Ruco Chan Credits Lawyer Friends For His Effective Performance in “The Other Truth”
Ruco Chan (陳展鵬) once represented the Hong Kong table tennis team [in overseas competitions] and played opposite Chai Bo Wah (齊寶華) and Chan Dan Lui (陳丹蕾). In 1994, he joined TVB’s acting class. Within two years, he signed with PolyGram to become a singer. After releasing only four songs, due to Universal acquiring PolyGram , Ruco’s music contract was not renewed. He switched his career to the ATV. Despite playing lead roles at ATV, the audience may not remember his name. Returning to TVB in 2008, Ruco played minor roles and started gaining the audience’s attention. His recent lead role in The Other Truth <真相> increased Ruco’s popularity sharply.
Asked whether he had disproved others’ impression of him, Ruco said, “Absolutely! Many people comment that I only possess a physical appearance. Since I was a former athlete, I value inner substance more.” In the entertainment industry for 17 years, Ruco admitted that he felt a sense of despair. “It may appear as if a lot of opportunities cropped up. However, there was always something missing. In the past, when I was playing cameo roles, people recognized me. Entering PolyGram, the outside world paid greater attention as well.”
Hiding In The Bathroom To Avoid Rejection
“After leaving TVB and Polygram, no one cared about you anymore. I was very unhappy. Sometimes, when attending a film premiere, there was no one who paid attention to you and take photos. I had very hard feelings. Later, I simply hid in the bathroom and waited until the premier started before going inside.”
As for the reason for leaving ATV, Ruco admitted, “The biggest problem at ATV was its constant organizational changes. At one time, I treated acting as only a job and lost all my passion. Thus, many friends suggested that I go to another place to improve and learn more.”
In The Other Truth, Ruco portrayed a lawyer very convincingly. Ruco credited his lawyer friends, “I have known Ching Hung (清洪) and his former mentee, Lung Chung Han (龍宗瀚), for over ten years. Ah Lung is Lam Doi’s (林黛) son and worked as a legal advisor in the past. I frequently meet them and a group of lawyer friends for drinks and learned many things. Portraying a lawyer in The Other Truth, I asked their advice on many matters.”
In addition, Ruco had dated Miss Asia 2008, Eunis Yiu (姚佳雯). Allegedly, the pair had broken up. However, other reports claimed that Ruco and Eunis lived together and turned their relationship underground.
Excerpt from Appledaily
Jayne: Sounds like Ruco has a lot of friends from all walks of life. Hopefully, he will continue to relay his fascinating experiences in life through his acting performances. Again many media sources have featured Ruco since the broadcast of The Truth.
I think Catherine Tsang had a lot to do with Ruco’s recent success in TVB. Catherine was credited with having a good eye for distinct talent in the 90s and developing stars such as Gallen Lo, Jessica Hsuan, Ada Choi, Bobby Au Yeung etc. I am very glad Catherine saw a promising streak in Ruco! I am also glad that Ruco took on very interesting fascinating minor roles before The Other Truth, honing his acting skills rather than pushed to the forefront in 2008.
good luck always for him and his drama, and never give up.
we can see that he really took his role serious asking his lawyer friends for help. maybe he know this was his chance and didn’t want to miss it.
LOL, poor Ruco for hiding in the bathroom.
it’s a cruel environment out there just as a battlefield
I thought that him hiding in the bathroom was most unfortunate…but really funny too. Who’d know that this guy with his dominating physical presence could behave like an outcast teenager. haha.
Can’t judge from the outside.
I’m glad you are in leading role right now. Hope to see more of your series and hope all your new series are leading role.
hope to see more of his series.Hope he make it to the top in the near future. i like his acting after watching,~the other truth~
I also hope to see him more in the near future.
I always wondered why Ruco didn’t come back to TVB after his singing company abandoned him. Why did he decide to act for ATV instead?
Chriselle,
“I always wondered why Ruco didn’t come back to TVB after his singing company abandoned him. Why did he decide to act for ATV instead?”
