Oriental Daily interview with Michael Tao and Kathy Chow: Kathy ‘unties’ the knot in Michael’s heart, leave the ‘kissing’ up to fate

Here's the last of Michael Tao's 4 part interview with Oriental Daily (this is the one with Kathy Chow that I had mentioned in previous posts).

Just like with the other 3 interviews (the first one with Kenix Kwok reminiscing about DIF, the second one with Bobby AuYeung and Felix Lok talking about FOJ, and the third one with Wayne Lai where they chatted about ATV's "Showbiz Tycoon"), I definitely enjoyed this last one one with Kathy (and yes, as predicted, the focus was on the 3 series that they collaborated on at ATV).  The interesting thing about this particular interview though was that Michael and Kathy had collaborated in numerous series back in the 80s/90s at TVB, but their 'friendship' only started in 1999 when they started collaborating on ATV series (though I'm pretty sure they had already developed a good rapport with each other back in their TVB days, it's just that working together so frequently in a short amount of time at ATV made it easier to have a closer friendship).

Anyway, whatever the case, this was another great interview!  I will definitely miss these interviews now that the last one has been published (what am I going to look forward to reading next Sunday?).

*****

Oriental Daily interview with Michael Tao and Kathy Chow:   Kathy ‘unties’ the knot in Michael’s heart, leave the ‘kissing’ up to fate

Source:  Oriental Daily

Translation:  llwy12

Starting in 1999, Michael Tao (陶大宇) and Kathy Chow (周海媚) collaborated on 3 series while they were at ATV – in those 3 series, the two of them got the chance to play lovers, mother and son, master and servant. These collaborations left a lasting impression on Michael, who playfully expressed that at one point, Kathy kept ‘popping up’ in many of his scenes and almost made him ‘go crazy’. Michael expressed that back in the day, Kathy had to resign from one of the series due to illness, which resulted in Michael having to do a kiss scene with a stunt double instead of with Kathy herself –he had to ‘hypnotize’ himself to pretend that the stunt double was Kathy. When Kathy found out about Michael’s ‘grievance’, she laughingly told him: “Ok, I owe you a kiss scene then – I’ll pay it back to you later!”

MT = Michael Tao

KC = Kathy Chow

KC: Michael, after we collaborated on the 3 series Flaming Brothers《縱橫四海》, To Where He Belongs《縱橫天下》, and Showbiz Tycoon《影城大亨》[at ATV], we did not get the chance to collaborate any more. Afterwards, I shifted my career to Beijing [Mainland China] and in 2008, I attended your birthday party in Shanghai -- we also bumped into each other 2 more times later on during a commercial event. We may not see each other often, but sitting down to chat with you today, the feeling you give me is that you haven’t changed one bit!

MT: That time when I was filming in Shanghai, you just happened to be in the area – thank you for stopping by and giving me birthday greetings. However, it seems that we still somehow lack a bit of affinity – even though we filmed 3 series together, our ‘relationship’ is a bit confusing…in fact, you actually caused me to ‘go crazy’!

KC: Huh…that serious?

MT: Back when we were filming Flaming Brothers, you had to quit after already filming half the series because you became ill, leaving your stunt double to finish filming our scenes with me. The storyline was about me madly pursuing you and there was a lot of deeply emotional dialogue [involved in those scenes], but your stunt double had no clue what was going on and she also had no acting experience, so for all the ‘romance’ scenes, I essentially had to act with myself! The funniest part was when I had to tell your stunt double ‘I love you’ and she responded with ‘1-2-3-4-5’…hahaha! The worst was that I originally had the opportunity to do kiss scenes with you, but in the end, I had to keep convincing myself in my mind that a stunt double was you – now you understand why I ‘went crazy’?

Does not have SLC illness

KC: That time I was not feeling well, but it wasn’t SLC (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) as rumored – from birth, I’ve always had a low blood platelet count in my body, so whenever I bump into anything, I bruise very easily. In fact, I recently hit my head accidentally and the bruise took a long time to heal – luckily I didn’t have to work at the time. Listening to you speak just now, it sounds like I owe you a kiss scene then…haha!

