Raymond Wong Diagnosed with Behcet’s Disease; Tony Hung Steps in for “Cheung Po Tsai”
The lead casting for TVB drama, Cheung Po Tsai <張保仔>, has been marred with obstacles. Bosco Wong (黃宗澤) was the initial choice to portray the titular pirate role, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. With Raymond Wong (黃浩然) suffering from Behcet’s disease and withdrawing from filming, Tony Hung (洪永城) has now landed the role.
Last week, Raymond Wong appeared at the costume fitting for Cheung Po Tsai alongside co-stars Ruco Chan (陳展鵬), Grace Chan (陳凱琳), and Mandy Wong (黃智雯). Suffering from inflamed tonsils and recurring fevers since August, Raymond had expressed doubt in whether he would be able to handle the action-packed scenes for the drama. After further blood tests, Raymond was diagnosed with Behcet’s disease–an autoimmune disease that causes sores in the mouth and inflammation throughout the body–forcing him to step down from his starring role in Cheung Po Tsai. Although there is no cure for Behcet’s disease, most patients can control symptoms with treatment
TVB management executive, Catherine Tsang (曾勵珍), called in Tony Hung as a last-minute casting choice. Tony had to sacrifice his vacation to New Zealand for the new drama, “I only lost out on the airplane tickets and hotel fees. But it’s rare to come across a challenging role, which is a gain for me.” He also hopes to generate good sparks with romantic onscreen partner, Grace Chan, whom has received good feedback from former co-stars despite her limited acting experience.
Principal photography for Cheung Po Tsai starts in mid-September, followed by on location filming in Hengdian in November. Tony joked about TVB’s hectic schedule which leaves little personal time left once filming starts, “For the next four months, I will be without any family and friends.”
Producer Leung Choi Yuen (梁材遠) praised Tony as an optimistic and professional actor. Since Tony and Raymond possess different auras, some scenes may need to be revised accordingly. Collaborating frequently with Raymond in the past, Leung hopes that Raymond will have a speedy recovery.
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Jayne for JayneStars.com.
No! No! No! Will he be ok?
I like Tony but NO!!! It should be Louis Cheung as the pirate. Or Sammy Shum if you want handsome version. Tony Hung does not have what it takes! Why not switch roles! Give Ruco the flamboyant role! No! No! No!
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!
By the way googled the illness. Sounds very serious! Speedy recovery Raymond! The series is poorer without you.
Tony Hung – NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Plus point is Ruco is so gonna steal the limelight and trample all over Tony. Tony is a decent actor, competent but lead and a pirate and whatever else? No! Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Give it to Wong Cho Lam for all I care! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!
Funn,
Raymond needs a lot of rest to get better. Although there is no treatment for Behcet’s disease, the symptoms can be minimized with treatment.
Raymond may be taking at least a six-month hiatus to recover.
He always look sickly to me, I wonder whether he has it for a long time but undiagnosed? 6 months is too short. He should take a year off. What a turn of event. Tony Hung huh? My bet is Ruco will be given a heavier role and more focus on him. You know, this is a good thing I suppose.
I hope Ruco’s role will be amended to make it heavier! I can’t accept Tony leading or co lead with Ruco! Noooo
Calm down geezzzzzzzzzzz
Agree. Fake person who is getting worried for nothing.
@ Sasha
Try getting Behcet’s Disease and get “worried for nothing”…
Yes, Louis Cheung fits the bill!
Now that you say it why not Louis?? He’s like thousand times better than Tony! Tony is ugly and can’t act! Can only host.
