Mandy Wong Demoted by TVB?
Once considered a rising star in TVB, Mandy Wong (黃智雯) was commended as one of TVB’s most talented younger actresses. A graduate from The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Mandy’s love for the stage and her devotion to acting shines through in her performances. Despite her talent, Mandy’s prominence has lessened and she is rumored to be demoted by TVB.
Mentor Leaves TVB
After becoming a top five finalist at the 2007 Miss Hong Kong Pageant, Mandy immediately enrolled in TVB’s artiste training class. She had her first breakthrough role in the 2009 time-traveling drama A Chip Off the Old Block <巴不得爸爸> and had her second breakthrough with the 2010 romantic comedy Suspects in Love <搜下留情>. Mandy earned her first award, the Most Improved Actress, with her 2012 drama L’Escargot <缺宅男女>. Following L’Escargot, she starred in The Hippocratic Crush < On Call 36小時>, Tiger Cubs <飛虎>, and Divas in Distress <巴不得媽媽>, all which greatly contributed to her rising popularity.
However, after the retirement of TVB executive Tommy Leung (梁家樹), who had a hand in promoting Mandy in his television dramas, Mandy’s position at TVB dropped significantly. Mandy was cast in much smaller roles after switching to Catherine Tsang’s (曾勵珍) camp in 2013. In the upcoming drama Madam Cutie On Duty <師奶 Madam>, Mandy is second-fiddle to lead actress Priscilla Wong (黃翠如), who made her TVB debut in 2013 – nearly six years after Mandy. In the period epic Captain of Destiny <張保仔>, which is currently shooting in Hengdian, Mandy is a supporting actress to rookie star Grace Chan (陳凱琳), the winner of the 2013 Miss Hong Kong Pageant.
TVB’s Hidden “Dancing Queen”
With her acting career stagnating, Mandy is eager to show more of her talent to the masses. Having studied dance at the HKAPA, Mandy has a good command of Chinese dance and modern dance. She has been training with the instructors at High King, a dance academy that works closely with Joey Yung (容祖兒). Whenever Mandy gets a long break, she would travel to New York to take more dance classes.
Recently, Mandy uploaded two clips of her dancing on her Weibo. In one 15-second clip, Mandy wore a sexy bra top and danced professionally to a fast-paced hip hop song. In a longer 4-minute clip, Mandy danced a tribute to the late Michael Jackson, who has been her idol since she was a child. Mandy produced and co-choreographed both performances. In addition to her acting career, Mandy has the qualifications to start a professional dance career.
Source: ihktv.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Thank you TVB for not making my TV watching more miserable. She needs to be pushed backwards a bit.
Mandy is a far far better actress than Priscilla Wong and that rookie, Grace Chan.
TVB is extremely biased and I think you yourself need to be pushed backwards alot more.
agreed mandy idol.
Agree with you. Mandy Wong’s acting is great, and definitely above the two. ESPECIALLY the rookie.
I agree as well. Mandy is great.
Agree with mandy idol, some ppl should learn to ease back a lot more or stop thrusting own self righteous opinion into ppl’s face
Mandy definitely better than both..
The only person you want to see on TV is Ruco Chan, and the only voice you want to hear is your own. That makes for one happy you and misery for the rest of the world.
Mandy is really not that bad. She’s not constipated like Myolie and pretentious like Linda for a start, she’s more natural than Kate, her face/features are untouched unlike Tavia’s, she’s not exceptionally pretty or sexy but she doesn’t need to be. She’s not the best actress in the world but she has time and potential to improve.
Correct.
Totally agree to all that you have said about Mandy. She’s one great actress!
Totally agreed with you. The lead actresses mentioned above are so fake !
she is not pretty enough i think thats the reason why tvb didnt promote her.
