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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Mingpao Interview with Raymond Cho: Grateful to his wife for her support; looks up to Wayne Lai as his example to emulate

The latest issue of Mingpao Weekly magazine came out this past weekend and there were actually quite a few interesting articles in it this time (unlike a few of the recent issues where I felt as though MP was starting to go down the ‘tabloid / gossip mag’ route).

Anyway, this week’s issue included an in-depth interview with actor Raymond Cho, who is one of my favorite supporting actors at TVB (my list of ‘favorites’ in the supporting actor category is probably longer than my list of leading actors…LOL!). I’ve always felt that Raymond is a hugely talented actor who is very much underrated at TVB (not surprisingly, TVB hasn’t tapped into his full potential) – he really hasn’t gotten very many good roles at TVB, which is a shame because he is such a good actor!

One of the things I love most about Raymond is his sense of humor – he always manages to turn something negative into a positive (just found out from the article that he learned this from Wayne Lai…hehe!) and make people laugh. I absolutely enjoy ‘following’ his Weibo everyday and reading all the stuff he posts as well as seeing his interaction with his friends – brings a smile to my face each time (his recent ‘bantering’ back and forth with Edwin Siu over the pettiest of things absolutely cracks me up)!

Actually, this interview came at the perfect time because for the past few weeks, I’ve been watching the series “Journey of Love”, which is one of Raymond’s earlier TVB series from the mid-90s -- in fact, I think this was actually his first series, but need to check to make sure, since I don’t really remember (I’ll be doing a review of the series later). It’s definitely interesting to read the below interview and understand what his struggles were during that same time period (mid-90s). I definitely have more respect for Raymond after reading this interview!

Lastly – the interview is LONG (as MP’s interviews usually are), but definitely worth reading! Hope it was as enjoyable a read for you as it was for me! :0)

*****

Mingpao Interview with Raymond Cho:   Grateful to his wife for her support; looks up to Wayne Lai as his example to emulate


Article originally published on June 16th, 2012

Translation: llwy12






Due to filming in Hengdian [China] for TVB series Beauty at War《金枝慾孽(貳)》, Raymond Cho did not get the chance to spend Father’s Day (June 17th) with his 2 children, which already caused in him feelings of regret – in addition to that though, he also was not able to physically take part in his daughter Erin Cho’s one year old birthday celebration. Luckily, with the advances in technology, he was able to stay in communication with his children via video chat on his phone. Little Erin is able to talk to her father constantly using this method, so even when he has to be away for 3 weeks filming in China, Raymond does not have to worry that his daughter doesn’t recognize him – as soon as he returns home, she welcomes him with a bright smile as though he had never been gone. For Raymond Cho, there is nothing else in life right now that gives him more satisfaction than having a happy family and being blessed with a great wife as well as 2 adorable kids [son Brandon is 4 and daughter Erin is 1].

Since he started in the industry 18 years ago, Raymond’s career has not been smooth-sailing – in fact, it can be said that he’s had mostly bad luck in his career. In 1994, he started off as a singer and released a few albums, however he was not met with much success – his subsequent career in the entertainment industry was bumpy and filled with frustrations: “At that time, it was impossible to earn any money being singer. For a period of time, I had even gone to Malaysia to film TV series, but after 2 series, the entire production company went under and I had to return to Hong Kong.”

That period was the lowest point in Raymond’s life – not only was he unable to make enough money to cover basic living expenses for himself, he also was unable to provide for his family, which made him feel ashamed. Without much income coming in, he had no choice but to take out advances on his credit cards to cover his debts: “From 1994 to 1999, I had over $100,000 [HKD] in credit card advances and no matter how much I tried to scrimp and save, I was only able to pay off a little bit of interest each time – it was almost impossible to pay off the credit card debt completely.”

[During the interview], as he recounted this low point in his life, Raymond was able to keep a relatively peaceful tone – after all, this happened more than a decade ago – however life experiences, no matter how pleasant or difficult, are ultimately etched in one’s memory forever: “During that time, I felt absolutely miserable. Luckily though, I had 2 older brothers and 1 younger brother who were able to take up the responsibility of providing for the family – indirectly, this was a great help to me, as my family was very understanding of my situation. Despite how difficult things were, they saw how hard I worked and never once did they ask me to change careers.”


