Myolie Wu (胡杏兒) entered the entertainment industry after winning the 1999 Miss Hong Kong Second Runner-up title. Since entering TVB as a 19 year-old student, Myolie possessed numerous opportunities. Portraying a mentally challenged person in 2002’s Golden Faith "流金歲月", Myolie flashed her brilliance. In 2006, Myolie gained 40 pounds in 3 months to act in To Grow With Love "肥田囍事", which grabbed the masses’ interest. However, this “representative work” also became Myolie’s nightmare.To Grow With Love did not bring any awards upon Myolie and eroded her confidence in her acting abilities instead. Myolie was also heavily criticized by netizens in only possessing a “gwing” expression (囧樣) during that period, leading her to question whether she was suitable in being an actress.
In 2010, Myolie finally stepped out of the haze and became the hot favorite to win the TV Queen title this year. Whether it was netizens’ preference or TVB management’s decision, Myolie noted that she resumed confidence in herself. Despite being nominated for her role in Curse of the Royal Harem "萬凰之王" instead of the more popular Ghetto Justice "怒火街頭" , this did not decrease her chances in winning the Best Actress Award.
The reporter conducted an interview with Bobby Au Yeung (歐陽震華) earlier and asked who he supported to win the TV Queen title. Without thinking, Bobby uttered Myolie’s name. Aside from their harmonious collaboration in House of Harmony and Vengeance "耀舞長安", Bobby noted, “Myolie told me that she did not feel that she possessed fate with the audience. She said she had lost confidence in herself. I watched her performance in The Rippling Blossom "魚躍在花見" and felt that she acted quite well, showing much improvement! I have a tendency to root out the strong to protect the weak, so I support Myolie!”
Stuck With the “Gwing” Label
After listening to Bobby’s praise towards her, Myolie was moved, “I am very happy and thank Bobby for his support!” The reporter asked why Myolie had confided in Bobby in such a manner since she often projected a sense of confidence and did not come across as an insecure person. It turned out that since To Grow With Love, Myolie’s career had halted and did not advance forward. The outside world thought that perhaps Myolie was dragged down by the “gwing” label” however, the real source of pain came from elsewhere.
Myolie stated, “In 2006, when I was somewhat considered to be a new artist, I filmed To Grow With Love. TVB suddenly added an extra award at the TVB Anniversary Awards that year. At the time, I knew there was no chance that I would win the Best Actress Award over Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼). As there was one big award and one small award, I thought I might have a chance in winning the small award since I had endured so much for To Grow With Love! However, I did not win any awards that evening. At the time, I did not mind losing, but I never thought that I would lose at such a low level! From that point onwards, I lost all confidence in myself. In the past, I had good audience fate, but suddenly I lost it all!”
Will Not Film Any More Comedies
Over the last few years, the audience felt that Myolie only acted with a gwing expression. The truth was that she had considered giving up, “At the time, I did not have confidence in any of the roles I acted in and kept questioning myself. I wondered whether I was truly so terrible and whether it was suitable to remain an actress? I felt very lost while filming War and Beauty "亂世佳人", The Master of Tai Chi "太極" and When a Dog Loves a Cat "當狗愛上貓". I was stuck in a bottleneck and could not surge past it. It was a very painful period. Afterward, my family recounted the experience, noting that I was emotionally turbulent. Fortunately, my sister was a counselor and often provided encouragement, helping me overcome this low point.”
After encountering such a low point in her life, Myolie cherished today’s peak much more. As TVB and netizens’ hot favorite to win the Best Actress Award, Myolie thanked them for their support. In addition, Myolie noted that her costars in The Rippling Blossom, Damien Lau (劉松仁) and Chilam Cheung (張智霖), helped her regain confidence in acting again. “I learned a lot from Damien Lau and Chilam Cheung. Perhaps I had filmed too many similar roles in the past. Going forward, I hope to portray roles similar to Curse of the Royal Harem "萬凰之王". Perhaps let someone else act in the romantic comedies!”
Asked whether she possessed confidence in winning the TV Queen Award, Myolie said, “My confidence level is 80%. If I were to win, I hope it is not based on seniority and wish that it is due to the audience’s support!”
Bosco Wong Is Not Good Enough
Although 32-year-old Myolie Wu was in a stable relationship with Bosco Wong (黃宗澤), she did not possess the urge to get married. “I am still young; even Charmaine Sheh is continuing to take great leaps forward in her career at 35-years-old! Let’s wait another 3 or 4 years first!” Asked whether she had settled upon Bosco as her marriage partner, Myolie laughed and said that Bosco was not good enough and needed time to consider carefully. “You can never be good enough in this aspect. There is always room for improvement; he knows that fully well!”
Translated by: Jayne @ JayneStars
