment industry. Despite such a huge setback, Nnadia did not give up and instead, bravely picked herself back up again and continued to persevere. Her actions set a great example for today’s youth and demonstrate that in the face of defeat and despair, don’t give up easily.

Nnadia expressed: “During that time, I held onto my belief in the ‘2Fs’ -- no, not curse words, but rather the words Forgive and Forget. I chose to forgive the person and also forget the bad experience – as long as I’m still alive, there is no doubt that I will be able to start over again, plus when I came into this world, I had nothing anyway.” Nnadia also revealed that back when she first entered the industry, she was still a student, so she would bring her homework with her on the set – having to balance school and work was no easy task: “I understand that sometimes, one’s dream can be in conflict with real life. My advice to the younger generation is to not give up on education so easily. If there is financial burden, then work part time while continuing to go to school – in fact, that’s how my sister completed her Masters program. Sometimes, no matter how difficult it may seem, if you are able to properly manage your time, it’s definitely possible to accomplish.”

For now, no plans for a baby

Nnadia admits that she is very much enjoying her current life with her husband and the couple mutually decided that they do not want to have children as of yet. “Currently, we are not concerned about carrying on the family name. My parents were never rich and had to work hard for most of their lives to raise their children. It’s the same for many parents – they have to make so many sacrifices and take on a lot of responsibility for their children, so having children is not an easy decision and shouldn’t be taken lightly. For us, another reason we chose to put off having kids is because I want to spend more time with my mother and properly handle the issues in my family. That’s why I say that after getting married, I sometimes feel like a ‘social worker’, since I seem to be resolving family issues most of the time. Actually, my family definitely needs someone to handle various issues that occur – if a small issue isn’t taken care of, it could quickly escalate into a big issue. Every family has their own share of difficulties and problems, but no matter how hard it may be to handle, it’s still necessary to face it head on.”

Ran away from home, broke off ties for 20 years

During the interview, Nnadia revealed that she had run away from home many years ago and as a result, was not in contact with her family for 20 years. It wasn’t until Nnadia bumped into her younger sister on the streets of Central District one day while she was filming a series that her relationship with her family started to change. In the end, she was reunited with her family and the misunderstandings they had eventually dissolved with age. Nnadia indicates that currently, she has a very close relationship with her family: “Whether it’s members of my own family or other people, I’ve developed better understanding of them and wholeheartedly want to be involved in resolving issues. In reality, sometimes the smallest issue could be of the utmost importance and many small issues added together could become a big issue. Actually, the concept of being the primary problem solver in the family is not difficult to learn, but you need to understand your own abilities and see if you’re capable of handling it – otherwise, you could potentially create even more problems and the relationship could get worse instead of better. When I say ‘ability’, I’m referring primarily to the ‘time’ factor – some issues can’t be resolved in 1 day or even 1 week – even if it takes a few months or a few years to resolve, you have to be willing to invest the time and face the situation as a family. If your family happens to be elsewhere, in another country for example, then constant communication via phone is necessary.” Nnadia indicated that she sets aside 1 day every week as family day, also called ‘settling accounts day’, during which each member of her family spends time together talking and communicating honestly with one another.

Her husband is her ‘third eye’

Nnadia admits that her personality is still the same as before and hasn’t changed much despite everything she has experienced. She deeply believes that her personality will never change, so all she can do is constantly learn and improve: “In my heart, I try to keep a ‘scale’ that helps me measure whether things are fair or not – the most important thing is making sure that there is fairness. I’m very open to advice from my husband Zhang Duo as well as other people – my husband is actually a lot more rational than I am, probably because he has been very independent since he was young; therefore, I listen to his advice very objectively and with an open mind. He is my ‘third eye’, as he is very thorough when it comes to weighing the pros and cons of a situation.

Her most unforgettable pain

Nnadia reveals that the situation that has affected and changed her life the most is losing both her father and grandfather within 2 years of each other. Watching both of them struggle so hard to stay live is something that she will never forget: “Compared to everything I experienced in the past, none of it mattered anymore! Watching your loved ones leave you and realizing that there was still so much that you hadn’t done for them yet and so many things you haven’t told them – it’s difficult to find words to describe that type of feeling, especially knowing that you can’t make up for those lost times! That’s why now, I don’t care about what others may think of me. For example, when I was asked about why I didn’t return to work after getting married and when I will be filming series again, my only response was to smile – because that’s my own personal issue and as long as I feel happy and am enjoying the moment, that’s all that matters.”