In all honesty and fans of the actress I am going to name pls don’t cyber kill me but Tavia is not pretty too. A few other actresses may not be as pretty as some may think but I do believe why Mandy is pushed back is simply because she hasn’t been exceptional in any of her recent performances. She needs a bit of hard work before being pushed to the front. Like developing a bit of personality and variety. Took Tavia a long time and a contract with the devil and probably some expensive but sagely advice from some fortune teller and some nose surgeon, point is Mandy will get there, eventually when she learns how to act more than just frowning and reciting her lines unemotionally like some Chinese language teacher. Looks wise can be surgically or cosmetically enhanced.
“I do believe why Mandy is pushed back is simply because she hasn’t been exceptional in any of her recent performances.She needs a bit of hard work before being pushed to the front.”
if that is the case what about grace,sisley,eliza,? what have they done that is exceptional enough to get them immidiately lead roles? i thought tavia is after 4 or 5 minor roles aready promoted to lead? and how many years has mandy been in the industry? 3 or 4 years? and i dont think tvb will ever promote her to lead because there are many choices in young actress that has more potential i think.
Tavia was in the same batch with Lam fung to for the tcb acting class. And tavia collaborated with many actors before and really can act than this mandy. Tavia and Lam fung acted with gallen lo in Golden Faith, both still a kiddo that time.LOL. so cute. Tavia’s cantanose speaking skill/acting skill definitely better than mandy if you compare to their past dramas all over the years.
i so agree..she don’t have the likeability factor..too plain looking at best..but she’s a tad above sharon chan though!
Grace sucks. Eliza sucks even more and that ‘hiau po’ samantha koh even worse.
Why are they promoted?????
“Looks wise can be surgically or cosmetically enhanced.”
I’d much rather Mandy leaves whatever she lookes like now than to artificially change it. She better not follow the same step as Lisa Lau who acted well in Black Heart White Soul but everyone criticised her face rather than thinking about her performance. Likeability overrides looks.
Contract with the devil? LOL are u even serious? If she really has a Contract with the devil she wouldn’t need to take 10years to win best actress. Don’t think too much.
yep – I felt it too – she only has small roles recently. In Tiger Cubs, she does not have anything signiticant
I thought she was a great actor with variety. she first started out as that “cute little younger sister” with shoulder length hair. then transformed into a sloppy pregnant wife. then a tough SDU member. she’s not drop dead gorgeous but I enjoyed every role she took on. it also reflected reality… not every sdu madam is attractive like Charmaine sheh or Jessica hsun
I happen to think she’s a good actress. Not exceptionally pretty but pleasant to the eye. Give me mandy wong any day than Sharon chan catwalking around and showing off her 42 inch legs every opportunity there is.
Demotion? Am not too sure. That’s what they said about Priscilla and based on recent tvb events, think Priscilla is still being promoted.
As for Mandy, she is still a shoo in fadan in my eyes. I might be wrong, but I still see potential in her.
Time will tell.
i agree.. she looks much better than Tavia or Sisely or sharon .. gimme Mandy any day over the rest
She might look better in your eyes, but not to other. To me, she’s a bit plain. Acting wise, she doesn’t draw my attention as tavia. Tavia, doesn’t matter what you say about her face, try to ignore her I had, but everytime she’s on screen and does emotional screen, you just draw to her performance. So to me, tavia is a level above Mandy. Mandy over other new actresses, sure. However, TVB has been known for always giving newbie a try at lead. After a while, if they fail, they will be forgotten :p
I personally love Mandy’s performances in various dramas. There are just some roles that aren’t very unique like the one in On Call 36…so it’s hard for her talent to shine through in roles like that. As for Priscilla, she’s definitely an over-rated actress. She got opportunities very quickly without working for them. But in conclusion, I don’t think it’s the end for Mandy yet. I believe she’ll be more popular in the future!
I cannot agree more
mandy is definitely not the outstanding gorgeous actress…she stood out as the sloppy calculative 关二嫂 in L’Escargot…but Tiger Cubs II is not so fantastic. But she will have a chance to shine.
