The recent broadcast of mainland series, Bu Bu Jing Xin "步步驚心", led to a sudden burst in Kevin Cheng’s (鄭嘉穎) popularity in China, with his salary shooting through the stratosphere as well. However, when Kevin was working in Taiwan a decade ago, his career hit rock bottom and he did not even have money to buy dinner, requiring his mother’s cash assistance instead. Perhaps now, it was the right time for Kevin’s meteoric rise!Kevin noted, “My life is marked by dramatic ups and downs. There were several low pits in my life, ha ha, the rock bottom period was when I was working in Taiwan. After the release of my first album in Taiwan, the Asian financial crisis hit, which resulted in a delay in production of my second album.”
Did Not Know What to Do With Idle Time“When I was a singer, I did not have much to do after the recording of a song. The most was spending time to practice singing. However, you cannot practice for more than a few hours each day. In this manner, a day passed and another day passed…. After six months passed, my second album has not been released yet. My anticipation in awaiting the album’s release slowly turned to disenchantment.
“In my idle time, I bought some cooking books to learn how to cook so that I can save money. My earlier savings had slowly depleted by almost 80 percent. Although I had already spent two years in Taiwan, I released only one album. The music company told me that the sales were only lukewarm. At that time, I had little earning power and depended on my family for help to pay for meals. Without my mother’s support, there was no way I could continue to work in the entertainment industry!
Making a Comeback Through TVB“My financial distress lasted for over one year. During this time, it was the lowest point in my life. I had nothing to do each day, only going out to buy groceries, cook meals, and read books to pass the time. It was not until Lee Kwok Lap (李國立) invited me to film Taiwanese drama, The Legendary Siblings "絕代雙驕", that I became an actor. For a certain time, I resisted in the idea of turning from a singer to an actor.
“Without The Legendary Siblings, then I would not have signed a contract with TVB. ATV purchased the broadcasting rights of The Legendary Siblings to air in Hong Kong, which attracted TVB’s notice that I could act. TVB invited me to come back to Hong Kong to film for them. Since my return to TVB, things have been smoother.”
Source: Oriental Daily
Translated by: Jayne @ JayneStars