I like Tony too! But Louis Cheung would have been PERFECT!!! He probably had scheduling conflicts as well. I think everyone knows who would’ve been perfect for this
Provided he’s not the first lead. His acting is OK but not first lead material yet.
no, it should be Pierre Ngo! He can pull this off.
and calm down, geez.
both are inappopriate to act in these roles.
agree. Both are not suitable to act as pirates. just looks funny.
generally, this pirate series is either a hit or a miss. I say, a miss.
they should have cast dicky cheung for this pirate role.
they should have cast diky cheung for this pirate role.
no dicky cheung wont be good.
tvb should have skipped this series.
omg Tony Hung??! He is not ready to be a first line male lead at all. Are there no more siu sang left? TVB is really scraping the bottom of the barrel.
There are many siu sangs but TVB is not giving them the chance. Vincent Wong is good and should not be overlooked.
Vincent Wong is not suitable as a pirate? Maybe switch role with Ruco.
And how would you know that he’s not suitable?
Ruco isn’t either. OH WHAT NOW?
Vincent is filming a different series which he’s the first lead on. Louis Cheung and Sammy Shum mentioned above, are both filming different series right now. I think the only other siu sang that is free right now is Edwin Siu? (who I think would be another bad choice)
Edwin is a better fit than Tony. Then if they pick Edwin, people will be like OMG, Edwin and Ruco … AGAIN? Lol. Whatever, I think this series is slowly drowning…
What about Vincent Lam?
He can act both villains and good person.
@jj was the “drowning” pun intended haha
@H, it sure was lol. Glad someone noticed :p
Whatever, I think this series is slowly drowning…
YEP TOTALLY.
Where are the rest of the siu sang? I’m sure their projects are near finish right? If it’s too much to ask for the level of Bosco or Raymond, can’t the batch Vincent Wong or Sammy Sum get on this? At least better than Tony! As long as it’s not the lousy actors Oscar Leung, Him Law, Tony Hung, or Benjamin Yuen is fine!
Oh yeah Edwin, although not that good, Edwin is better than Tony! And the script can always be changed to make Ruco the first lead since no one of his level are free to come!
Hope Raymond get well soon. Tony Hung will kill the drama, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
too early to say such a thing.
sorry but tony is totaly a miscast for this role you dont have to be a prophet to see this role dont fits him.
Tony hung with moustache look like saddam hussein
LOL!
Wait, WHAT?! They gave it to Tony? O_O!!! Holy crap, really? From the two series I’ve seen him in, he’s definitely at the lead material yet. You definitely know who’s Catherine’s favs in the circle lol.
PS hope Raymond has a speedy recovery and get his sickness under control.
Tony is the favourite of Sandy Yu instead of Catherine Tsang.
Sandy Yu is in control of variety show. Catherine Tsang is the one in control of TVB drama production and has a final say on the casting and crews. Wasn’t there a crew member who was one of her relatives before who got into some violence case?
Sandy Yu is in charge of the casting as well. And Tony + Priscilla are her two most favourite artists.
Yes, Catherine Tsang vs the new man for TVB productions but Sandy Yu can put a hand on casting. And true, Catherine has a cousin or relative who beaten a newbie. That newbie is kicked out of TVB.
I mentioned Catherine because the article said Catherine called Tony for the role.
Sandy Yu and Catherine Tsang gang up in recent years (vs 620 and Tommy Leung). The relationship is weakened a bit since Tommy Leung left, but they are still close.
Tony is Sandy’s favourite as well as Pricilla. Sandy took them with her to TVB.
What Tony? He’s going to be first lead and lead over Ruco? That’s a joke! He’s nowhere near leading man material yet. I foresee trouble for the drama.
Suddenly I miss Raymond so much.
IKR? Lol, at first we’re like noooo Raymond can’t be a comedic lead. Now we’re like, noooo bring Raymond back xD
Oh the irony, the karma lol.
@jj, ikr! Karma’s a biiiitch!
No I hope they change the script and make Ruco lead over Tony. I can’t accept Tony lead over Ruco!
i don’t think want to watch tony
Oh no, I feel bad for Raymond Wong. Hope he recovers, take good care of himself before returning to the screen.
Tony Hung is not a good replacement. He needs more acting experience before he can pull this off. Who knows, maybe he’ll surprise us. LOL. Maybe love will inspire him to do better?