Used one credit card to cover another

It is often stated that when you start to have bad luck, it continues to follow you for a period of time – this certainly seemed to be the case with Raymond. At that time, since he didn’t have any money, Raymond thought about selling the second-hand car he owned for a few thousand dollars to cover his living expenses: “I remember the year was 1996. The day I was to sell my car, a huge rainstorm struck – the moment I drove my car out, it swerved into a gutter near a construction site and the entire car was totaled – just like that, I lost a few thousand bucks!” Right after the accident, in the face of such horrible luck, Raymond looked up at the heavens, gave out a heavy sigh, and silently, the tears began to flow: “It was at that very moment that I finally thought about changing careers – since 2 of my brothers had opened insurance companies, I thought about going into the same field; or I could go into real estate, but I didn’t know anyone in that industry at the time.” Coincidentally, as he was debating the career change, he received an invitation to film a movie – this gave him the little bit of hope he needed to completely dispel the thought of changing careers.

In 1999, Raymond returned to TVB through the help of a friend. At the time, TVB offered him a monthly salary of $3600 [HKD], which was way less than what he made when he first started in the industry – thinking of his plight, the tears again started to flow: “I cried because that’s when the realization finally hit home – being in this industry, of course I understand that the amount of salary the company is willing to give you represents the level of worth you have in their eyes.” After wiping away the tears, he made up his mind to return to TVB and start all over again. Fortunately, one of the directors liked how he spoke clearly and eloquently, so he was asked to film numerous travelogue specials. Even though he finally had income coming in, it still wasn’t enough to pay for basic expenses and he had to continue living a life of using one credit card to cover the debts from another card.

The turning point in Raymond’s career came after he filmed Healing Hands 2 《妙手仁心2》in which he played Dr. Chris Heung – the role was well-received by audiences and soon, Raymond’s salary increased. After much effort, he was finally able to pay off all his credit card debts and was even able to give a monthly allowance to his parents: “At the time, I thought that the tide had finally turned and I could make a comeback in my career, but then shortly after that, I didn’t have any series to film for a long period of time and again, my career stalled.” Career-wise, he experienced many instances of endless hope, only to be heavily disappointed in the end – having to face numerous ups and downs, he expressed: “My feelings at the time was that the road ahead was immense and the future was very fuzzy – just when I thought that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, I experienced a period where I didn’t have any work for 9 months.”

With the ups and downs in his career, Raymond started to believe that a lot of things in life are arranged by fate and began to understand that some things cannot be forced. Now, he constantly remembers the advice that one of his seniors once gave him – do not hope that you will suddenly shoot to the top because the more you hope for it, the more you will be disappointed: “I once had high hopes for a few of the series I had participated in, but in the end, things didn’t go as I thought….” Gradually, he started to understand the ‘rules of the game’.


Got drunk to numb himself

During the lowest periods in his life, in the stillness of the night, sometimes his heart would be filled with melancholy -- in a helpless state of depression, Raymond would grumble at the unfairness of his plight and lament his constant bad luck: “Whenever I thought about my plight, I would cry and my temper would become irritable. I would lie awake every night worried about my future and think about how to carry on with life – sometimes I would also wonder whether I had perhaps offended someone – pretty much all my thoughts were negative.” At one point, he had tried ‘knocking on the producer’s door’ [TN: approaching producer directly to solicit work], but unfortunately, the producer was only willing to give him a very minor role, so he decided to turn it down. This made him realize that the more you tried to knock on someone’s door, the more the person will feel that you’re ‘not worth it.’ Back then, when he was in a bad mood, he would take sleeping pills to help him sleep and also drink alcohol in the hopes of numbing himself so that he didn’t have to think too much.

Three years ago, when his son Brandon was a little over 1 year old, Raymond also experienced a time when he was out of work for months – at the time, he also went through mood swings and felt frustrated: “When my career wasn’t going well, my mood was easily affected – sometimes, when I felt a little depressed, even when I got home, I wouldn’t talk much and instead would constantly be thinking about things. Later on, I learned to cope with it by focusing all my energy on my son – when I saw how happy he was every day, it made me feel better in my heart.” Even though TVB didn’t give him any work for 9 months, Raymond did receive quite a few invitations to film commercials, which helped him earn extra income and also helped ease his feelings of frustration.

