Gloria Tang Takes on First Leading Role in New Drama with Shaun Tam
Shaun Tam drops 18 pounds for his new role.
Working together for the first time, Shaun Tam (譚俊彥) and Gloria Tang (鄧佩儀) star in upcoming modern time-travel drama Life Against Odds <逆襲人生> , in which the two will die in the very first episode. Other cast members include Jonathan Cheung (張頴康), Angel Chiang (蔣家旻) and Moon Lau (劉佩玥) and Toby Chan (陳庭欣).
Gloria’s First Leading Role in 7 Years
Finally clinching a lead actress role, Gloria felt honored and joked that she felt as if she were in a dream, “Never had I thought that I could be lead [actress] in this drama! Having a role which I could showcase myself already satisfies me–now I’m as excited as having struck the lottery,” the former Miss Chinese International winner said.
Gloria’s rise among TVB actresses was noted earlier, as she had major roles in the station’s biggest dramas this year. Asked whether she felt that she has been promoted with her leading role in Life Against Odds, the 27 year-old replied that she is still a “small potato” and said she did not feel additional pressure. “I’ll treat it as usual…and will do my best as for every job.”
Shaun Does 15K Daily to Shape Up
Playing a civil engineer in the drama, Shaun recounted his initial reaction on receiving the light-hearted time-traveling script. “When I browsed [the script for] the first episode, Gloria and I would die and wake up to [a time period of] nine months earlier. With a chance to change my life, there’s a little supernatural element to the script. My good friend in the show Brian Chu (朱敏翰) thought all along that I was an alien.”
Looking in great shape, Shaun has been working hard to get a tanned complexion and losing 18 pounds for the role. The actor shared, “I rely on running and intermittent fasting. I fast for 16 hours and eat during the next 8 hours. I wake up at 7 a.m. to run 5K every morning and do 10K with my wife after dinner in the evening, so I do 15K daily.” Shaun advises that diligence will pay off, as he quickly saw results in his own weight loss. “As long as you’re willing to change yourself, you’ll see results real soon. After jogging, it’ll be fasting intermittently, of course you have to eat light, but have carbs to give you energy. I haven’t seen my abs in a long time. I don’t dare to slacken as I’m up against the very buff Brian!”
This article is written by JoyceK for JayneStars.com.
How can you be a lead but die in the first episode? Either way, not a fan of her. I feel like TVB has nobody else to promote now. All the good actors and actresses are gone
@jellybean3 it says in the article. They “die” and travel back in time. She’s alright, better than most pageant winners
@jellybean3 TVB definitely promoting her since not too many left.. tvb was promoting jacqueline wong but lol.
plus gloria doesn’t have any bad news around her so good to promote, in tvb’s eyes
I don’t mind Gloria but I really don’t see her having the leading lady look. She seems more like a 2nd line lead at best. Her looks and acting at this point is more suited for someone who plays smaller roles. Not sure if she can carry a series. Nothing against her, just how I feel. Just like this is my first time watching Shiga Lin in her series with Priscilla. Never watched her or heard her songs before but I feel like her acting is a lot more natural and I can see her leading a series, no problem. In fact, I find her more as the lead than Priscilla in their series together. Anyway, back to Gloria. Her and Shaun, a wooden actor… not having high hopes for this series.
@gnomageddon There arent many actresses who can carry a series unfortunately. Is it just me or are they all pretty bad?? I agree that Shiga is pretty good. This is her first drama, but she’s been in movies before.
OMG, anyone can be a lead these days but should we say TVB is beyond nice that it only takes her 7 years? haha lol…
I actually think she’s natural on-screen but with very specific roles like in The Defected–the fact that she looked even compatible with Phillip Keung shows she can be flexible. Two Steps from Heaven gave her a really bad haircut. In Exorcist Meter 2.0, I don’t think it was her as much it was the script. She was selfless to an unbelievable point but at the same time head over heels for Hubert Wu’s character. They did give Grace Chan a lead role after a year or two but this girl has been around longer than that, so logically, it should be better.
@jesspepperwang Actually Grace was lead very early on. Her only supporting role was in Overachievers. Same thing with Sisley. They were both in that drama.
Hahahahahaha TVB.. Sinking lower each day.
Really? Being a lead but die the first two episodes? It doesn’t make any sense at all.
@cutie777 maybe read the article again? The article clearly stated that they “die” in the first episode but they travel back in time
I don’t know why they don’t promote moon. It seems like tvb would promote everyone who’s anyone. It’s either they think they know what’s going on but don’t or they r really clueless and r shaking the tree to see what they could get.
@m0m0 well, it definitely depends on the relationships between the tvb executives and the actresses too. maybe gloria is better at shoe shining
For a sec there, I thought it was Raymond Lam looking younger
I don’t mind Gloria, as a supporting actress, not so sure if she can carry a whole series as a lead though..hopefully she has good chemistry with Shaun. So far, I like most of Shaun’s series except for that stuntman one with Rebecca Zhu
Also, yes to intermittent fasting, it really works to get rid of that extra weight.
Gloria is decent as supporting, but I don’t think she is ready to be lead either. There is still stiffness in her acting and not enough charm.
Moon should have been the lead. Even though she has mostly been typecasted in cutsy, slightly spoiled rolls, she does have charm. I like to see her in something different.
Shaun is likeable enough. I haven’t seen his most recent drama with Joel that got a lot of praise.
@potatochip Moon can def carry a series better than Gloria. She did a great job in A Fist Within Four Walls and gained a lot of fans from that drama. Ive only watched a few eps of Shaun’s past dramas & gave up. However, he really proved himself in Brutally Young. There was character development & he displayed a wide range of emotions. I was surprised by his performance. All actors in that drama did a great job.
Still unsure about Gloria Tang. Some dramas I like her, some I can’t stand her. So I don’t think she’s ready to lead but TVB seems to really like her. She’s in a lot of upcoming dramas.
Agree with the comments about Moon. I think her acting’s great and I love her personality.
Excited to see Shaun in this one, always liked his acting.