Mandy is not quite first lead material yet. She’s kinda worse than linda chung..or maybe about the same. She also reminds me of nancy wu…forever as second lead material
Give me Nancy Wu any day, can’t stand Mandy acting tough on every serious lol
Nancy is one of the best actress un TVB. She’s just a late bloomer.
TVB just can’t recognize talent both Mandy Wong and Nancy Wu are my favorites in the younger generation better than Myolie ad Tavia. They are way more versatile obviously better than Priscilla Wong and Grace Chan!
*** TVB really? Mandy is such an amazing actress , she can play really in all her roles.
she looks better with long hair, she doesn’t suit short hair. But I see that it’s a trend for TVB actress to cut their hair short.
Yeah I agree! I’m just waiting for her to grow out her hair again lol! Not all actresses can pull off short hair.. Personally Leila Tong & Charmaine Sheh were the only ones able to pull it off to me….
i love charmaine sheh’s short hair OMG!! She is the only one that can actually pull thAT OFF.
Mandy is better off than that overpromoted Sharon
Christine Kuo had potential until everyone heard her speak. Pitiful. She had a star face and beauty that is unrivaled. Eliza Sam gives me an immature and childish feel in every drama. She is not lead material.
Aimee Chan gave audience a boring perception, always sporting the same cut and passive feel in her dramas, thats why she’s Moses’ baby machine now. Its what she’s gd at.
Tavia was good when she first started out Vigilante Force and TOB days, now its definitely over. Not sure what roles Tavia hasn’t done. She surpassed everything already, nothing else to give.
Myolie, it(gd acting rep) never even started and she is still the butt of bad acting jokes. Sorry to say even though I like her more than before.
Mandy Wong may be unattractive but she is still better than the attractive ones at TVB atm. She is a hell lot better than Priscilla Godzilla for sure.
Sharon, Selena, Nancy have never been good in my opinion. If the next wasn’t empty, it will never even be their turn.
Even a drama with just Leila Tong (HKTV’s drama) will likely capture more attention than any of the dramas of the aforementioned 3 (S,S,N). They have no acting talent whatsoever (in my opinion.)
next = nest —> If the nest wasn’t empty, it will never be their turn. [correction]
They should just stop all the dramas with Kate Tsui, Linda Chung, its just a waste of resources. Nobody wants to watch it but the ppl with no choice and the unfortunate disabled who can’t get out of the house to do something else. I don’t know of anyone that even likes them in HK. Now they all just want to watch anything but TVB. Thats how bad its become for the station apparent with their dirt-low ratings.
I think Mandy can act well. She’s natural and puts in effort…hope she gets more lead roles
Sisley Choi looks worst than Mandy. if by that standard, why is Sisley even on our television. Judges of so called beauty pageants don’t have eyes.
Can someone tell Grace Chan the pageant is over, she can stop the eery smile now. Pls. she scares me.
So agree with you on Grace’s eerie smile. Too over the top.
so funny, TVB is all about which right camp, not about acting. But some of their bets are right, like Tavia, didn’t see anything great about her at first but liked her in The Mysteries of Love and The Other Truth. Like her ever since. TVB needs to develop more 2nd line actors/actresses. It is not all about the first line actress. It is always the teamwork that works, so there should be less of emphasising on Charmaine alone but to boost the ones with potential so that together they make the drama enjoyable.
I think Mandy has passion for acting, but she has yet to have a huge breakthrough that grasps the audience attention. She also needs to win the audience’s heart. In most of her characters, she gives off this “cool” demeanor which can be a turnoff.
Another thing is the character. When Linda Chung started acting, I disliked hearing all the rave about her. However, when I started watching Heart of Greed, I sympathized with her character, and realized why people liked her, after that I grew to like her more. Mandy needs to hit a jackpot with a rootable character.
At TVB now, I can only see Selena Li and Tracy Chu having the most potential as leading ladies. They don’t stand out to me like how Tavia and Myolie did though, probably because they lacked the passion these other girls have. Katy Kung and JJ Jia (who isn’t at TVB anymore but she should come back) has acting talent, but they don’t have leading lady presence. I like Samantha Kho, but she reminds me of Natalie Tong. However, I sense her passion for acting so perhaps she will do better.