Back when his son Brandon was born, Raymond felt that he was truly a gift from the Heavens and happily accepted it – however when his wife Elaine [Chiang] unexpectedly became pregnant again [with daughter Erin], he felt a bit apprehensive and worried: “With another baby on the way, of course the expenses would be higher. I kept thinking about the future and was worried that I wouldn’t be able to provide the best for our second child – I definitely wasn’t prepared.” He expressed that the first time he found out about his wife’s second pregnancy, he felt like fainting because he knew he would now need to consider many things, such as moving to a bigger home to accommodate his growing family and also hiring another domestic helper to help take care of the baby: “The hardships I endured in the past made me feel a bit insecure about my career – I’ve always felt that being an actor is very passive and the future can be very unstable; therefore, I started to feel worried and pressured.”


Right now is the happiest point in life

Luckily, Raymond had friends whom he was able to confide in and they helped to ease his anxiety: “I was told to stop worrying! There are so many people in this world who want to have children but can’t – I have a son and a daughter, what more could I ask for? Plus, if we’re going to take on the role of parents, we have an obligation to raise our children and give them the best life possible.” His good friend Roger Kwok (郭晉安) would often share parenting tips with him and also would advise him not to worry so much.

Undoubtedly, Raymond is a very responsible father, which is partly why he often worried about providing the best life possible for his children – he didn’t want them to suffer one bit. Earlier, there were reports that Raymond encountered financial hardship and therefore had to sell his home at below market price – in reality, he actually sold his home in order to buy a more spacious one, since his wife was due to give birth soon and he wanted to make sure the family was situated.

“Whenever I want to buy anything for myself, I think about it for a long time, but whenever my kids want to buy something, I take out my wallet right away! That’s the attitude most parents take.” He and his wife Elaine barely have time to themselves nowadays – on days that he does not need to work, he would be responsible for buying groceries and cooking dinner: “We pretty much don’t have any time to ourselves – everything that we do, we take the kids into consideration first.”

When little Erin was born, Raymond finally tossed away all worry and happily accepted this new member into the household – in fact, he finds joy in taking care of his daughter now. At the mention of his daughter, Raymond truly comes alive and endlessly talks about how cute she is. He expressed that the thing that makes him most proud is that his son and daughter get along so well – Brandon loves his little sister a lot and every time Erin sees her big brother, she would grin happily: “Right now is the happiest point in my life. I understand now that I am more fortunate than many people and there is no need to worry about what life might have in store – as long as I put my best effort into providing for my family, that is enough.”

His son Brandon is his ‘lucky charm’ when it comes to filming commercials while his daughter Erin is his ‘lucky charm’ for filming series – in the past year or so since Erin was born, Raymond has already filmed 5 series practically back to back, with each role in the series having pretty good development. Two of the series have already aired and one will be an anniversary series – Raymond hopes that his acting will be accepted and recognized by audiences.


His wife quits her job to start own business

Raymond Cho has an excellent wife, Elaine Chiang (姜依蘭), who has accompanied him throughout many of the low points in his life – whether experiencing happy moments or unpleasant ones, she has been by his side supporting him: “Even during the most frustrating and disappointing moments of my career, she never once asked me to change jobs – this is very important to me!” Elaine is a quick thinker and has an overall positive outlook on life; she also comes from a well-educated background, so Raymond often consults with her on matters involving documents and such. Raymond expressed that though he lacks the educational background that his wife has, he has more life and society experience, so he and Elaine complement each other quite well: “We’ve been able to find a good balance and are able to get along very well.” Even though they hired 2 domestic helpers to support with the household chores, Raymond still takes it upon himself to help wash dishes or mop the floor when he is at home – whenever his wife sees him doing this, she always tells him that he doesn’t need to do it, but he doesn’t mind one bit.