MT: Well, not really. When you were sick back then, all of us were very worried about you. Later on, when we got the chance to collaborate on To Where He Belongs together, I thought we would finally get the chance to pick up where we left off previously – to my surprise though, this time around, you played my mother in the series! When I saw your ‘old lady’ look in the dressing room, I was so scared – I remember I asked you with a shocked expression on my face: ‘What are you doing?’ At the time, I really could not accept it!

KC: Hahahaha! I feel that Wong Jing (王晶) [the series’ scriptwriter] was trying to play a joke on you!

MT: Then when we did Showbiz Tycoon, I was hopeful once again, since I would be playing the boss of a movie production company so it would make sense that I’d have the opportunity to ‘get close’ with the female artists who work for me. But the way my character was written, I played a boss with high standing who only has an attitude of ‘mentoring the next generation’ towards his female artists – it was almost like I was your ‘father’ in a sense, so of course no opportunity for kiss scenes!

Very brave to play ‘mother’ role

KC: My character admired you a lot, but you never had romantic feelings toward me – at most, our relationship was just a little bit ‘ambiguous’. No wonder you said that you felt like going crazy! However, I believe we will have the opportunity to collaborate again in the future. On July 1st, I signed with a new management company [SMI Corporation] and there will be a lot of new developments coming up, so we can talk more at that time – I should definitely have the chance to repay you [the kiss scene]!

MT: I admire you a lot for taking on the ‘mother’ role in To Where He Belongs, as most female artists wouldn’t take such a risk playing that type of role. I remember you telling me at the time that you purposefully took that role because you wanted to challenge yourself – I feel that you’re very brave!

KC: I took the role because I felt the character was very well-written. I was paired with Damien [Lau] (劉松仁) and a lot of the storyline was told via flashback scenes – the script was also very attractive: my character loses her memory and regresses back to having the personality of a little kid. I really wanted to challenge myself with this type of character, so I didn’t mind taking it on. I remember at the time, I would stare at a picture of my mom and constantly think about how to make myself look old.

Dated for 10 years, relationship with boyfriend similar to a ‘married couple’

MT: You really don’t have to worry about looking old, as you’ve taken care of yourself well over the years. I even heard that you’re currently dating someone?

KC: I’ve actually been dating for 10 years already. My boyfriend is 10 years younger than me – he’s an architect whom I met through a friend. In the beginning, my boyfriend was really opposed to me being in the entertainment industry – to be honest, during the first 2 -3 years that we dated, I declined a lot of job offers…true, making money is important, but I can’t let that be the only focus in my life – I don’t want to push myself too hard. In terms of getting married – my boyfriend actually already proposed to me the first few years we started dating, but I’m really not in a hurry, as I don’t want to completely give up my acting career right now. Our relationship is very steady right now and it’s no different than that of a married couple – the only thing missing is the marriage contract. I’m pretty much letting things happen at will – if later on I suddenly feel like getting married, then I’ll do it, but it will definitely be low profile…no need to have a huge ceremony because I’ve filmed way too many wedding scenes in my career and pretty much have already worn every type of wedding dress imaginable.

No problem walking out in the street with no makeup

MT: Since Beijing is already your ‘new home’, what brought you back to Hong Kong this time?

KC: Earlier I did the movie The Yang Female Warriors《楊門女將》and the filming process was extremely exhaustive: we had to film in Inner Mongolia, where the weather was 30 degrees below zero and since there were a lot of fight scenes, we were pulled on wires a lot – I even got hit with a sword accidentally and it caused my leg to be swollen for a long time! I don’t know how I lasted through it, but now that it’s over, I really need to rest – I’ve pretty much been working for more than 2 years straight without much rest, so with the opportunity to take a break right now, I figured I’d come back to HK to visit relatives. The lifestyle in HK versus Beijing is very different – when I’m in HK, I usually go around shopping or running errands very leisurely. Reporters have snapped pictures of me taking the subway, eating ice cream, shopping, etc., but I don’t mind – they can take pictures all they want! Usually when I go out, I don’t like to put on makeup – I don’t see anything wrong with that, as long as I’m not affecting others. Sometimes, I even stand around the street corners eating fish balls from the local street vendors!

