On Leaving TVB, Grace Wong Didn’t Want to Become Stagnant

Leaving TVB one year ago, Grace Wong (王君馨) had new opportunities to flex her wings. In a recent interview, revealed her motivation to leaving the station was to avoid becoming stagnant.

“I didn’t want to become complacent, and lose my motivation and ambition. It was very comfortable getting a steady pay check every month and then waiting for the company to assign me jobs and dramas. We didn’t have to fight for the opportunity through casting, so I was afraid this would become second nature,” the 36-year-old actress said

Stepping away from a familiar work environment also allowed Grace to embrace acting with a fresh perspective. Reflecting on her days filming for TVB dramas, Grace admitted she had wanted to give more layered performances to her characters. “There were times when I wanted to delve deeper and add my own flavor to my character…but we had to film many scenes in one day and there wasn’t time to do this. I didn’t let this frustrate me, as I came prepared before arriving at work. If the scene wasn’t mine, there was no need to be stubborn. Helping from the sidelines was fine as well. In the past, I would always get frustrated because I wanted each scene to be perfect. This was a vicious cycle; it would lead to my unhappiness as I would worry about my emotions affecting my performance,” Grace said.

While loving the ability to choose her path as a freelancer, Grace however did not shut down the possibility of returning to TVB. “I like singing, and I also want to film movies in different languages. These opportunities may be more plentiful outside of TVB. Leaving TVB is a good thing— if you don’t experience another environment, then you won’t fully appreciate what you had in the past. At a certain point, it’s like you’re graduating university and entering society. You need to find your own house, and understand the feeling of having to pay rent. In 10 years when I’m in my 40s with children, I may want more stability.”

After leaving TVB, Grace joined a Chinese dancing competition show, and she described it as being thrown into the sea before learning how to swim. “I had to take care of everything by myself without the help of an assistant. At first, I was worried what it would be like in a completely new environment, but you can accomplish anything as long as you believe in yourself. I was really happy to hear people praise that my dancing had improved. After living in a hotel for a year, I truly missed my bed and husband. It was a good experience because you don’t appreciate things until you don’t have them anymore.”

Grace also has a role in Donnie Yen’s (甄子丹) wuxia movie Sakra <天龍八部之喬峯傳> as Mrs. Ma. Initially worried as she had not filmed a historical role since 2012’s House of Harmony and Vengeance <耀舞長安>, Grace felt that her Chinese fluency is not skilled enough to fully deliver the nuances of a historical dialogue. “I watched many versions of [past screen adaptations of the novel] to understand my character. I also played traditional Chinese music while filming to help immerse myself into the [wuxia] world.”

Grace thanked Donnie for his advice on acting and action scenes, and shared that she is open to trying fighter roles. “I like working with weaponry and I’m also happy to learn new sports. I’m really fast in learning choreography because I like to dance. I’m slow at remembering my lines though!”