Maggie Cheung on Her Early Days as an Actress, “I Wanted to Cry Every Day”

Maggie Cheung (張曼玉) was decently invited as a guest on Chinese reality show Master in the House <少年可期>. She revealed a side of her that the audience has never seen, as she did everyday activities like buying groceries and having a barbecue with boyband NEXT (樂華七子). Netizens praised Maggie for her relaxed and carefree attitude.

Sharing her career experience, Maggie encouraged younger artistes to persevere through difficult times. When she was eight years old, Maggie and her family immigrated to England where she spent most of her childhood. At age 18, she won first runner-up in the 1983 Miss Hong Kong pageant. Sharing her early days as an actress, Maggie said, “I had only been in the industry for a year, but I spent most of my time wanting to cry and being homesick.

“However, one year turned into another year which turned into another year. Soon it became 30 years! I was able to persevere by setting goals for myself. I told myself I needed to buy a house for my mother, and to help my father and sister. I needed to at least achieve these goals before I can say that I quit. So once I achieved these goals, I gradually cut down on my jobs.”

In the show, Maggie told every member of NEXT to write a letter addressed to themselves in 30 years. She shared that when she was 18, she wrote a letter to her sister. She told her sister that her dreams had come true and that she was now a movie star beloved by many. However she disliked the entertainment industry; she felt that she was taken advantage of as a young female. “I hate having to join these networking parties and having to see all these fake smiles. These dinner parties are so boring; I really wish I could return home. Only there can I truly be myself, be able to wear what I want, and have the freedom to do whatever I want.”

Even though NEXT had only made their debut a year ago, they expressed that they felt the same way as Maggie. Empathizing that she understood the difficulties they were going through, Maggie said, “Having to listen to other people criticize you is always difficult. I was in the same situation as them when I was younger. I was stripped of my freedom; I couldn’t go buy a simple item without having people yell my name on the streets. However, you have to power through this to accomplish your tasks.”