MT: I really admire your ‘not bothering with trifles’ personality! No wonder you’ve been able to keep yourself looking so young!

KC: Actually, my face just ‘looks’ cool – those who know me would laugh at me and those who don’t would probably be scared to death! Doing makeup and hair is a clumsy experience for me —the ladies who do my hair at work all dread doing it because each time, there are hair clips and combs all over the place. Sometimes, if we’re filming on location somewhere and I’m asked to touch up on my makeup, I usually tell the crew not to bother, as it looks fine the way it is!

MT: I feel that every artist has a certain temperament about them – your temperament is a result of your self-confidence!

.----.

EPILOGUE

Over the course of doing the 4 interviews with his friends, Michael Tao’s biggest concern was making sure that the needs of his guests were taken care of. With Kenix Kwok, he wanted to make sure that the interview didn’t interfere with her daughter’s exams [for getting into school]; with Bobby AuYeung and Felix Lok, he was concerned about whether the accessories he chose for them to wear were equally balanced; with Wayne Lai, he was concerned whether drinking wine during the interview would affect his ability to drive and wanted to make sure he got home safely; and with Kathy Chow, when he found out she still had bruises on her head from accidentally hitting it, he was concerned about her feelings doing a photo shoot for the interview, so he delayed the interview until her injury was healed. With the careful attention that he gives to his friends, no wonder all his buddies have nothing but praise for him and when he invited them for these interviews, they agreed readily!

************

Chinese version

周海媚解宇心結 有緣再咀


陶大宇和周海媚（海味）於1999年起結劇緣，合作過三部劇集，二人所演角色，有情侶、母子及主僕，令大宇感覺刻骨銘心，並笑言海味在他的「戲場」穿插，幾乎令他「變態」。事緣當年海味因病辭演，大宇要跟替身拍情深款款的咀戲，只能自我催眠當眼前替身就是海味。海味得知大宇有此委屈，笑說：「當我欠你一場咀戲，遲啲還番畀你！」


周：大宇，跟你合作過三套劇《縱橫四海》、《縱橫天下》及《影城大亨》之後，都未有再合作，之後我去咗北京發展，2008年喺上海出席你嘅生日會，之後商演都遇上兩次，雖然碰面唔多，但今次我哋坐埋傾偈，你畀我感覺依然冇變！
 
陶：嗰次我喺上海拍劇，你又咁啱喺附近，好多謝你到賀，不過，我哋總係欠點緣分，雖然拍咗三套劇，但我同你之間嘅關係太撲朔迷離，你簡直令我「變態」！
 
周：吓……點解咁嚴重？
 
陶：當年拍《四海》，你拍咗大半部戲後因為病而休息，留番你嘅替身同我做戲，劇情寫我狂追你，用詞情深款款，但你嘅替身完全唔知發生咩事，又冇演戲經驗，談情戲惟有全程「食自己」，即係自己同自己演，最好笑我對住替身講好愛你，佢就回我12345，哈哈，問你死未！最慘係我明明有機會同你拍咀戲，我卻要將一個唔係周海媚嘅替身幻想為周海媚，咁你話我仲唔係變態？
 
冇患紅斑狼瘡症


周：當年我身體唔舒服，但唔係患「紅斑狼瘡症」，只係天生血小板低，輕微碰撞都好易瘀，我最近都撞親個頭，啲瘀血好耐都唔散，好彩唔使開工，既然依家聽你咁講，即係話我欠你一場咀戲啦，哈哈！

陶：又唔係咁講，嗰時你唔舒服我哋都好擔心，到拍《天下》時，我以為有機會同你再續未了緣，點知今次個劇你係做我阿媽！當日喺化妝間見到你化老妝，嚇得我，我仲記得好愕然咁問「你喺度做乜嘢呀」？我真係接受唔到囉！