Elaine is veteran actor John Chiang’s (姜大衛) daughter and was pretty much raised in a good environment her entire life – since she never experienced financial hardship, she didn’t have the same financial ‘burdens’ that Raymond did, so when the two of them were dating, she never gave him any pressure: “My father-in-law John and mother-in-law Maggie [Li] are great people – all along, they’ve been very supportive of me.”

Previously, Elaine had a steady job with very good income – with both of their salaries together, life was comfortable. When Elaine wanted to quit her job in order to start her own business, Raymond was opposed at first, as he felt that having a steady job provided financial security. However, after their daughter Erin was born, Elaine wanted to focus more time taking care of the kids at home: “With her previous job, she did make good money, but she also worked long hours so by the time she got home, it was very late at night. At that time, I did not have a lot of series to film, so when Brandon was born, I would take care of him more, which is why he’s closer with me. When she decided to quit her job, I objected at first, but seeing that she was going into the children’s apparel business and would only need to be at work for a few hours a day, which gave her more time to spend with the kids, I had no more reason to object. True, it’s necessary to make money, but choosing happiness is also very important.”

Being in the industry 18 years, Raymond no longer concerns himself with being ‘lucky’ or ‘unlucky’ – he takes his job very seriously and is very good about arriving to work on time and being one of the last to leave. No matter what type of role or script that TVB gives him, he always makes sure to do his homework and accumulate experience. Lately, TVB has been giving him roles with better opportunity for development, such as those in Ghetto Justice 2 《怒火街頭2》and The Confidant 《大太監》. Because of their collaboration in The Confidant, Raymond became good friends with the series’ star Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) – he praises Wayne’s work ethic and positive attitude: He [Wayne] is constantly sharing with us his philosophy on life as well as his many years of experience working at TVB. He very much enjoys the acting process and always tells us that no matter how exhaustive the process may be, don’t dwell too much on it – as long as you make enough money to put food on the table, then let it be. Also, no matter what type of character you get, always put your best effort into it – try not to have too much negative energy.” Wayne’s wife Julia often tells us that no matter what kind of adversity her husband encounters, he faces it and never complains.


Wayne Lai never complains

When it comes to Wayne’s advice, Raymond truly takes it to heart – because both of them are close in age and have gone through similar life experiences, they are able to get along well. Wayne often shares parenting tips with him as well: for instance, he said that when his son wants to buy something, he doesn’t buy it for him right away – rather, he gives his son time to think about it more to see if it’s something he truly likes or if he just wants it because his friends have it.

Raymond has nothing but praises for Wayne and his wife Julia – he expressed that both of them are great people and Wayne especially is a great example to emulate: despite his popularity, he is very humble, down-to-earth, sincere and treats all people with kindness and respect. Whenever they film on location and go out to eat, Wayne always insists on treating – even when they are ‘fighting’ over paying the bill, Wayne still does so with an amiable and modest attitude. Raymond expressed that one of the things he admires most about Wayne is his ability to handle all matters with a positive attitude: “No matter how exhaustive or difficult his work, never once have I seen him complain – he also never gets angry or upset. For instance, most actors who have to film all night without sleep and then have to make a 7am shoot the next morning would probably get upset and yell at the PA (production assistant) for arranging such a bad schedule – but Wayne is different, as he never gets upset over those types of things. He never goofs off and never complains – he always has a grateful attitude toward work.”

Wayne’s philosophy is that he should be counting his blessings that he even has a job – that’s why whatever work opportunities he gets, he treasures and puts all his effort into it. Seeing Wayne’s optimism and contentment when it comes to his career, Raymond couldn’t help saying: “Being in Wayne’s presence, I definitely learn a lot!” It’s precisely because he has an example to follow now that Raymond is slowly learning to look at the positive side to every situation and to complain less. In the past, he would feel that work was exhausting and difficult, but now looking back, he is grateful for the opportunity to sharpen his skills – without the hardships he endured in the past, he would not have treasured the current fruits of his labor as much as he does now: “At one point, I was so scared of not having enough money that I would constantly scrimp and save, then when things would get better and I’d have extra money, the temptation would be to splurge it – but now, my past experiences have taught me to spend wisely. In life too, I’ve learned to be more steadfast and down-to-earth – that’s why it’s true that one’s life experiences definitely helps one to grow.”