Love?
Haven’t you heard all that buzz about him and Natalie creating sparks off-screen?
I guess luck is shinning on Tony’s side! Give him a chance and see what he has to offer. Everything happens for a reason. I have faith in Tony Hung. 😉
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Hoping speedy recover to Raymond, but I’m kinda glad he’s not going to be Pirate Cheung. The costume was ridiculous, at least Tony’s outfit looks better. Tony’s quite a good actor, not sure if he’s ready for such a huge role though. They should have asked Bosco, who was the original actor they wanted
Would be nice to see Bosco and Ruco co-leading.
I hate to agree on this! Now Ruco has to act with a C list! Tony is not Ruco’s level! What is so important on Bosco’s schedule that he can’t film this in the first place??
news flash: So what?
Other artists dealt with the same thing when the current siu sangs were debuting/still relatively new. You think they suddenly become leads or whatnot?
And that other male artists didn’t go through same thing? grow up.
Oh hello Fanitta, the others mostly be second leads at best when collaborating with experienced great costar! Not like this where Tony jumped to the main lead who might be more main or at best co lead with the higher level Ruco!
>What is so important on Bosco’s schedule that he can’t film this in the first place??
RMB
Tony…. what is wrong with TVB!? How can he lead over Ruco? Ruco is definitely first line actor and he has to be supporting!? I wouldn’t have minded Raymond since he’s okay but Tony is ugly and has bad acting! Both him and Priscilla should be supporting especially neither of them have particularly striking looks- I liked them in their travel shows but not in series. Ruco needs to leave this drama- he deserves better dramas than this. Anyway Raymond’s illness is serious so he may film less dramas and take a long break to recover. Hope he makes a speedy recovery!
Tony? No wonder TVB’s rating is decreasing.
Ok tony cannot act. For all i know, tvb has no better choice due to the minimal actors.
Yay! Now I don’t have to watch this drama for sure! 🙂
First, everyone complains about Raymond Wong being a miscast. Then, suddenly, he falls ill. Too coincidental.
Raymond is really sick, he’s not pretending. I’d rather Raymond any day than Tony. Tony’s level of aacting is still not ready for such a major role. Yes Ruco should leave this drama. It’s major insult to have to act supporting to Tony, unless the script is going to focus more on him.
do you really think tvb listens to this forum?
Probably not.
Raymond is a miscast. He looks too weak and lackinng swagger for the pirate role! But now I guess it might be because he’s truly sick! But then Tony is more miscast and doesn’t even have the acting skills to back himself up! He’s only lucky the management loves him!
If Tony is leading over Ruco or co lead with him, it’s an insult to Ruco! It’s enough that he has to pair and babysit Grace Chan and Kelly Fu!
Everyone at TVB goes through the same stages.
The current fadans and current siusangs were once babysat as well. Grow up and learn to accept that as reality.
@Fanitta, you don’t ask a first line actor to babysit a third line actor who’s going to LEAD over him!
is it confirmed that tony is leading over ruco? or just some rumour hk media is making?
Forgodsake Dina, Tony’s role is in the Chinese title itself. Besides I think Raymond’s name was list first before Ruco during the costume fitting. I hope TVB change this and make Ruco lead over Tony.
@Toby, if TVB doesnt do that, the drama will go belly up. Who wants to watch Tony as the lead actor?
Tony? WTF.
And how the heck did Grace Chan get to become 1st line so dang quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Grace but…
Haha, is she the leading artiste? I guess this drama will be a thermometer to test Tony and Grace’s acting. Have faith in Grace but Tony….. They should’ve given the main lead to Ruco.
“And how the heck did Grace Chan get to become 1st line so dang quickly.”
She’s a Miss HK. It has always been the tradition of TVB to give beautiful Miss HK winners the lead in dramas very quickly.
