Kevin Cheng: “Talent Alone Cannot Save You”
Following Kevin Cheng’s (郑嘉颖) reign as TV King in Hong Kong and also starring in the highly anticipated Ip Man <叶问> drama in mainland China, his personal and love life has peaked the curiousity of many media outlets and especially his fans.
In an interview with Cosmo magazine, Kevin provides a closer look at how he deals with fame and the act of balancing his career and personal life.
Regarding what he had to give up for stardom, Kevin said, “There is a give and take for everything you do. When I chose to become an actor, naturally I sacrificed my personal life. In return, I gained valuable life experiences and monetary rewards for working hard because in this industry, nothing is just handed to you. You can’t imagine the rewards without thinking about what you have to give up. Even so, I love what I do and don’t feel like slowing down anytime soon.”
When asked how he plans on maintaining his career in the entertainment industry, Kevin said, “When I look at successful artists and how they managed to stay in the limelight for so long, I noticed that they all have high expectations of themselves. Take Jacky Cheung (張學友), Tony Leung (梁朝偉) and Lau Ching Wan (劉青雲) for example. They set the bar very high for themselves so they can continue improving their craft. When I was in the same music company as Jacky many years ago, he once told me that in order to survive in this industry, you have to keep pushing yourself and set high expectations because talent alone cannot save you. That’s why I am very hard on myself when it comes to my work. I know some things I cannot control, but I put my all into my work.”
On love and relationships, Kevin does not believe in love at first sight. “If you love someone based purely on their looks and don’t even understand her personality, I don’t think that type of relationship will last. Even the most beautiful woman will eventually turn old, so I believe that a lasting relationship can only be between two people who understand each other both inside and out.”
“Of course, I want to grow old with someone I love, have kids and build my own family. That’s why I want to work hard now in order to have a stable career and a good nest egg so I can provide a comfortable living for my future wife and children. Although I work so much that I don’t even have a social life, it will all be worth it when I look back.”
Kevin knew that he was sacrificing his personal life when he became a star. He was honest in admitting that it is too late to think about another type of lifestyle these days. “Even if I want to leave the entertainment industry, I can’t escape it. I know that no matter where I go or move to, the paparazzi will still capture my every move.”
Source: Cosmo via kuangaitvb.com
This article is written by Natalie for JayneStars.com.
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Kevin honey, working hard on your career doesn’t mean u have to sacrifice your love life!
The 3 successful men (jacky, tony, and LCW) all have supportive wives behind them. Don’t need to wait so long.
maybe Charmaine can become supportive if they’re together? Charmaine seems to be someone who rely on.. while Niki still acted a bit childish.
I agreed with u
i prefer niki with kevin…bcause they were so cute together….
Yes, he was honest and realistic. With Chairmaine, she’s mature,hardworking, supportive and a smart woman and now that Kevin’s financial status is quite stable, they should give their relationship another chance. Niki still has air in her head.
I do agree that KC and niki looks match. There are balance. Charmaine looks too smart for KC and with his status now he need someone more soft in behinde. I do hope Kevin and Niki have another chance.
can’t wait who will kevin choose to be his future wife.i believe kevin’s romours with niki are likely possible, because the matching black boxy glassess would be to much if they are coincedence..this is just my opinion……
So does Andy Lau. I believe that there is a woman behind every successful man.
*sigh* I feel bad for that woman.
It is really hard to balance love and career. Guys have a biological clock too and it would be sad if he cannot have kids down the line due to waiting too long….
It’s pretty rare for a man’s fertility to decline due only to age (assuming no pre-existing problems are at play). Unfortunately, they’ve pretty much got all the time in the world to site children.
Lee – this is incorrect. Recent studies are showing that as men age, their children have a growing risk of Autism.
Erectile dysfunction notwithstanding! LOL!!
As long as a man is not infertile, he can have children right until the time he dies. Sperm production doesn’t end with old age. Women however have limited time.
I agree with TVBFanatic because I used to think that guys had all of the time in the world to have kids too, but recently heard that if a guy is too old, the kids can have problems too. But it is true that guys do have a lot longer time than women to have kids.
it’s incredible this guy survived at all for 18 years, considering he had very, very little (if any) talent to begin with (hopeless at singing at acting when he first started out, and not an ounce of charisma). i still don’t think he’s all that right now, but i do think his acting has improved quite a bit, and his law ba alter ego can be quite charming.
All you need is a manager like 620 to endlessly promote you. I’m glad he’s gone from tvb and moved onto china’s market, now I don’t have to see him in tvb’s series.
Totally agree with Nathan! I have never liked this guy. He’s too boring and has no talent at all in acting, let alone singing… I hope he will completely quit both china’s and hong kong’s entertainment industry so that a better entertainment with high quality can be made. This guy is a shame to the entertainment industry.
That’s harsh. There are worse actors than him in TVB and doesn’t even have the looks. He is not a great actor but he is not absolutely hopeless.
I agree with Funn Lim that you guys are being too harsh on Kevin, he is not the best of the best, but he’s not extremely bad to receive such hatred.