9 comments:

  1. It is eerie like you can read my mind when you mentioned Journey of Love, haha...I like that drama a lot when it was aired although it looks like a small budget simple story. At that time the casts were pretty fresh but they gave some very good performances. This is the drama that I started to pay attention to Raymond & Wallace. Looking fwd to read your review. Oh, I feel tempted to rewatch it, LOL.

    I find Raymond rather good looking & with equally good acting chop eventhough Journey is his 1st acting job in TVB. Then he & Wallace sort of disappeared from TVB. Years later, Raymond went back to TVB but he was given quite minor supporting roles which is such a shame. I wonder if his achievement/fame will be greater if he has gone to China instead of returning to TVB.

    I was watching a China drama acted by my fav Chilam but I ended up fast forwarding his part & concentrated on Wallace Chung's part, haha...There I found my lost Wallace in China:P I read some stories abt how TVB treated him badly etc but he never once mentioned anything bad abt TVB. Actualy most of his dramas in China are quite hard to stomach but it has nothing to do with his acting skills:)

    The fate of these 2 actors showcase how bias, political & incompetent TVB is. They don't value, appreciate & retain talent & let it be wasted. Those who are truly talented & work hard on it will succeed anywhere & with whatever roles. Thus I hope Raymond will end up like Wayne, being promoted & appreciated by TVB & the audience in the latter stage of his career.

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    1. @BOGAEfan: Hahaha....well, from previous conversations, it looks like we do have some similar interests in terms of series....but actually, it's kind of hard to talk about Raymond Cho without mentioning Journey of Love at one point, since that was one of the first series of his career and actually a pretty significant one for him...

      I'm actually going to refrain from commenting too much about Journey of Love right now, since I'm in the middle of writing the review for that series (just finished watching it yesterday). One thing I will say though is that I absolutely agree with you and bebeC 100% -- Wallace Chung is definitely the 'star' of the series in terms of the acting --his performance outshined EVERYONE's in the series (even the veteran actors!). It's definitely a shame the way Wallace was treated -- I know he's made a name for himself in China and in Taiwan prior to that because back when I was following Taiwan entertainment, I would hear about him quite alot (to the point that I forgot he was actually a HK artist...LOL).

      In terms of Raymond -- sometimes I wonder the same thing as well (whether he would have gotten more recognition in China), but unfortunately I don't think he would've had the chance to shine in China because he has yet to play any lead roles in series and that's pretty much the only way to become popular and thereby get the opportunity to film in China (notice that the majority of the HK artists who were successful and popular in Mainland China series were all lead actors/actresses in HK series at one point....). Even if he gets the chance to do so now, it might already be too late because he has kids he needs to take care of and most likely won't want to be away from them for a long time (similar to why Sunny Chan and Wayne Lai have no interest in moving their careers to Mainland).

      Yup, absolutely agree with everything you said in the last paragraph, especially the part about how whose who are truly talented and work hard will succeed anywhere -- that's why whenever I hear about such and such artists leaving TVB, I don't see it as a bad thing because without having to be 'stifled' any longer, that means they will finally get the chance to develop and maybe even become successful in their own right.

      Wayne is definitely the ultimate example of how true talent and hard work will eventually be recognized, even if it takes a long time (though as I've said before, I already knew of Wayne's talent back in the early 90s, since I've watched most of his series from the 80s/90s era and it actually was quite obvious he was talented -- it's just the bozos at TVB weren't able to recognize it!) -- of course, sometimes timing and other factors play a huge part in it as well (i.e. getting that 'breakthrough' role that draws the audience's attention on you in the first place, etc.), but basically, if you have the talent, people will tap into it eventually. I also hope that Raymond will become the next Wayne and finally get the recognition that he deserved a long time ago.

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    2. Did Wallace film any drama in Taiwan? I thought he only released a few albums there. I don't think you need to lead dramas in HK in order to break into the mainland mkt. Wallace & Hawick were never lead actors in TVB. I think being good looking & has filmed Taiwan serial or recorded Mandarin album are sufficient. Many 2nd line Taiwan actors are filming in China.

