Will Andrew Yuen Be the Next Ruco Chan?
Former ATV actor Andrew Yuen (袁文傑) made his first major TVB comeback with My Unfair Lady <不懂撒嬌的女人>, which airs its final episode this Sunday. The 45-year-old actor, who will be making his next TVB appearance in the drama Nothing Special Force <雜警奇兵>, is being touted as the next Ruco Chan (陳展鵬).
The six-foot-four actor made his acting debut in the industry through TVB’s training class in 1990. Though promised with a career, Andrew never signed a contract with TVB in the end—there were rumors that TVB producers didn’t know what to do with his tall height, and canceled his contract.
After his brief stint with TVB, Andrew went into modeling and movies. In 1995, he signed with ATV and found minor success in hosting and variety, but failed to find a stronghold in drama. In 2011, the actor left ATV to work for iCable, and later participated in the YouTube video series Arsenal Football World <傑出阿仙奴> as a commentator. His domineering performance on the show attracted the eyes of TVB producer Kwan Shu-ming (關樹明), who casted him in My Unfair Lady.
Andrew, who plays Frankie Lam’s (林文龍) superior in My Unfair Lady, is a show stopper. His tall height, good looks, and convincing performance as the aggressive Mr. Yau is gaining attention on discussion forums, with many netizens leaving comments about looking forward to his future performances in TVB dramas. The media has since dubbed him as the next Ruco Chan, comparing his rise to stardom with the TV King.
The actor has a stable girlfriend, 40-year-old Jackeline Cheung (張潔蓮), a former Miss Hong Kong contestant and TVB actress. Dating for six years, gossip reports say the couple may tie the knot this year.
Source: Eastweek
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
He’s not bad looking and has that tall and broad built like Ruco but to compare him to Ruco’s career is very premature. He only had 1 minor role on 1 series. Is like saying Fred Cheung is touted as the next Jackie Cheung because they both won singing competition, lol. Silly people.
I don’t doubt TVB had problem with his height back in the days. I remember Joe Ma said in an interview that the roles he got early on as baddies because mostly due to his height and big built. They look more badass I guess lol.
He looks a little bit like Micheal Miu.
clearly i’m biased, but next ruco chan? nah. solid work in my unfair lady, but for someone with over 20 years of experience there seems to be room for improvement; it’s not like a 50-something hugo ng coming back and blowing our minds. also personally there seems to be something off about his voice; it’s almost like the deepness of it creates a hint of an accent(?)/limits his tonal range. if i was a casting director that would throw me off moreso than the height (6’4″? looks tall but not that much more than vincent’s 6’1″)
@rucofan1100 Agree that you are clearly bias, lol. There’s nothing wrong with that. Ruco is a solid actor and comparing between them is apples to oranges. Though, don’t write off Andrew just yet. In his 20 years, he had little to none drama experience (according to this article). He’s more like Tony Hung, went from hosting to acting. Understandable that he sucks, lol. Hugo had years in acting before his return. Surely he had acted here and there, just not on the small screen we know/seen. So another unfair comparison IMO.
Hope TVB dors give him more chances; not lead roles, just supporting ones. Gawd knows they need more in the pool, lol.
Curious, do you think you would be more acceptable of him as a new leaf IF the media didn’t compare him to Ruco and just say Andrew is making a come back to TVB? Then there wouldn’t be a knee-jerk reaction.
@jjwong nah, i’m always happy seeing veteran actors find work when they can (and hopefully take their career to new heights), so definitely happy for andrew. but when the media starts comparing actors, dubbing them to be the next so-and-so, crazy troll fans (like myself) start coming out of the wood work to say not so fast. think it’s really unfair to the actor involved (this case andrew) and puts unnecessary pressure on them to live up to the hype. just let andrew be andrew, let him do his thing; no competition needed.
however, ruco fan aside, honest criticism of his work: andrew did fine in a limited role. seemed somewhat stiff (like he the person is physically stiff), but did not take away from the performance (just makes you wonder his versatility in other roles). personally not memorable for me (as in didnt get me excited to watch his upcoming work); had no idea he was even a focal point of media attention until now. like tony, because he was a host, he has presence and is comfortable in front of the camera (moreso than rookie actors). but unlike tony, the lack of charisma (sorry!) and overall stiffness makes me understand why he was used as a host more than an actor. i honestly hope he proves me wrong though and blows my mind with his next performance
@rucofan1100 Also his voice sounded a “little off” at first to me too. Then it grew on me after they showed him on screen. It’s kind of between snooze-fest and soothing. If he goes a little deeper, it sort of reminds me Liam Neeson in Taken.
Seriously? He’s so wooden! It’s actually worse than some newbies because he’s been around so long. He’s ok in this role, but mainly because it has so little lines and just requires him to act “cool”.