Mandy Wong Plays Her Most Demanding Role Yet in “Secret Door”
In TVB thriller drama Secret Door <隱門>, Mandy Wong (黃智雯) plays an abused character who suffers from emotional and physical trauma. Due to intense filming demands, Mandy admits that it took a toll on her personal life, “This is the most depressing and heavy character that I have ever played. I almost lost myself while filming.”
In the drama, Mandy plays Cheung Sam Yue, character with an abusive father (played by Hugo Ng 吳岱融). After her father was imprisoned, she changed her name and vowed to start a brand new life. However, just when her life is going in the right direction, her past starts catching up to her.
Netizens got a sneak peak of the drama’s brutality in the trailer where Mandy’s character gets trapped in a rape scene. Although the scene was traumatizing, Mandy thought it wasn’t a big deal and shared, “The scene with Hugo Wong (黃子恆)? That’s nothing! I thought about it recently and the most memorable scenes were with Hugo Ng. We would fight as soon as we saw each other. Their relationship revolves around violence.”
Mandy revealed that many of her scenes included having her hair pulled, straggled or being dragged on the ground. Mandy shared, “There were many safety measures when we were filming action scenes, but everyone wanted great results. Everyone gave their all, especially for Hugo Ng. The first time I filmed an intense scene with him, I remember feeling very scared.”
The intense scenes eventually affected Mandy’s personal life and she confessed to having nightmares, “When I got home after filming, I still felt scared. I was terrified that these things happen in real life. During that time, I felt that I couldn’t get away from the character. Before filming, I was in a state of collapse. When I returned home, I couldn’t think and I was very anxious. At home, I felt the pain from my hands, feet, and I noticed all the bruises and bleeding.”
Some netizens believe that Mandy’s role in Secret Door will propel her to win the Best Actress Award, but Mandy thinks it’s too early to think about it. Mandy explained, “There is no one who doesn’t want to win the award, but let’s leave it to fate. It’s more important that the audience like the characters and to have higher viewership ratings.”
Source: HK01
This article is written by Sammi for JayneStars.com.
What happened to tvb’s rule about minimizing these rape scenes? It’s like they accepted Wong Jing and now they’re back to their old antics?
I think this could be Mandy’s year, her role is difficult to play as it’s more subtle to express the characters emotions.
So far the best actress I think this year is Rosina Lam , but she won 2 years ago, which is why Mandy has a good chance.
Problem with her is that she has looked and acted the same for the past however many years. She hair tied up in a low pony tail, same blazer, same way of delivering her lines, same expressions. She just doesn’t break through and hasn’t since the role that she did get her break in years ago as the b*tchy sister-in-law. Doesn’t matter the storyline, I just don’t anticipate her acting as lead. She is quite boring to watch to me.
@Mulder99 Whether Mandy gets Best Actress will also depend on viewership ratings for “Secret Door”. Usually, dramas which air in the fall/early winter have an advantage, since HK viewers remember the roles more clearly as the Anniversary Awards is in January.
Agreed – or at least put her out of the regular professional strong independent woman role. She does great when there’s an actual challenge to her performance – like acting as antagonist, villain, nerdy girl, multi-personality disorder, etc
Give her a villain role already. I think she 100% shines best as a villain. Just look at her performance in L’escargot, her demonic side in Taxi Exorcist, she definitely has the face and vibe of a super villain!