LOL. I know that. But what I’m saying is that if you look at other beauty pageant winners from the past… no other girl has had such a quick ascent to 1st line. I’m talking about Sonija, Myolie, Fala, Linda, Kate, Bernice, Christine Kuo, etc. Even the more recent ones like Eliza Sam and Gloria Tang had to do a few dramas at 3rd line to get to 2nd line.
Perhaps both of you need to research more.
This drama (張保仔) is going to be Grace Chan’s third drama. In her very first drama which hasn’t aired yet, she is a supporting character, just how Gloria Tang was a supporting character in Ultimate Addiction.
In the 四個女仔三個Bar drama, she’s one of the 6 female leads. ._.
@Cindy
“Perhaps both of you need to research more”
If by ‘both’, you means me and kristen, no, I don’t need to do more research. I didn’t say Grace got lead in her first role. I said Miss HKs got lead very quickly, which is true. Acting in 1 or 2 supporting roles and then go straight to lead is very quick.
she’s promoted the same speed as eliza sam and tracy chu. nothing that special.
@kristen
Kenix Kwok actually got such quick ascent. She was lead female in her very first TV series.
I hope Ruco finds an excuse to leave this drama. I don’t want to see Tony lead over Ruco. Not looking forward to it at all.
Maybe, the script will be rewritten. Its still early to determine who will lead over who esp when they are still in filming stages, setting the cast right.
I think Bosco, Ruco and Sammy Shum have the looks, swagger and other piraty characteristics but I would give Tony a chance. As someone has said, “Who knows?”
Bosco – first choice but schedule clash
Ruco – already in the series, but they can always change the roles and push Ruco up!
Sammy – yes where is him? TVB is stupid it’s time to promote new people since there is lack of siu sang, but why Tony of all people???
Vincent – where is he? Time to promote this guy!
Edwin – yes also can! Better than Tony!
Although all these people you mentioned are better than Tony, it’s still no-no for them to lead over Ruco as they’re only second/third liners at best. For Raymond, he was leading over Ruco in SBH and supposed to lead over him in this drama which I find acceptable as Raymond has been with TVB longer than Ruco and is more or less same level (also taking into a/c that he is supposedly the producer’s favorite). Bosco would have been good. I liked them together in Every Move you make.
“I only lost out on the airplane tickets and hotel fees. But it’s rare to come across a challenging role, which is a gain for me.”
Good job, sacrifice fun for work. The pirate has landed and hopefully the ship won’t sink. 😀 🙁 LOL!
Hope Raymond recover speedy! poor guy!
Tony Hung. I support you. Prove the naysayers wrong!
They should give the role to Eric Li (wishful thinking, I know).
poor casting choice… tony hung does not act well, does not have enough experience, and does not look good lol. smh.
Tony looks really awful in period costume. Look at the fur hat and cloak overwhelming his tiny frame. The moustache looks funny on his face and emphasises his small eyes and huge nose. Very bad choice.
Why Tony Hung out of all people? This is a downgrade on the male lead casting! Unbelievable! Now my interest went down significantly! I can’t believe Ruco has to share lead with a C-list TVB host turn actor! Tony Hung is a miscast and his acting is still bad!
yes, ho hum. A weak cast made weaker and this is supposed to be big budget. They shld switch Ruco to play CPT but maybe they didn’t want to waste footage which has already been filmed.
They should change the title of the series in order to make more sense…Ruco the first lead and Tony the second or third lead…
behcet’s, poor Raymond.
Auto-immune diseases are very rarely treatable; only ‘managed’. Nutrition would be a problem; and the ulcers and inflammation is right through the gastrointestinal tract 🙁
hopefully he only has a minor manifestation – the more serious ones can cause neurological issues too.
I’m curious to watch Grace Chan’s 1st drama – when is it airing?
Dr. M,
Thanks for sharing your medical insight on Behcet’s. Proper diagnosis is the first step towards proper care of the disease.