Anyhow, Kevin is still the HANDSOMEST actor at TVB …..
You guys are being too harsh on Kevin, but hey no one can be liked by everyone regardless of how good they are or not. I guess that is how the artists survive since acting(and even singing to some extent) is subjective. Some will think he/she is great while others will think they are really bad… I personally like Kevin and feel that even though he is not the best actor ever, he is certainly not the worse that I have seen because I have seen way more horrible from many others…
Dunno how his performance in TVB was like, but I really liked him in BBJX. It was pretty much a near perfect production.
I agree. He can be a snoozefest onscreen unless he gets a standout character (Ghetto Justice, BBJX), and even then I can usually think of at least 3-4 actors who can do the role better than him. But I quite like his offscreen personality; he seems humble, hardworking, and a gentleman. I guess you can’t have everything in life!
Ghetto Justice, yes but even someone I know reading the book BBJX says she sees only him in that role. Perhaps the writer did write the role with him in mind.
That does NOT only apply to Kevin but EVERYONE in the circle. Who doesn’t have a signature role or 2(or even more in some cases) that gets them fame and popularity??
One or two “signature roles” OR simply one or two roles he’s performed well/decent in across his whole career? I actually like Kevin – he seems like a decent bloke – but he really can be a bit drab…
If he doesn’t have talent and charisma, why is he so popular in HK and china now.
BBJX and Ghetto Justice. In China, BBJX which is his signature role and in that he displays the charisma and talent. He seems also more relaxed away from TVB. Depends on the role. Also because he is TVB’s handomest actor. He has his dedicated fanbase. I may say a lot about his acting but he is one actor who I like as a person out of acting. And since I am watching BBJX again, I am appreciating his subtlety as the gentle mild mannered 8th prince which really is his best and most defining role.
Everyone has a signature role or 2(or more in some cases) that gets them to where they are now. Some people are better in some roles than others, just like some singers sing some songs better than other singers. The better singers can sing the same song but not be as good as someone that doesn’t sing as well depending on the song. I think it goes that way for acting as well…Some may be better actors, but certain roles are more suited for some than others…
Um…probably the same way the actors from Disney and Twilight are popular in the US.
@anoninhk
Not going to lie, when I read the title of this article, those were my same exact thoughts.
TRUE!!
Anyway rewatching BBJX and that is indeed his signature role.
P/S I always love to read his interviews which is honest, compelling and indication of a learned well mild mannered man. Something sophisticated about him. And he answers the question which is great.
agree.
Funn, you hit the nail on the head.
Kevin is very boring. He’s right. His talent alone won’t save him but the right breakthrough roles and popular dramas can save you or should I say “luck”? BBJX and GJ saves him.
The talent alone cannot save you does not apply to Kevin only, but to everyone in the circle. I once read Fann Wong’s biography and she mentioned the same thing. She thought that all you needed to do was act well to succeed and boy was she wrong…
I totally agree with Funn Lim, Kevin is not best of the best but he consider as a good actor as well, not like what Kei comment as above “He’s too boring and has no talent at all in acting”
I’m not use to watch mainland drama before since Funn said BBJX is worth to watch then I give myself a try and I absolutely love this drama, Kevin acting was very good. BBJX definitely is Kevin signature role, he got the charisma and showed his gentle side as 8th prince. I support you Kevin 🙂
Actually I started to like Kevin when he starred in The Last One Standing (i think this is the title) opposite Roger Kwok. I see a different side of him instead of the usual good boy character. Before that i never like his tvb series. And then GJ comes along. I like his Law Ba character. He has improved a lot actually.
“Talent alone does not save you”….this statement appears to all specialisation.
Yea, it is not only talent… It is connections, luck, timing and many other things…
Obviously, he knew that he doesn’t have any talent at all, and that’s why he said talent alone cannot save a person. This guy just gave himself an excuse to not admit that he is a loser. It’s sad that he ran away from reality.
One more thing I forgot to say. It’s not about how high you set your expectations or what you have to sacrifice. It’s all about connections. Nobody can deny the fact that those people (Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung, Lau Ching Wan) had to rely on connections in order to succeed, including Kevin himself. Hence, what Kevin said was wrong, or maybe he knew about these connection things but didn’t want to mention it in because he wanted to save face.
wow, some of you guys are so harsh/cruel on your comment about Kevin.
He is not the worse actor, and dude, go research on how he started out. He started out penniless, go and research, omg *connection??*
BuBuJingXin was really good drama <3 <3. his best performance so far, he have a lot of improvement to do, and his interview shows a real personality versus other men now a day…
As a actor, he is decent not the best but good enough, need to improve there and here but not so bad that its need a kick in the ball.
Funn, I like what you have commented on Kevin especially about his role in BBJX being his signature role. I always feel that Kevin is Ba Yeh and Ba Yeh Kevin. I feel he is honest in whatever he says because he thinks before he speaks and I suppose that makes people think he’s boring. At the moment his only thought is to make his role in Ip Man successful and in spite of all the criticism made against him being given the challenging role I’ve a feeling that he’ll make it.