Eric Li Makes Guest Appearance at TVB
After leaving TVB earlier this year, Eric Li (李天翔) decided to take his career in a different direction and try his hand at becoming a personal trainer. It seemed that the actor has not had much luck expanding his acting career since. However, the 42-year-old actor maintains a good relationship with TVB. Recently, he made a public appearance at a TVB-sponsored event to promote the upcoming drama, The Man Who Kills Troubles <解決師>, which he filmed prior to ending his contract.
As part of the event, Eric joined his fellow cast members Vincent Wong (王浩信) and Crystal Fung (馮盈盈) on a variety show. He teased, “I hope that when Liza Wang (汪明荃) is on stage, I will be able to play my game portion well! Everyone thinks I look smart and clever, but I am actually very dumb.”
When asked about his career outlook after leaving the TVB safety nest, Eric shared that he will be taking part in a film soon. He hopes to be able to film both dramas as well as movies. On whether he hopes to expand his career to Mainland China, Eric said, “Earlier, I had some job opportunities in China. However, there were some contract issues that we could not come to an agreement with. Actually, I don’t mind where I have to go for work.”
When asked whether his wife is supportive of his traveling elsewhere for work, Eric confidently responded, “She is very understanding. Although we will miss each other, she will support me no matter what.”
Typecast in villainous and often despicable roles, Eric had initially voiced his concern about getting pigeon-holed. After leaving TVB, Eric had trouble finding new work and his desire to expand his career profile may have been harder than initially thought, as with the classic case of Timothy Tse (鄭子誠).
Is Eric adamant about not filming antagonistic roles anymore? “I haven’t thought about that. I have been acting for more than ten years. Even if I continue to be cast in villainous roles, I still think there is room for improvement. If you ask me whether I am a good person or bad person in real life, I will of course tell you I am a good person! However, no one believes me!”
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Huynh for JayneStars.com.
i do miss seeing him on screen. he’s indeed a very good actor, i guess he just doesn’t have the right look that tvb likes to promote
i think tvb should have given eric more chances.. i mean yeah he’s not exceptionally handsome, but he’s not a bad actor. i’m kinda sick of seeing the same people playing the good guys over and over?
tvb is always the damn problem anyways. i remember when ben wong was typecast as the villain for something like more than a decade until his popular and well-liked role as the 4th prince in gilded chopsticks. like, i practically grew up with ben wong as the villain in ALL tvb dramas. gilded chopsticks was really his breakout drama. ever since then, ben had been given more chances to play the protagonist instead of the antagonist. it’s not because actors who have played villains often are incapable of playing the good guys. it’s because tvb doesn’t give them a damn chance.
@miyabi
Nah. Ben Wong had the advantage that he also was typecasted as a straight boring wooden guy in a ‘Kindred Spirit’ so it is possible for him to return to that type of good guy now. It’s impossible for Eric Li now because no director will take that chance. He will have to continue to play these bit part villains to maintain a career in the entertainment industry….
i always thought it was a loss to see eric go. i thought he was rather handsome and he wasn’t a bad actor either. TVB just never gave him a chance. hope that his semi-guest star return will prompt tvb to give him different roles to play now instead of the villain all the time. just like timothy tse — he’s an amazing versatile actor, but overlooked after so many years.