Since “Cheung Po Tsai” will only start filming in September, it may air in spring at the earliest.
Could stress or tiredness (overworked) aggravate it?
Hope Raymond will speedy recover. No doubt why he looked so pale. His hidden illness seems to weaken him inside in years.
I think Eric Li fits the bill. Too bad he is not as fortunate as Tony in his acting career.
Thats why he sound different on Scoop. Poor guy. Tony is not ready for that big role.
Why is it Tony??? Tony acting sucks so badly!!!
Should be given to PIERRE NGO. HE COULD PULL IT OFF.
Poor Raymond. What he is suffering from, Behcet’s disease, is a painful one from what I’ve read aboput it, especially when his mouth and throat are affected. That is why he is unable to talk but more importantly eat and drink. I hope his doctor is a good one who is able to relieve him of his pain, etc, and that he will soon recover.
Hope Raymond recovers soon. He’s too skinny.
Should try and get Steven ma and delay this production getting tony is who cares.. It went from Louis then bosco Raymond and now tony. Should wait for Louis just give good condition and he will probably do it
probably bad to choose tony.
ruco will probs outshine tony.
But ruco and tony had worked 2gether before in outbound love.
WHAT!! how can HE be lead??? his acting hasnt gotten to that stage!! his improved yes, but for a lead role?? nooooo! omg wth!! he is not readyyy la !!!
Whenever we think of pirates, these days we associate it with Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Sparrow. I think Raymond Wong would have been a perfect eastern version playing as Cheung Po Tsai in the comedy sense. It’s a real shame. Definitely would suit him very well. Now this disease, it doesn’t sound like a very good sign if you read into it. It’s one of those things that will make your life hell. Hope him and his family can live a good life together.
What is this?
Capt. Jack Sparrow vs Genghis Khan?
Funny but yeah it does o_O
Interesting. Just saw Ruco’s interview, he is playing 2 characters, one in modern times who is the descendant of his character in Qing. I don’t get why the time travel element but I suppose to create an antagonist sort of relationship between modern Ruco and Olden Ruco for Grace’s character since his modern character is a burglar or some criminal activity.
Interesting.
The title & script writing must be changed to make Ruco 1 male lead before it makes sense. Yet I am much provoked by Uncle Choy who said that Tony, Ruco and Joel are 3 male leads, and that pushed Ruco to level with C-list. tbb has spent years to pushed Ruco to line 1, why down grade him to line 3 in a ‘grand’ production? Is this profitable for the group or shareholders? Ruco should quit this drama, if not adjusted to give him respect. But poor guy has no choice due to lack of background, and not a rich vibe.
@wp, Uncle Choy must be crazy! This is a grand production and its main leads are one A-list (Ruco) and 2 C-list (Joel and Tony). I’m really wondering if Uncle Choy is getting senile? No longer looking forward to it.
I read this report from Ming Pao on Tue. This producer used to blow balloon for his productions,empty bottle. God is fair, his blown balloon crashed. See if he will cast Tony or Joel as 1 male lead in his next drama. Anyway, wish RW gets well soon.
Don’t know how you can say God is fair when it’s clearly unfair to Ruco. Poor guy will be a casualty through no fault of his. It’s still not too late to reconsider the casting, tvb should listen to the ground.
What does this uncle think? There’s no way Ruco is at same level with Joel and Tony who are C-list ay best. Joel has a villain face and is still looming with the Florinda issue. Tony is stiff and still an unconvincing actor. I think Ruco is being used to white wash Joel’s image and push Tony up.
@omg
I mean God has crashed uncle Choy’s grand production dream. His ideal is to let Ruco back up the ratings but promote his fav son RW having a representative work. Snobbish tbb’s never been fair to Ruco. They give him chance as male lead just becos he can, yet meanwhile make use of his popularity to promote newbies.
@wp, i get you but Ruco will be collateral damage so it’s not fair to him. However, i think the script will likely be revised to give heavier or equal emphasis to Ruco. Otherwise, TVB is digging its own grave.