      Contrary to some opinions, I think RC is good looking. He has youthful look because of his baby face. When I saw him in Journey, I think he is more cute than Wallace. This is all a matter of timing & luck as to whether he can find success in China. But I think he may have more opportunity to work himself up as the mainland mkt is larger. Ya, at this stage of his life, I don't think he'll head up north as he has a family & the competition is too keen now. BTW I saw his father-in-law & Paul Chun in some China productions.

      I have nothing against Wayne's decision to stay put in HK for family reason but I believe one should step out of the comfort zone & acquire different experiences in China/Taiwan. If one can find success in most or all the Chinese mkts, this further showcase your ability & talent. You may be a big fish in TVB's pond but a little fish in Chinese tv's pond, LOL.

      Hey, I am also good at spotting talent:P I earmarked Leon Lai, Ekin Cheng, Louis Koo, Raymond Lam, Wayne Lai, Wallace Chung & Hawick Lau for success when they filmed their first or second dramas with TVB. The 2 times I dropped my specs are RC who has not gotten leading role yet & Moses who I thought will never lead a drama, hahaha....

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    3. @BOGAEfan: I'm not sure if Wallace filmed any series in Taiwan (though I want to say yes because I vaguely recall him guest starring in some series), but pretty much, as you said, he basically broke into the Taiwan market as a singer back in the 1990s (that's pretty much how I got to know him back when I was following Taiwan entertainment).

      Regarding HK artists breaking into Mainland....you made some good points -- I should probably clarify a little then...true, you don't necessarily need to have been a lead in HK, but I feel that for most people, there has to be a certain amount of 'popularity' and 'presence' already established in HK -- if not, it just makes things harder because the Mainland market is so huge and they already have their own actors/actresses (whether leading or supporting), most of whom are way above HK artists in the acting category (because most of them actually graduated from some professional acting academy, unlike HK where most of the actors/actresses came out of 1 TV station). To me, artists like Hawick and Wallace are 'exceptions' in that they were able to make a name for themselves without being tremendously popular in HK, but I think for them, part of the reason had to do with them already gaining a certain amount of popularity as singers first -- and also look how long it took them to establish themselves in Mainland....Btw, speaking of Wallace -- coincidentally, I just read an interview yesterday that Sina did with him (since one of his new Mainland series is airing) -- he was so cute...still had a little bit of that 'youthful boyishness' to him (hey, they don't call him "little sun" for nothing) ....the reporter who did the interview was obviously smitten with him...haha!

      LOL...actually, I was thinking the same thing....RC is 'good-looking' to me too -- he has that 'boyish charm' and babyface that makes him look youthful even though he's not really that young (sort of the same way I feel about Alec Su...hehehe). But I will be honest and say that compared to Wallace, I think it's obvious that Raymond is older because he does look older when you put the 2 of them together side by side (which is why I actually got confused at first when I was watching Journey of Love -- I thought Raymond would play the 3rd son and Wallace would play the youngest son...it wasn't until a few episodes after Wallace's character appeared that I figured out he was Raymond's "older" brother...hahaha)!

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    4. @BOGAefan - part 2: I also respect the artists decisions not to 'venture out' into other markets, as each artists' situation and goals are different -- if they are content with where they are at now and would prefer to keep things that way, there's no problem with that at all.....as long as it works for them, that's all that really matters.

      Hahaha....good for you! I've been right about quite a few artists, but of course I've also 'dropped my specs' a few times as well....but then again, this kind of thing can be a bit subjective, since everyone's standard of what constitutes 'good acting' will undoubtedly vary (and judgement could be affected by other factors as well)....overall though, not a bad track record, I guess...hahahaha!

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    5. Arrrgh llwy12, did you stalk me, haha? Bcos I was watching the press conference of his new drama Horizon Moon Knife on Sina last night as you know I can't read:P I am looking fwd to this bcos I've been starving of a good wuxia drama which is extinct in TVB:( However I don't like his crazy hairstyle & I am scared of draggy mainland drama. I read this story is connected to TVB's The Black Sabre which I like & has a good ending so I'll give it a try.

      Since you mentioned it, I was also confused when I found out Wallace is RC's older brother in Journey. I guess the director thinks they are more suited to the roles & not age wise. Sadly I think RC has aged less well than WC because of fatherhood & the crazy working hrs in TVB.