周：哈哈哈哈，我覺得係王晶（《天下》監製）玩你囉！

陶：直到拍《影城》，我仲有期盼，演電影公司老闆應該有機會親近旗下花旦，點知因為角色關係，我演一名好有地位嘅老闆，面對旗下女演員，只抱一種提攜後輩嘅態度，好似做你老竇咁，細姪女冇得咀！


演阿媽角色夠勇

周：我個角色係好仰慕你喎，但你又唔喜歡我，我哋關係只係有點曖昧，難怪你會咁變態！我相信我哋總有機會再合作，今年七月一日，我簽咗新經理人公司「星美國際」，嚟緊會有好多新嘅發展，到時我哋認認真真「行埋」（合作），一定有機會還番畀你（咀戲）！

陶：演《天下》時我好佩服你，一般女星唔會咁冒險接「阿媽」角色，我好記得你當時同我講係特登接嘅，想挑戰呢個角色，我覺得你好有性格、好勇敢！

周：因為我覺得角色寫得好好，劇中有好多「Flash Back」場面，我同松哥（劉松仁）談情，劇本好，寫我失憶變番一個細路仔嘅性格，我好想演，所以唔介意接，當時我拎住自己阿媽張相不停諗點樣先可以變老。


拍拖十年 和男友似夫妻

陶：你真係唔需要擔心老，保養得好好，我仲聽聞你蜜運中？

周：其實我拍咗拖十年，男友比我年輕十年，佢做建築，係朋友介紹認識，起初男友好抗拒我做呢行，講真，頭兩、三年為咗拍拖，我推咗好多Job，搵錢的確重要，但我嘅人生唔可以不停為了搵錢，唔想逼自己咁辛苦。講到結婚，男友頭幾年已向我求婚，但我真係唔急，唔想放低演藝工作，我哋關係好穩定，已經同夫妻冇分別，只係欠一紙婚書，遲啲可能突然想結咪結囉，好隨意，不過會低調唔需要大搞，因為我拍結婚戲太多，古今中外嘅婚紗都着過好多次！


素顏行街冇問題

陶：北京已經係你嘅「新天地」，今次返香港又為乜呢？

周：早前拍電影《楊門女將》好辛苦，喺內蒙零下三十幾度好凍，拍個武打鏡頭，吊威吔360度轉落地仲被劈咗刀，隻腳都腫晒！我都唔知點捱過嚟，真係要抖吓，工作咗兩年幾都未休息過，趁休息返嚟探吓屋企人。香港同北京生活係唔同，但我喺香港都會好悠閒周圍行街、食雪糕，記者影我搭港鐵、食雪糕，冇所謂嘅，咪影囉！我平日上街都唔愛化妝，又唔覺有問題喎，只要企企理理唔影響巿容就得，我仲會喺街邊拮魚蛋添！

陶：好欣賞你不拘小節嘅性格，唔怪得你keep住年輕，好似食咗防腐劑！

周：其實我個樣cool咋，識我嘅人笑死，唔識嘅就嚇死！試過返公司化妝，梳頭啲阿姐幫我整頭都好驚，又跌髮夾又跌梳，有時我拍外景，化妝阿姐話叫我補妝，我都話唔使啦，好靚啦！

陶：我諗每個演員都有一種氣質，而你嘅氣質來自你嘅自信！


後記：

在陶大宇的四篇訪問中，他最關心是受訪嘉賓的需要，先是擔心會否阻礙郭可盈照顧女兒的考試，而歐陽震華和駱應鈞的衣着配搭又是否平均，與黎耀祥訪談時興起飲紅酒會否影響其駕駛安全；最後得悉周海媚撞傷頭令到面有瘀痕，又怕她影相不靚，一度延遲遷就。大宇對朋友的心細如塵，難怪一班老友對他讚口不絕，邀約訪談冇托手o架。

周： 周海媚　陶： 陶大宇
文：影視組
攝：司徒國榮