After Ruco’s singing career died, he made films and probably placed his hopes that his film career would take off instead. Nine years ago, perhaps the competitive environment at TVB may have been too strong? Bowie Lam, Roger Kwok, Bobby Au Yeung, Joe Ma, Kevin Cheng, Moses Chan, as well as rising younger stars, Raymond, Bosco, Ron, Sammul, and Kenneth were heavily promoted. I think Ruco was uncertain of his own chances in such a crowded environment and thus opted to go to ATV. This is often the biggest reason why an artist would decide to go to ATV instead of TVB. ATV possesses fewer contracted artists and the chance of leading a series would be higher. This was probably the same reason Raymond Wong filmed with ATV prior to going to TVB as well.
I think Ruco wanted to play more significant roles in ATV and thought that his film experience would qualify him in this aspect. However, ATV disregarded this and continued to cast him in minor cameo roles in his first two years there. Thus he was very discouraged and regretted his decision at the time.
Anyhow, the timing to go to TVB seemed to be just right. Many older, established TVB actors have turned their focus to mainland and there exists a greater need for actors in their mid 30s right now.
Wish him all the luck!! He really deserves all the attention right now!!! Btw, really hated how the other truth ended!! But I don’t wanna spoil it for anyone… 😛
Yee,
Ruco seems to be the new favorite of Amy Wong, who is the producer of upcoming series, “ATF Counter Terrorism.” With the success of The Other Truth, perhaps more producers will want to cast Ruco as well. I think he has a highly promising career ahead in TVB….
I give Amy Wong a lot of credit in taking a risk to cast Ruco, given the extreme minor roles he played in the last 3 years. In “Only You,” Amy cast Ruco as a romantic ex-gangster in love with Macy Chan. This romantic role was likely a test to see the public reaction. Along the way, TVB must have realized that Ruco also had an established, loyal fan following and that they didn’t have to devote a lot of time to promote him from the grounds up.
In my POV Ruco will definitely have a more promising career in TVB than Raymond Wong, particularly because he just signed to be a TVB managed artiste.
Masaharu,
“In my POV Ruco will definitely have a more promising career in TVB than Raymond Wong, particularly because he just signed to be a TVB managed artiste.”
Yes that is the tabloid rumor. Actually, TVB gave Raymond Wong lot of hefty roles in the last two years. IMO, I think he should have signed the TVB contract (maybe 4 years) to increase his promotional opportunities.
After The Other Truth, Ruco gained a lot of new fans. I look forward to more of his series.
Raymond Wong is quite liked by Tim Gor and has filmed a few dramas with him. After Tim Gor failed to get three initial actors to costar wtih Niki Chow, he casted Raymond Wong in the leading role.
Ruco meanwhile has the helping hand Amy Wong Sum Wai. It’s under Amy Wong’s wings that Kevin gain higher ground once he entered TVB. I like Ruco’s addition to TVB entourage :). It adds more color and more diversity in the artiste.
Masaharu,
Among Raymond Wong’s roles, I enjoyed his performance in When Lanes Merge the most. A very explosive character with memorable scenes. His character in “The Other Truth” was a little bland.
“Ruco meanwhile has the helping hand Amy Wong Sum Wai. It’s under Amy Wong’s wings that Kevin gain higher ground once he entered TVB. I like Ruco’s addition to TVB entourage 🙂 . It adds more color and more diversity in the artiste.”
Ruco is definitely the dark horse that shot to popularity this year. He is favored by Catherine Tsang, who allegedly wants to prime him to become the next Lawrence Ng, who excelled in both good and evil roles. I agree he has a unique presence among current TVB artists and a star quality that is unbeatable.
“Actually, TVB gave Raymond Wong lot of hefty roles in the last two years. IMO, I think he should have signed the TVB contract (maybe 4 years) to increase his promotional opportunities.”
Some actors are very loyal to their managers. They trust and feel comfortable with their managers and stick with them throughout their career.
Raymond Wong has a very good relationship with his manager(s). So, I don’t think he will change.
Did Catherine Tsang literally said that? Argh. Personally I really dislike it when some star is said to be the “next” . Just let these artistes be themselves in their own unique way :). I’m positive that Ruco is already establishing his own fanbase in his own way and I’m more than sure his fanbase has grown now after The Other Truth.
Masaharu,
I came across some info that Catherine Tsang was rumored to be interested in priming Ruco as the next Lawrence Ng. She was not credited in making such an open statement, obviously because it may not sit well with other artists.
Audiences who watched ATV series already noticed Ruco years ago. I was aware of his existence but have not seen any ATV series in years. He apparently has a huge fanbase already, but he shot to position #1 on the TVB Popularity Charts and has stayed at the top for 2 weeks or so.
