Michael Tse Leaves TVB Due to Best Actor Loss?
To many Hong Kong viewers, Michael Tse (謝天華) is best known for his role as Laughing Gor from E.U. <潛行狙擊>. In reality, Michael has been with TVB since 1995, when he was first cast in A Kindred Spirit <真情>. With years spent at TVB, Michael expected to win Best Actor for 2011’s Lives of Omission <潛行狙擊>, but was disappointed when the award remained out of his grasp. After 17 long years with TVB, Michael finally decided not to renew his contract.
Life After TVB
Michael’s contract with TVB officially ends on June 30 and it was rumored that he will be signing with either Eric Tsang (曾志偉) or Johnnie To’s (杜琪峯) entertainment company. Michael laughed off the rumors and revealed that he does not have solid plans after regaining his freedom. In November, Michael will have a concert with Young and Dangerous <古惑仔> friends Ekin Cheng (鄭伊健), Jordan Chan (陳小春), Chin Ka Lok (錢嘉樂), and Jerry Lamb (林曉峰).
In response to whether or not he plans to renew his contract with TVB in the future, Michael answered, “I still have a lot to learn and I don’t want to rush into anything right now. My years at TVB have been a roller-coaster ride, but I’ll always remember the experiences and people I’ve worked with.” As with HKTV’s offer to have him jump stations, he expressed that he has already rejected their offer as their filming style is completely different from TVB and does not fit with his image.
Plentiful Opportunities In Mainland
Michael indirectly denied that he is leaving TVB because of the lack of recognition and awards. Since he has been with the station for almost two decades, he wants to venture out to experience new opportunities. Michael disclosed his gratitude for TVB, “I think Hong Kong is the best place for newcomers to begin their career. Luckily, the role, Laughing, earned me a ticket into the mainland market. I want to work with different artists and producers so I can keep growing. New experiences are a part of life so I don’t want to remain at once place.”
It was said that TVB upper management drew an eight-figure salary for Michael to stay. While Michael did not directly deny the claims, he asserted that money is not his top goal, as it is pointless to receive a lot of money just to have repeated performances. With his worth growing immensely in mainland, it is inevitable that Michael will find success in the future whether he is with TVB or not.
Source: Ming Pao Weekly #2329 via ihktv.com
This article is written by Su for JayneStars.com.
Probably have some effect especially if he was not heavily promoted by TVB management. Of course, making extra money for doing the same stuff would grealty entice his decision as well while boosting his image in China. Since he is 43 now, his years as one of the premier stars would be brief so he will need to make it big ASAP.
Michael is a natural super actor and an amazing singer, shame that TVB hav’nt notice how popular this guy really is and perhaps other cheaper entertainer’s for hire to make lower budget series.
Mick should be laughin’ that he could well earn more with appearances at events and at opennings, parties and sing on stage and more with his established fame.
natural my foot. michael only got lucky tje laughing role fell to him or he will stay as nobody forever! he’s only good in eu and went downhill later and got overshadowed in every series and movies! good singing? how funny he sounds so old fashioned and bland! no emotion in his singing!
do you know that most comments from hk netizens show how tired they are of him and they don’t care if he wants to leave.
oh well..Never was a fan and never will be. He doesn’t do much for me in terms of his acting or avg looks.
agree. he was overrated as laughing!
One hit wonder. He was only good as “jien man” with Sheren Tang in that series awhile back.
Everything else has been mediocre. He’s on the same boat with Joe Ma for me!
he and joe ma both don’t have charisma and are better in supporting roles!
agree one hit wonder. michael was just lucky the role laughing was given to him
Who in this industry does not rely on luck to some extent? You can be the most talented actor/actress around, but without the right connections, timing, luck,etc… you are not going to get anywhere!!
I never got the hype of laughing gor. Thought his jin man was better.
I don’t think Laughing is his best performance, but, I don’t think he’s a one hit wonder either. He has given a lot of great performances in other series such as the aforementioned ‘jin man’ and also as Sui Yu Chan in ‘The Slicing of the Demon’. Also love his portrayal of a Stephen Chow inspired character in ‘Screen Play’.
I don’t think actors/actresses leave DUE to the lack of awards. They leave because they want to.. plus many other reasons like wanting to do/try something new rather (like he mentioned) than be bounded by the same one dimensional characters they’ve been playing for years. True, “laughing gor” was pretty big, but his roles after than are sorry, pretty boring and forgettable.
Winning the BA award probably will give him a REASON to stay, but I would say NOT a determining factor in his decision.
something new (like he metioned) rather****
Agreed! Not everyone leaves cause of an award but because of money
only the first laughing gor in EU was good. the laughing gor after that all boring and onde dimensional and overrated.