      Actually I was thinking RC is better looking than Steven Ma yet he is not lucky enough to have Catherine's backing & loved by Uncle Tim, Uncle Leung & Aunt Miu. I do like Steven Ma but his look is nothing to shout home abt, LOL. Kevin Cheng is better looking but I feel his acting skill is less versatile compared to RC but he has got the backing of that witch 620. Hopefully with the exodus of stars, RC gets better roles. I don't want him to leave TVB bcos there is not many ppl I like left in TVB:( He owed me this bcos I endured that silly Fly For Me just bcos of him, haha...

      On a side note, why so many TVB artists called themselves Raymond? Raymond Lam is the lucky one being TVB beloved biological son. He got quite juicy roles at the beginning of his career. Probably bcos of this, I feel his acting has never improved.TVB's step-son Raymond Wong has to struggle for sometime but at least he is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now.He has improved but there is still room for improvement. Lastly, poor RC still waiting to be adopted by TVB.Why his role in 36 hrs on call is so minor that if I blick my eyes, I'll miss him:(?

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  2. Thanks for another great post! I really like Raymond as well. His real life personality is so friendly and charming - I just love watching him in The Green Room/Today's VIP interviews with Carlos Ng. He's definitely one of my favourite supporting actors, and I look forward to the day he gets to lead his own series. I mean if Wayne and Kevin can do it after 20 years, I don't see why Raymond can't. He still looks like he's in his mid 30s and hasn't let himself go at all.

    I really love the series Journey of Love. I remember watching it about 4 or 5 times, and still cried buckets each time. Raymond was really cute back then, but I think the real star of the series was Wallace. He was so convincing in his role, and he was kind of a newbie back then too. Too bad the series didn't make that much of an impact in HK. I think it was warehoused for a year too.

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    1. @bebeC: Yup, totally agree! Raymond's real-life charm and friendly personality is truly very addicting -- definitely a 'bonus' on top of his awesome acting skills! I'm hoping that Raymond can eventually lead his own series too, though to be honest, it's really hard to say whether he will get the chance if he stays at TVB (especially given their overwhelming political atmosphere). It's funny that you mention the part about Raymond looking like he's still in his 30s because for the longest time, I actually thought he truly was still in his 30s (I'm generally not the type to pay attention to people's ages, which is why I don't know the exact age of most of the artists I like despite 'following' their careers for so many years) -- back around the time when Brandon was born and I read that he was already past 40, I almost fell out of my chair in shock (LOL) because he absolutely does not look his age!

      And yes, if Wayne and Kevin can do it after 20 years, so can Raymond! Which by the way reminds me of something else that ticks me off when I hear some people 'complain' about how their favorites have been with TVB for 'so many years' already (the 'so many years' = 10 years or less) and still have not been 'recognized' by TVB....um, sorry, but 10 years is NOTHING compared to the 18-20 years (some even longer) that artists such as Raymond, Wayne, Evergreen, Sheren, etc. had to wait in order to get some sort of 'recognition' (heck, look how long artists like Ha Yu, Michelle Yim, Louise Lee, etc. had to wait -- like 40 years!!)....so as far as I'm concerned, unless the artist has passed the 15 year mark, I really don't care to hear the complaints about such and such artists not being 'recognized'!

      LOL...I didn't realize that so many people had actually watched Journey of Love, considering it was small budget and not really a 'popular' series. (I guess I should hurry up and finish up the review then so we can discuss it). Yup, the series was warehoused because it released overseas in 1994 (which was around the time it was filmed) and didn't broadcast in HK until a year later in 1995 -- by warehousing it and releasing it overseas first, goes to show how much TVB 'didn't care' about the series (though I guess we should be 'grateful' that they didn't warehouse it for 4 years like they did with Greatness of a Hero....LOL)...

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  3. Didn't Raymond Cho debuted along with Steven ma and Kevin Cheng? It's quite sad that he's behind the other two. I think he has the best and more versatile acting over these three, but in the entertainment industry - looks matters a lot isn't it, and RC is lacking on this.Anyway, he sounds like a good dad :)

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