Ron Ng Opens Up on Personal Life and Career
Since the COVID-19 pandemic lessened many artistes’ work load, Ron Ng (吳卓羲) used the extra free time to reflect on his personal life and career. He also had more quality time with his mother, who understood the 40-year-old actor is not in a hurry to get married so urged him to become a father first.
Bonding with His Family
Seeing his down time as a blessing in disguise, Ron shared, “Although I lived with my mother for many years, I didn’t have too many opportunities to see her. In the past, whenever I return home from work, she is already sleeping. The next day, I leave the house before she wakes up. Right now, we have dinner and sometimes get groceries together.”
Ron continued, “Since we see each other day and night, we can now talk about anything and I let her know more about my work. In fact, she always wanted to get to talk to me, but she didn’t want to bother me when I was busy. Now we have an opportunity to sit down and talk. Since joining the industry, I nearly lost 22 years of family time, but I can finally return all of it to my mother.”
The extra time together inevitably made his mother ask Ron about his life plans, “She lowered the requirements and said I don’t have to get married, but I should have a baby first. I thought it was interesting; why would a mother ask for a baby first? I certainly understand her intentions. Although many young artistes are married and having babies, maybe my fate has not arrived. I have been working and I thought about it. I am scared of having babies and not having the energy to raise them. But I still need to meet the right person first. It takes time to date, but I believe the opportunity will come.”
Opportunities Working in China
In recent years, the Mainland Chinese entertainment industry has been growing at a rapid pace and prompted Ron to think about his experiences there. The dialect barrier is just one of the challenges. “You must figure out if you will speak Mandarin or Cantonese [during filming]. I remember when I filmed my first series in China, I spoke Cantonese and then discovered that my performance wasn’t that great. There will always be differences in the verbal and facial expressions. If you say the dialogue in Mandarin, the director will cut more shots for you. It’s because your mouth movement is not in sync. It’s useless no matter how well you act, there will be problems on screen.”
Realizing speaking the same dialect would ensure greater synergy with his co-stars, Ron made sure to arrive on set prepared. “When I filmed my second series, I studied the script before filming. I hand-wrote Mandarin sounds for my dialogue. Although I did not really go to a tutor to learn Mandarin, I had assistants around me, so I asked them to teach me. Of course, I would still use voice-over for the final broadcast, but at least I felt more comfortable when I film.”
Dealing with Career Setbacks
In the industry for two decades, Ron knew experiencing some career setbacks was inevitable, but he learned to face them with optimism. Facing negative press in the past for his dating relationships, Ron learned to face the storm with calmness. “When I first saw negative press, I would go home thinking, ‘What will happen when I return to the station?’ No one would really care when you go to work. It’s more important to do your best.”
Not wanting to let the press affect him, Ron chose to focus his energy on acting, “If the news is in your mind, it will affect your work so you should focus on acting well. You can only change the audience’s view by showing your work. The press could be writing about you this week, but you may not be on the cover next week. Why worry? In the entertainment industry, you have to learn to face the negative news so you can carry on. If you let the news defeat you, I advise you not to continue [in this field].”
Source: Ming Pao Weekly
This article is written by Sammi for JayneStars.com.
A lot of people say his acting is wooden but watching his interviews on tigers talk, his deadpan humour is so good. He should do a comedy series. He seems like a very optimistic person.
@bubbles23
Yes many say he is wooden but I must say that he charisma which is also important and a sense of humor. He did do comedy before. I actually enjoyed his acting and the rest of the cast in A Chip off the Old Block. My late mom and I laughed so much watching that series.
@hetieshou now I want watch that again… glad you have good memories about that!
Kinda sad that tvb let LF and eventually Ruco overshadow him. Like you said he is very charming but got typecasted by TVB, probably is the most typecasted actor ever LOL. Still think Ron’s acting is better than MaMing (fight me lol) just looking at Flying Tiger.
@bubbles23 Ron is SO typecasted. He was in so many cop dramas even though he can actually play any role imo.
@luye Chung Lap Man is so classic LOL i know his police number by heart.
I feel like he has so much potential but always handed non-central roles even though he’s “male lead”. Iirc I don’t think he’s ever played a doctor or lawyer
@bubbles23 Omg yes i remember Ron & Sammul’s police #s too it was like pc 66336 & 66341 hahaha
@bubbles23 he did acted as a vet in Wax and Wane and I loved his character in that drama. He has very good “fighting abilities” most likely due to his dancing background. He will do a lot of stunts himself and not one to complain.
I’ll admit that I love watching tvb cop dramas lol. He’s cop looks and fight scenes arevery cool.
@saulai7 wow I totally do not recall his character in that drama. I rmbr him singing the theme song only. Funny enough that he does all this action roles but I don’t think I ever recall him training a six pack lol. Meanwhile everyone at tvb pretty much has trained for a role that calls for abs
@bubbles23 oops I realised I mentioned the wrong drama name lol. The vet I said was Brink of Law. Hahaha he didn’t really bother I guess. I saw in Triumph in the Sky 1 he did had a pretty great body including some TVB calendar swimsuit photo shoots.
@bubbles23
Oh yes, I want to rewatch it sometime too. Ron is very charismatic and hope he ventures more outside of TVB so he can show off his talents. I think Ron’s acting is better than Kenneth in certain roles too.
@hetieshou agreed that I feel his acting is much better than Kenneth. He has already left TVB since 2015. Had a number of mainland dramas and went to do some movies too.