Everyone has to leave one day,especially when working with a company like TVB who pays so little and works you so hard. If any artists have better opportunities then of course they will leave once their contract is up. I highly doubt he is leaving due to the lack of awards too. Also, winning any award from TVB no longer means anything anymore since they all seem to be rigged…
Im sure everyone does get bored of their working environment at a stage, especially if artists’ are working with the same colleagues over and over again with some even leaving, limiting it down even more..when they overwork with certain people they will get too familar with costars acting style etc. hence they may not give off ‘new sparks’ or create new chemistry imo. I read in previous article on Steven Ma, he said with his experience working in the Mainland, he noticed that the actors there had a different style of acting and that they have different ways of expressing particular emotions, hence Steven picked up techniques and acting styles to utilise to improve on his own performances.
he should just accept that kevin was much better than his laughing on that year! kevin had a breakhrough with law ba while michael was just being himself as laughing! many people say michael at best was only at 3rd place that year for tv king!
I think it’s quite obvious that Michael is leaving TVB because of other reasons, it’s not because he loss the Best Actor award. He already said it’s because he wants to have new experiences and that’s a part of life. Also when you say. “many people” say Mcihael was only at 3rd place for the tv king, who are they? What are your sources and how could those “many people” know?
the winner was kevin and michael should stop sulking over not winning anything. he’s lucky enough tvb made lives of omission to promote him and made a second laughing gor movie after the series. when he and kevin film that one series together in mainland, he was only second fiddle after kevin
going to mainland means digging for money, so yes besides award maybe money is te reason since tvb lays peanut and mainland is the place to get rich
You are really biased as always sel_fi_wu. You over praise the ones that you like and blast anyone that you hate…. What’s new??? I do agree with you that everyone leaves to go to China for money.However, it is not only for money but better treatment and better sleeping hours…
Michael has got that arrogant look that makes you just want to punch him in the face.
Kevin is not much better…maybe worse? kekeke
I’m probably part of the minority here but I don’t think the Laughing character was overrated. It was a very fun character to see on screen. People are probably more annoyed with the success than the portrayal itself, it’s an iconic character in my opinion. Even those that portrayed the character once or twice is more overrated than Laughing.
Kevin is not much of a better actor than Michael. Sadly The only work I enjoyed from him was in Split Second and Gloves Comes Off. He just looks so bored on screen. I never got the hype with Ghetto Justice either if was a fairly good series but it didn’t deserve the recognition it did, now that is overrated
I’m also a minority and agree with you Austin. Well said.
I agree with you Austin, however, I think Kevin is not that inferior to Micheal when it comes to acting. Acting is subjective since some may love a particular actor/actress while others will hate them. It is just a matter of opinion and that is how they survive in the circle.
I guess so, I was only comparing to Kevin since someone brought him up which I don’t think is fair to Michael either. Besides they’re both very different when it comes to acting, one can like both of them.
@Austin,
“one can like both of them”
Agreed, I like both Kevin (for Law Ba) and Michael (for Laughing Gor). Maybe TVB could have figured out a way to award them both (but in different categories) for those roles/characters?
Also, Kevin left TVB even though he won Best Actor. Thus, I think Michael is leaving (regardless of the award) for better opportunities (just like most other veterans).
I think I am a double minority here. I think both Kevin Cheng and Michael Tse are EQUALLY bad when it comes to acting.
Exactly Austin, one can like the both of them so why compare or have to like one and not the other??
Personally I don’t like Kevin Cheng’s role as Law Bah in “Ghetto Justice” and GJ2. His acting and behaviour as a lawyer was over-exaggerated. I like Kevin Cheng because he is a handsome actor, but am not impressed by his acting overall. He did pretty well in “Split Second”and “Gloves Come Off”, but not in other drama series. He did pretty badly in “A Fistful of Stances”.
I haven’t watched his Mainland Chinese drama series, but heard that he did very well in “Scarlet Heart” 步步驚心.
I can see why he was successful in 步步驚心, but his character in Ghetto Justice was a bit overrated. I liked him in Gloves Come off and thought he did well in a Fistful of Stances, but that it just what I think. It all comes down to personal opinions and views…
kevin LA law was the hk audience favourite in 2011
sandcherry,
“I like Kevin Cheng because he is a handsome actor, but am not impressed by his acting overall.”
First of all, I’m not a fan of Kevin Cheng. But before you said you weren’t impressed by his acting, you have to beware of what you say if you don’t want to be blasted by his fans in jaynestars, such as HeTieShou, Vigeya (forgot the spelling), Funn Lim, P.Tan, sel_fi_wu, etc. Once upon a time, I have previously used another name (not May) and criticized that he couldn’t act and only had handsome face and virginia lok to succeed, and that his fans liked him because he was handsome, not because of his acting. And then afterwards I was blasted by all his fans I have mentioned above in jaynestars until I lost my interest to come to this website for a couple of weeks. So if you don’t want the same thing happens to you, you are better advised to take back what you said and admit his superb acting skill. You have to remember that, when an actor is handsome, his fans like him regardless he can act or not. Otherwise, the actor wouldn’t be called an ‘actor’, right?