Tony’s facial expression is still very stiff. He barely make to supporting actor or 2nd lead. He needs at least a few more years to be able to move to lead position. Why can they make Ruco to 1st lead????
If Tony is the first male lead and Ruco is second acting in “Cheung Po Tsai”, this is really not “FAIR” to Ruco. 🙁
more than 90% of the comment here are negative about tony hung as cheung po tsai,this will seriously affect the ratings i think. i dont see him is an good comedy actor because he has a stiff and serious appaerence. hope tvb will reconsider their choice,im still hoping for diky cheung wai kin as the best choice for cheung po chai,lol.
Don’t know why people assume this is a comedy. It’s not stated anywhere. Agree that Diky would be suitable. His fans (not me) would be happy to see him back on tvb. He would make a good “sparring” partner for Ruco. Tony just doesn’t make the cut, he’s still too green.
Dicky Cheung Wai Kin is too old for the role and expensive to use. Tony Hung is cheap to use and available anytime. 😀 🙁 LOL!
D!cky Cheung Wai Kin is too old for the role and expensive to use. Tony Hung is cheap to use and available anytime. 😀 🙁 LOL!
After i posted my comment, I realised that the CPT character is supposed to pair with Grace. You’re right, Diky would be too old. Unless they replace Grace (haha, i wish!). Why not consider Kenneth, Moses or Roger? It’ll be interesting to see Ruco face-off with them. Though i do not normally relish watching Kenneth or Moses, at least they’re first line actors, not third line Tony, for chis’ sake!
more like tvb needs to stabilize the first line siusangs, second-line and third-line siusangs.
tvb is blooming with potential fadans but lacking in siusangs.
thats why they call the old siu san’s back tvb lacks good siu san successors,maybe they have to start the mr hongkong contest again to find new blood.
Does anyone know if TVB still has those acting classes from way back then? It’ll be a tragedy if they have to find potential siu sangs from the Mr HK contest (very much like finding fadans from Ms HK). Benjamin and Matthew entered TVB through the Mr HK and see how terrible they are in their acting.
Replacing a borderline first line actor with a third line (at best) actor. On top of that they have to make last minute changes to the script. This is going to be a massive and expensive flop.
But best wishes to Raymond, I hope his condition improves.
If anyone watched the last episode of Neighborhood Ghost Stories (episode 7), Tony was the main character and I thought he carried it very well. His rom-com characters are a little shaky though. Will have to see.
He may be considered competent for one episode of the ghost stories but that hardly makes him ready to carry a major production as lead actor on his puny shoulders. Why is TVB taking such a risk?
because a lot of siu sangs are thinking of leaving tvb.
newest siu sang to leave: matthew ko.
Sadly, Matthew’s acting really cannot make it. He has the looks but not the acting talent.
matthew ko has never been first lead and therefor can not count as siu san i think, and his acting and looks is just average.
kolo, his only acting which i enjoy was in one drama where he had a cameo as some Japanese pop idol. It was really lol.
Wasn’t Matthew Ko’s role in Man in Charge considered to be first lead? Regardless, I agree that Matthew can’t act either. At least he has the look, one-up Tony lol.
how do you find a first line actor within 1 weeks who is available immediately and have not been booked for any other drama for the next 4 months or so…. beggars cant be chooser.. there arent much options.. they should be glad they found somebody.. and i dont think tony will lead chinpang.. it is pretty obvious who is the more famous and steady actor.. i guess they will edit the script and focus more on chinpang and other veteran actors..
Looking at that picture of Tony Hung I am already like, ermm..Fail?
Tony who?
That photo of Tony is … um..
Is Joel chan not free for this role? He’s handsome and can act in comedy or drama.he’s not my favorite but hey, i prefer Joel over Tony.
Joel is already in this series as another character. I think his character is paired with Mandy.