Charmaine Sheh On Filming “Winter Begonia” with Huang Xiaoming: “I Gained Weight”
Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼) is the lead actress in Yu Zheng’s (于正) upcoming drama Winter Begonia <鬓边不是海棠红>, a period drama set in World War II China that explores the relationship between two youths who share a passion for Peking opera. Winter Begonia is adapted from the gay romance novel of the same name written by Shuirutian’er (水如天儿), who also acts as the drama’s screenwriter.
Huang Xiaoming (黄晓明) and Yin Zheng (尹正) respectively play Cheng Fengtai and Shang Xirui, the male leads.
“The cast is a joy to be with,” said Charmaine at a Valentino event in Hong Kong. “It hasn’t been a difficult job so far. Maybe it’s because it’s still winter and very cold. We get to wear thicker outfits.”
The comfortable environment is not the only thing that Charmaine is enjoying. “Huang Xiaoming brings his chef along, and he makes great food. When we come across each other for lunch, we’d all go to his trailer to eat his food. He’s gotten all of us fatter!”
Charmaine plays Huang Xiaoming’s wife Fan Xiang’er, a role exclusively created for the drama. “My character is from Dongbei. She’s very straightforward and isn’t afraid of confrontation. She’s not a big mouth, but when she comes across something unreasonable, she’ll speak out.”
Set in the 1930’s shortly before the Japanese invasion, Winter Begonia follows cross-dressing Peking opera performer Shang Xirui, who reinvents Peking opera under a new home and rebuilds his troupe with the support of opera enthusiast and businessman, Cheng Fengtai. After the Japanese invades China, the duo lets go of small dreams to save their country.
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
seeing so many GOT rip offs in chinese drama and production. i think one show copied the opening by showing map in the opening and now charmine’s neck wrap in pic above.
@m0m0 Uhm, ruby’s Series, Qing Shi Huang Fei used that neck wrap. And they finished filming 1 month before GOT. That idea has been used before GOT by chinese production company, so it’s not like GOT started it.
@littlefish
no that you mentioned, i think they had the same neck wrap in war and beauty 2004.
Huang Xiaoming clearly loves and need his good food. My hubby works very hard and he too loves and needs his good food.
I read a crucial element was changed? Still not interested.
@funnlim Yes, I agree. I don’t know the original story, but giving the gay protagonist an admirable wife to potentially betray seems like a butchering of the story.
@funnlim I haven’t read the story but I think the homosexual relationship between the two main guys is going to be changed to friendship (?) due to censorship in China.
That may be the important thing that’s changed
@tungamy I think changing that changes the entire story if the entire story is about forbidden love? Not sure about the original story.
@funnlim lol, it might go the route of potentially gay lover, but then he’s torn between his wife and his gay lover? But in the end, choose his wife due to traditions >_>? I guess the story is so love focus and needed to be stretched out, so they can’t go the guardian route