When Charmaine first started, she was not as popular as she is now. She had passion for acting and worked hard to perfect her chicken voice, work on things people were complaining about, and her acting to get to where she is today. If these new girls really have a passion for acting, then maybe one day they will be the next Charmaine.
I like Mandy Wong. To me, she is one of my favorite actress. I like watching her on tv. In my opinion, Mandy acts well than the other newbies such as Eliza, Priscilla, Christine and so on.
Tvb is definitely biased and it shows.
I think Mandy needs to get more highly roles than Grace. In my opinion, Grace is great for her first time acting and she has potential and she is likable, but she just started acting she needs to have at least a few supporting roles before making her into a lead role.
Such a shame. I’ve always liked her. She is lead actress material.
Mandy can act but lacks the likeability factor with the audience unfortunately. Priscilla might not be a good actress but she has that which Mandy lacks.
Nancy is the same way. I like her acting, but I don’t get the 1st lead aura from her.
Sharon and Selena lacks both and are just horrible.
She might as well go to HKTV then. That is the advantage of multiple TV companies.
for some reason she is not very likeable (at least to me) and it is difficult for me to pin point why
Mandy is natural in her acting and unpretencious
ie sometimes can see artificial acts in some but
not her. Though she lacks the glamour looks but this problem can be eventually addressed.
Have compassion as every actress has her strong points.
Mandy is not bad in acting, and her face looks very natural too, but too bad is, she is a little bit too short, I think this is her biggest problems to move up in this entertainment industry.
She’s a decent actress, not great but decent. She’s not very charismatic though and not versatile either. I don’t think she’s been demoted, just stalled. At the TVB anniversary celebration, she was sitting in the second row, next to Nancy, at a better seat than Sisley, there were a few people in between them. If TVB really want to demote an actor, they will also show it with the sitting arrangements, like how Sire was pushed down behind Elaine and Katy Kung at last year’s awards show.
Ummmmm she can act,just dont click for me though.
Mandy has no X Factor….regardless of her acting skills
TVB has too many of such actress
TVB has a lack of marketable female artiste…
I’m the reverse actually. I don’t find her drop dead gorgeous but somehow I’m drawn to watching her in any series she’s in. There’s a certain X factor in her.
Probably the best comment here.
In the upcoming drama Madam Cutie On Duty , Mandy is second-fiddle to lead actress Priscilla Wong (黃翠如), who made her TVB debut in 2013 – nearly six years after Mandy. In the period epic Captain of Destiny , which is currently shooting in Hengdian, Mandy is a supporting actress to rookie star Grace Chan (陳凱琳), the winner of the 2013 Miss Hong Kong Pageant.
I always thought TVB expected Mandy to become a first lead supporting actress instead of a lead actress so I don’t know why it says she is second under Priscilla and Grace. Priscilla started out with lead roles in her TVB career because TVB wants to promote her. It’s also obvious that they want to promote Grace fast.
Although Mandy’s popularity has increased in recent years, I don’t see her competing for lead roles with newer actresses simply because TVB doesn’t work that way. Mandy is like Nancy, who is use to playing first supporting actress roles. Now they might be lucky and share a leading female role, but at the end, the fadans are the fadans. It seems like Nancy and Kate had equal screen time in TUA, but usually people will see Kate as the lead actress because she always is.
It sucks that Mandy has to be supporting to Priscilla and Grace, especially Grace. Priscilla improved fast and I see her leading over Mandy, but I still prefer Mandy. They are also around the same age. Grace is still too raw from what I’ve seen in Overachievers. Good for a debut, not enough to lead a drama. I would like Mandy to lead her own series, but I don’t expect that because TVB seems to like to keep their supporting actors where they are even if they are talented. It does seem like the ones chosen for lead actresses to begin with are chosen based on favoritism.