Talent can’t keep negative trends away

Nnadia can be considered a multi-talented artist – in addition to singing and acting in TV series, she also starred as the female lead in God of Songs Jacky Cheung’s acclaimed stage musical 《Snow Wolf Lake》, plus she has also written books and essays related to beauty and also served as the spokesperson for a beauty salon. Possessing such a perfect blend of skill and talent, it is definitely the entertainment industry’s loss that Nnadia is semi-retired from the industry and has decided not to return to filming series.

“I don’t have plans to film any more series in the near future and don’t have much interest in singing again either. Right now, I want to concentrate fully on my job as ‘social worker’ for my family. In the future, if I encounter a good script, I may consider it, but it also depends on what type of message the series intends to convey. In the current entertainment industry, I see a lot of people working hard to fulfill their dreams, but unfortunately, the atmosphere is not that good – people like me are too fragile, so it’s necessary to leave, only strong people can continue to stay.” (Is it because of the ‘leng mos’ [young models] that are causing such a negative atmosphere in the industry?) “I’m the fragile type and would probably ask them why they are like that – I also would probably tell them to put more clothes on.”

Nnadia indicated that the reason why she agreed to participate in 《ICAC 2011》was because of the opportunity to interact with the ICAC and learn more about them – plus she felt that she has reached a certain age that is suitable for the type of character that she will be portraying; in the past, most of the characters she played were ones that always needed to be ‘saved’.

Assistant director for Ekin Cheng

Throughout her career, Nnadia collaborated with many male artists – including Leon Lai, Jacky Cheung, Ekin Cheng, Julian (Chilam) Cheung, Louis Koo, Roger Kwok, Adam Cheng, etc.

“One time, I started thinking about Ekin Cheng all of a sudden, probably because I collaborated with him the most in the past. I remember back when we were filming《Instinct》, Ekin once said that he wanted to be a director and told me to be his assistant director. I believe that if he were to become a director today and asked me to be assistant director, I would help him! Back then, Ekin was always very passionate about his work, but I was never able to match his enthusiasm, as I really wanted to pursue an education. Knowing that I was more interested in school, Ekin even told me back then that I should stop filming series and go back to school, as the knowledge I would obtain is mine and is something I could always use.”

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Chinese Version:

陳松伶寬恕忘仇

陳松伶早年憑兒歌《烏卒卒》唱到街知巷聞，演過《天涯歌女》、《笑看風雲》及《天地男兒》等無綫經典劇集，分別與黎明、鄭伊健及古天樂等型男合作過，成為當年無綫的當家花旦。可是名利雙收的背後，她亦遭遇過慘痛的經歷；曾經離家出走，與家人斷絕來往20年；與前經理人因誤會決裂，一夜之間變成身無分文。陳松伶經歷人生起跌，幸好她多年來堅守「2F」信念，即Forgive and Forget（寬恕及忘記），認為人只要有生命，總可以重新站起來。結果，她做到了，現在與家人感情要好，亦已下嫁內地藝人張鐸，過幸福生活。

陳松伶（松松）近數年絕迹香港娛樂圈，就連內地也罕有她的作品，對上一齣劇集，要數到2008年的內地劇《單親媽媽》。松松最近重返香港，在書展上宣布已成為張太，與內地男藝人張鐸已結為夫婦，又答應港台客串《廉政行動2011》其中一個單元。松松說﹕「今次回港，主要是想為母親的物業作裝修，並整理自己一批藏書，因有太多無法運去內地，唯有送去圖書館。其間上網看電郵，發現有很多人找我，當中包括港台，原來廉署選角揀中我，自己亦有興趣參演，於是一拍即合。其實我一直想回饋社會，今次都算是一個機會。」

傻人與好人之間

松松大讚廉政公署是最正派的政府部門。現實生活中有否遇見貪污事件？她說﹕「真正的貪污未見過，只見過有人送少少禮物，但人情不等同賄賂，可能是表示感謝，最重要是不要踩過界線；等於做人一樣，過多幫助會變成溺愛或寵壞，太過嚴厲責備，就似將一個人推到盡頭！凡事要中庸，不過我仍是學習階段，不知道會否學得遲。」

是否曾經過分溺愛身邊人，所以有感而發？

「當然是經歷過，才會有這想法。其實一直以來，我做人寬容性好大，大到自己是否變成一個傻人或過分好人，自己都搞不清楚，感覺是兩者之間。（所指的是否前經理人？）只是代入自己一直以來遇過的事，不論以前經理人，還是會再接觸的人，過去的都過去了。」

跌得傷 起得快

提到與前經理人決裂一事，記得松松當年因此失去在圈中打滾20年、辛苦掙回來的血汗錢。但松松遇上挫折並無放棄，還勇敢地站起來，足以給年輕一代借鏡，不要遇上少少挫折便輕易放棄，甚至尋死。