By the way, your name sounds familiar. You were one of those fans that blasted me, weren’t you?
Well, I very rarely blasted people on their preferences to certain artistes. I would criticize those artistes if they totally can’t act (such as Christine Kuo or Rebecca Zhu if they acted those important roles).
1) Acting is very subjective and everyone’s tastes and expectations are very different.
2) I did not say Kevin Cheng could not act. I just said that “I was not impressed by him in many of his drama series, especially Law Bah. I think he was over-exaggerated in his acting as a lawyer. Kenneth Ma also acted as a ghetto lawyer in “Survivor’s Law II”, but his character was very well reflected as a ghetto lawyer, and I enjoyed watching him in that series.
3) Kevin Cheng is a handsome actor, but his acting is not yet that impressive to me, and me only. There could be millions of fans here and there adoring him. I won’t argue with them. Every one has a choice to give opinions on this website regarding the acting of an artiste, as long as it is not a personal attack. That is what this website is for ……. to raise our opinions.
Sis I blast anyone for saying Kevin can’t act? Well I do agree! He is (or was) TVB’s handsomest actor but his acting sucks. His breakthrough role was in BBJX but the rest, sucks. But I still love him.
May,
I am actually not a big fan of Kevin but I like him and enjoy watching him. However, it is ok to criticize anyone since I am open about that and am not obsessed like some of those big fans are. But it depends on how anyone says it because some people are too “guo fen” and go over the edge… Acting is subjective and some may love a particular artist and some may hate them. If I was a big and close minded fan of Kevin, I would blasted Sandcherry, but did I do that at all?? NO!!
There is certainly an error in this article. How can the name of the series E.U and Lives of Omission both be ?? Bad translating
Is not bad translating. Is sloppy work and zero proof reading before article gets uploaded. Bad translating will be the Steven Ma article which was pointed out. Happens quite frequently on this site. But it’s a free site for non- Chinese readers to get the latest entertainment news. So no complaints 😀
I am in minority as well. I actualy enjoy michael acting
He’s not a bad actor. It’s just that he should have left TVB 10 years ago. As soon as he did Young and Dangerous maybe.
Wait, did Michael actually say that he didn’t want to work for HKTV because their filming methods are different and don’t fit his image or was that another error in translation? If it wasn’t an error, then I’m curious to know what he means by that statement. Is he referring to the real location filming or the use of movie-quality filming equipment or the 8-12 hour work days? Or the 100% complete scripts prior to filming? Or to something else? Honestly, this the first time I heard an artist say that they don’t like HKTV’s filming methods and would prefer TVB’s filming methods instead…I don’t know about you guys, but that statement makes me think that Michael isn’t serious about his acting career because if you talk to any consummate actor who takes their craft seriously, they will tell you that all of the above things enhance the acting experience and helps them do an even better job as actors/actresses (even artists who currently work for TVB have said how important those things are). Hmmm…..
Hi llwy12,
I’m not sure but his response made me think of his connection with his father in law, if I’m not mistaken, his wife is the daughter of one of tvb producers or something? I could be wrong but maybe that’s why he turned them down and maybe he couldn’t find a nicer way to put it except say thier filming methods are different. Lol.
那可會過檔王維基旗下香港電視？「他們好早期找過我，但是合約還有一段時間，婉拒了，我都有留意他們放上網的劇集短片，覺得拍攝風格上跟TVB很不同，畫面同鏡頭都靚一點，我又不敢斬釘截鐵說不會過去，始終個圈是圓的，況且不是離開這間公司去拍別一間就是反骨仔，好多人影帝級人馬都是TVB出身。」
————————————————————
The above test is an excerpt from the the article reported in the Chinese source. The only thing he mentioned is “畫面同鏡頭都靚一點”, which just means that filming and screen shots are prettier in HKTV’s drama series. Michael Tse also mentioned that the filming style in HKTV is quite different from the ones in TVB, but he never said that HKTV’s filming style does not suit his image.
Therefore, the translator twisted the text as reported in the Chinese source, or he added his OWN personal opinions in his translation.
I meant the “above text”, and not “above test”. Sorry, it is a typo.
@sandcherry: Thanks for the clarification. That definitely makes alot more sense!
So pretty much another error in translation(argh!). I knew I should have read the Chinese version first (didn’t get around to it this time). I’m actually quite shocked at how different the translation is from the original Chinese text….this is why I dislike reading condensed / paraphrased versions of articles….
from some other articles about michael leaving it was said michael wants to continue working with tvb due to the good relationship but will not renew his management contract but will like to sign a per series contract and asking price is 50,000 per an ep for his filming fee but tvb said no
I like Michael tse when he was in that drama with Miriam Yeung and Nick Cheung. His character is so fun and he did a great job in acting. I haven’t watch young and Dangerous and was about to today. His laughing gor character is good too. At his age he should get some recognition and he should go out to explore.
AS long as he don’t over do it, he’s fine. But I feel he don’t have the leading man vibe.