@saulai7
I thought he still acted for TVB from time to time too. I have not watched TVB series for a long time so not sure if Ron still acts for them. I have seen him in some China series and his acting is not bad. He has improved a lot. Like I have said, it is not just acting skills but they need to have the charisma too and Ron has that.
@hetieshou his last tvb drama was Lord of Shanghai in a supporting role. I dont think he’s tied to any company currently
@bubbles23
Yes that was the last series I watched from TVB. I think he is just acting on a per series basis now but I am not sure. I hope to see more of his China productions. His acting has improved a lot.
@saulai7 @hetieshou agree with you that Ron’s acting is better than Kenneth. I want to see more of him
@hetieshou A Chip Off the Old Block was so good & hilarious!! I agree with you that Ron is charismatic & also hot.
@luye
Yes it was and I enjoyed it a lot. It brings back a Lot of good memories for me with my late mom too.
@bubbles23 I would think that his acting acting has improved so much over the years. Most times it also depends on the script and what the director asks the actor to do and he will have to obliged I guess. He’s not the type to “complain”.
He has quite a number of good dramas in my opinion. Just to pick a few…OL Supreme Black Heart White Soul, Lady Sour, Lord of Shanghai. Even in Flying Tiger 1 where many complained about his character. He mentioned in interviews that he had discussed with the director and changed the script and character many times. Esp love his acting where he was pointing his gun at his father in the warehiuse.
I recently caught up on his mainland dramas. His crying/emotional scenes are awesome. Highly recommended to watch Life and Death..
@saulai7
Yes Ron has gotten better over the years but I think many here do not watch China productions so have not seen his improvement. I always enjoyed his acting and it was a bit stiff before but he has gotten better. He is very charismatic which draws you to his presence.
@saulai7 Do you know what the drama is called in Chinese? I’d love to watch it sometime.
I think he was really good in BHWS too, and the second Flying Tiger shows a lot depth too. Anyways he seems like someone who is enjoyable to work with on set. I think what he lacks is a drama where he is the central character, not just the “male lead”.
@bubbles23 his chinese dramas that I love 生死谍恋 (catch full episodes from Bilibili superb script n actors)， 大丫鬟(he got best actor award for tis villain role), 格子间女人，结婚为什么 (I cried with him omg)，长梦留痕 (the author purposely asked him to lead her story she’s his fan too lol. Director I read is the same one from Triumph in the skies)，最佳前男友 (HK director he knows who asked him to participate)，幸福归来
His first movie after he left TVB was Shockwave 1 with Andy Lau. In a radio interview Ron was told that Andy Lau picked him to star with him. He didn’t even know that. Hopefully this year shockwave 2 is able to broadcast. He has a few movies just that they are not out yet…like 再见女人街 he’s the Male lead here acting as gangster, undercover cop…
I have been following weibo and various postings recently and understands that he is very down to earth and friendly. No airs whatsover
@saulai7 wow thanks for compiling tjis I’ll check them out
@bubbles23 I think a lot are surprised by his humour, me included
His flying tiger roles having been better ,
Best performance was in triumph of the skies 1 actually
@mulder99 he has a lot of dramas with better acting. Not that I complain about his acting in Triumph in the Skies 1. But he was still very raw that time. How about his last TVB drama Lord of Shanghai….Lady Sour…Life and Death, The Four…Why Get Married….
Ron and Matt Yeung both of their mom sounds the same they both wants their sons to have a baby first before marriage.
Limited script & character, Ron portrayed same roles during his days in TVB. Hope he will return to TVB. He has potential & one of my favourite TVB siu sang.
ron & bosco are probably HK golden bachelor.
I never liked Ron on and off screen and also not sure why so many girls think he’s good looking. But I think his best performance was in “A Chip Off the Old Block”. Other than that, he suckz…too wooden.
@snoopy Agreed. Way too wooden even after given so many chances. He’s definitely one of those that coasts by on his looks.
@coralie he has more than looks. His acting has improved so much. You would have to watch more dramas and even mainland ones.
@saulai7 the prob is that he was so wooden at tvb, nobody cared where he went after leaving. there was a lot of consensus back then when he left that he would come back to film for them again because his acting sucked so much. wooden beyond belief and not much to showcase his versatility. if he had improved since then, I’m glad to hear it. but so far none of his productions have crossed my radar as interesting enough to look.
@snoopy
It is more than looks and Ron’s acting has gotten better over the years. Plus, he has charisma which is also very important for an actor to have.
@hetieshou agreed
@bubbles23 I think a lot are surprised by his humour, me included
@saulai7
He was hilarious in A Chip Off the Old Block…I need to rewatch that sometime…
@hetieshou hahaha yes and his K zai in OL Supreme
I caught up his Men in Pain that’s another good drama. Woah his break dancing in it was wow
its time for him to star in a comedy drama again i remember he filmed one with Moylie it was okay…..kinda of tired seeing him with that non emotional look he carries in all of his dramas do i hear boring………….
@sherla1019 not all is “non emotional” if u manage to watch his mainland dramas and…
even in TVB he had emotional scenes too like the scene with Laughing gor in the van, Season of Love, Black Heart White Soul, Lord of Shanghai, Flying Tiger 1 where he pointed the gun at his father….
@saulai7 Ron played an emotional character in romance drama Lost in the Chamber of Love