松松說：「那段時間心中抱住兩個F的信念，但不是粗口，是Forgive and Forget，選擇寬恕及忘記，不要記着慘事，只要自己仍有生命、仍然健全，就一定可以重新站起來；况且，來這個世界時，亦是什麼也沒有。」松松自爆入行初期，不時帶功課到片場做，要兼顧學業及事業，甚感吃力，「生活同理想會有衝突，年輕人不要輕易放棄學業，如經濟沒能力，可以半工讀，我的妹妹也是這樣完成碩士課程，有時如何艱難都好，只要好好分配時間就可以。」

暫時未想生BB

松松坦言享受現時的生活，夫妻二人已有共識暫時不要小朋友。她說：「我們這刻沒有傳宗接代的想法。我的父母不是有錢人，要經過大半生辛勞，才將子女養育成材；為人父母要為子女負出及承擔，所以不是隨便話生便生。另一個原因是我想多留一點時間陪母親，以及處理家人的問題。所以，有時感覺自己婚後變成『社工』，化身『家庭事務所』去處理問題。其實家中真的需要一個人去處理所有問題，一些小事沒人理會可能會化為大事，每一家都有本難唸的經，但如何難唸都總要去面對。」

離家出走20年

原來松松昔日曾離家出走，與家人沒聯絡20年，最後在中環街頭拍劇時遇上胞妹，情况才得以改變，之後與家人重聚後，箇中誤會隨年紀長大而化解。松松指現時與家人關係是最親密的，她說：「無論自己的家人或外家，都多了了解，願意坦誠解決眼前問題；其實芝麻綠豆小事也很重要，加起來也是一件大事。其實『家庭事務所』理論不難學習，但要看清自己的尺度，本身也要有能力，否則會製造更多事端，關係愈搞愈差。能力是指時間，有些問題不是一日或一星期可以解決，要一起面對，一兩個月甚至一兩年都要付出。如果分隔兩地，要多點電話聯絡。」松松指每周會有一天作為家庭日，也叫作清算日，互相傾訴慰問，認真的溝通，說出心事。

丈夫是第三眼

松松自嘲性格依舊，沒有因任何事醒覺，深信亦沒有「醒」來的一天，唯有繼續學習及改進，「我心中只會抱持一個秤，最重要是大家公平。我會聽取丈夫張鐸及其他人的意見，丈夫較我理性很多倍，可能是他自小已很獨立，我會採取客觀態度聽取他的意見。他是我第三隻眼睛，對好與壞看得更透徹。」

最難忘的傷痛

松松透露影響及改變自己最大的，是兩年內先後目送爸爸及外公離世，兩人如何不想過身及掙扎過程，是她一生人不可以忘記的事，「相對以往自己種種經歷，已是不再重要，因為最愛的人在你面前離去，原來自己還有很多事未為對方做、有很多說話未跟對方講，那種難過感受是難以形容的，亦無法彌補！。所以我現在不會理會別人的看法。例如被問到為何婚後不工作、不再拍戲？我只會笑一笑，因為這是自己的事，這一刻感覺享受就可以。」

才藝難擋歪風

陳松伶不單止唱兒歌出色，曾擔正做張學友經典音樂劇《雪狼湖》女主角，實屬演得唱得之人，加上曾出版美容書及散文集，又為美容院任代言人，可謂聲色藝俱全，如今半退休不再拍劇，實是娛樂圈一大損失。

「暫時不會再拍劇，對上一套劇集《單親媽媽》是兩三年前的事，現在對唱歌的興趣不是太濃厚，只想專心做好『家庭事務所』這份工。日後若遇到好劇本才想，也要看主題是宣揚什麼信息。現在的娛樂圈，我看到有不少藝人為理想而努力，但風氣不是太好，我這類人太脆弱了，所以要走；堅強的人才可繼續留低。（是否指o靓模的風氣不太好？）我很脆弱的，會問她們點解，也會忍不住叫她們著多件衫。」松松指今次為港台拍攝《廉政行動2011》，是想借機會接觸廉署，加上去到一個適合的年齡去演這類角色，以往自己演的，多是被人拯救的人。

松松當年扮鬼扮馬唱兒歌。

做伊健助導

松松合作過的男星不少，四大天王有黎明及張學友，其餘鄭伊健、張智霖、古天樂、郭晉安及鄭少秋亦在不同劇集合作過。

「有次突然想起鄭伊健，因過往合作最多的男星是他，記得當時拍《笑看風雲》，伊健說想當導演，叫我做助導。如果今時今日真的叫我做助導，我會幫他做的。當初伊健是滿腔熱誠去工作，而我就很想讀書，伊健也有叫我不要拍劇，回去上學，讀多一點書，得着是自己的。」