Dicky Cheung’s Road to Stardom
Dicky Cheung (張衛健) has made a triumphant return to TVB as his new series The Learning Curve of a Warlord <大帥哥> has been garnering good reviews due to its exciting storyline and comical moments. Fans have been sharing an earlier interview where Dicky discusses his struggles on his path to stardom.
Due to his family’s impoverished financial situation, Dicky found a job at a restaurant as a resident singer when he was 17 years old. He was quickly tired of not being able to sing songs of his choice. Thus after two years, he joined the 1984 TVB New Talent Singing Championship contest. He ended up winning first place and with that began his journey into the entertainment industry.
He was excited at the prospect of stable income but quickly got a taste of reality. “My life was even worse than when I was singing at the restaurant! When I was at the restaurant, on a bad month, the very least I would make is a couple thousand dollars (HKD). But after joining the entertainment industry, I made only a couple hundred dollars (HKD) a month! My management company believed that since I was a singing contest winner that I should not go back to singing at the restaurant. However, they did not help me in making a music record either! No one sought me out for acting gigs so I had no income.”
When asked what the reason was for his perseverance, he answered, “I try to keep a positive mindset and count my blessings. I struggled a lot when I was living on a couple hundred dollars a month. However, I would ask myself, aren’t you happier now? I used to go to the restaurant every day to sing songs that I didn’t want to sing. Also having to sing to people playing drinking games who weren’t really listening to me. I felt humiliated at the time and this is why I decided to join the singing contest- for an opportunity to become a real singer.”
In 1991, Dicky’s performance in TVB series One Step Beyond <老友鬼鬼> propelled him to stardom. In 1992, he decided to end his contract with Capital Artists and sign on with Warner to officially release his first Cantonese album, True False <真真假假>, making his dream of becoming a singer a reality. His album quickly topped the charts and Dicky was able to buy a house within a year. Although he encountered many obstacles in his career after, Dicky was able to overcome them with his positive way of thinking.
Source: HK01
This article is written by Kiki for JayneStars.com.
Now this is news. I like hearing about D. He fulfilled my desire for him to come back to TVB to complete a Cantonese drama. Now I’m just waiting for him to grow back his hair.
This guy is really memorable. Today, most of the biggest actors and actresses probably have about 3-4 very good dramas under their belt, while everything else are all really crappy.
With this D though, when he was young, almost any drama he did are very good to watch. All of them are my faves. Still better than today’s dramas too.
Kungfu Scholar
Journey to the West
Taiji Prodigy
Chess Warriors
Swordsman – Shen Yumen
Duke of the Mt Deer
Handsome Siblings
@davy
You forgot Mystery of the Twin Swords and others. I actually hated his version of Duke of Mt. Deer and Handsome Siblings. They were very bad in my opinion. D was my late best friend’s favorite actor.
@hetieshou yup, Mystery of Twin Swords put him on my radar. Although I quite liked One Step Beyond too (that was after MOTS.) I still rewatch Mystery of Twin Swords every once in a blue moon.
@davy I love Dicky in all his TVB dramas but can’t stand any of the Taiwanese/mainland produced ones. Not sure why but he just doesn’t seem as funny in them. I also really loved him in Edge of Righteousness. It wasn’t very well received in HK but is one of my favourite modern series ever. Everyone fit their roles perfectly.
@anoninhk Edge of Righteousness is one of my favorite too! Love all of his tvb series! He’s just so natural onsreen!
I read about D’s life story on this one website one time. I was very inspired by it as he struggled a lot to get to where he is now. I still remember him in The Legend of the Book and Sword as Nelson Pang’s sidekick and as the King in Saga of the Lost Kingdom. Even when he was still supporting, I enjoyed his acting a lot.
@hetieshou Yes, those were the 2 series I was going to bring up as well…there’s also The Turbulent Decade where he was part of an “all-star” cast and the sitcom My Son-in-law, which he starred in — loved his interactions with his brother in the series Sean Lau. And yes, the series that really put his name on the map was Mystery of the Twin Swords (and it’s sequel). Oh I also remember his more serious roles too, like in Glittering Fortune and Withered in the Wind…those roles proved his versatility as an actor and his ability to tackle comedic as well as tragic roles well (a talent that most newer TVB artists nowadays don’t have).
Remember once reading or watching interview that Dicky honed his improv skills from street performing on Temple Street and late night bars.
No one has his level of energy anymore even those 20 years younger than him.
@smurf
Yes, forgot to mention how good he is with kung fu too. He’s rather a little guy, but did lots of the fightings himself. He poses lots of the stances really well.
Realize I have not seen Mystery of Twin Swords and a few others people listed above, I should go check them out.