@ Jayne
“Among Raymond Wong’s roles, I enjoyed his performance in When Lanes Merge the most. A very explosive character with memorable scenes. His character in “The Other Truth” was a little bland.”
My fave Raymond Wong’s role in TVB so far is still Second Master in ‘Sweetness of Salt’, but, that’s Tim Gor’s series.
Kidd,
I only glimpsed some parts of “Sweetness in the Salt,” but I agree that Raymond Wong had a juicy role in there too.
I liked “When Lanes Merge” because the character is a stark contrast to the recent trend of lead characters in professional roles. Also, lead characters tend to be such ethical characters with few flaws. Raymond’s role was like a breath of fresh air. I felt he also had good chemistry with Ken Cheng and Kate Tsui.
I just realized that some “characters/symbol” can’t be read by this comment box. I rephrase my sentence: …..” Personally I really dislike it when some star is said to be the “next” insert name here…..”
Some actors are very loyal to their managers. They trust and feel comfortable with their managers and stick with them throughout their career.
Raymond Wong has a very good relationship with his manager(s). So, I don’t think he will change.
Also, TVB won’t dare to forcefully take Raymond from his current boss, Charles Keung…
“Also, TVB won’t dare to forcefully take Raymond from his current boss, Charles Heung…
That is so true. Lol.
Amy wong does good shows but that girl needs to seriously take out the nasty voice-overs. It KILLS the shows. Although the other truth was one of the better shows this year the voice over just really made it unbearable at times. It reminds me of horrible voice over mainland dramas *shudders*
Back on topic Ruco Chan can act very well if ATV had more money to do more productions i’m sure Hong kong would have really seen it. But since ATV doesn’t have much money they are like the crappier tv channel therefore not as many people pay attention. However ATV does have good actors/actresses just they aren’t noticed because of their budget.
“But since ATV doesn’t have much money they are like the crappier tv channel therefore not as many people pay attention.”
The biggest problem with HK TV phenomena now is habit rating. Even when TVB was just playing showfakes, some audience still won’t switch channel. If you look at ATV’s 80’s and 90’s series, they were not inferior to TVB series. But, audience just didn’t give them a chance.
Another factor affect ATV’s ratings is that TVB occupied all the good broadcasting locations. I listen to RTHK’s ‘sik si fung’ which let people phone in to discuss matter. Some people say they want to see ATV also cannot, because reception not good.
3rd factor is TVB’s monopoly practice. Because they are the first no-cable TV. They gain a lot of following. ATV came in later in the no-cable TV business. But, TVB already popular at that time. TVB used a lot of monopoly tactics to keep a firm grip on artists and advertisers.
This lead to ATV constantly losing money and thus keep changing boss. Kenneth Chan observed that because the bosses keep changing, there’s no time to let a development plan come to fruition.
ATV actually made some very good and innovative series.
Also, it is well known in HK that TVB steal ideas from ATV and I-Cable. Every time, ATV have some innovative idea, TVB followed by a similar program. During the time that there’s uproar from Japan that TVB steal ideas from Galileo, Joey Lueng joked that the Japanese is too unfamiliar with HK TV culture. TVB stole from I-Cable and ATV all the time. It’s normal practice.
I really like watching Kenneth Chan onscreen, especially in Men of Justice. I recall he was with TVB in the mid 1990s. Does anyone know why he left to join ATV?
@Chriselle
Kenneth never had great roles in TVB, evil roles ones when back then people were even more conservative or just supporting
He got leads and hosting jobs in ATV that really made the peak of his career
I wish to see Kenneth Chan again in the future, but it seems like ATV isn’t going anywhere. Are they even producing any more series? What is Kenneth up to these days?
@ Chriselle
Kenneth Chan is with I-Cable now. But, unlike TVB who has a firm grip on its artists, I-Cable is more lax. Kenneth said ATV can borrow people from I-Cable and vice-versa. That’s why Kenneth can appear in ‘Men of Justice’.
Kidd,
Kenneth Chan comes across as intelligent and articulate. Is he hosting variety programs at I-Cable?
@ Jayne
Yeap, hosting variety programs at I-Cable. I also heard him talking about his new album in RTHK. But, I do not know whether he’s talking about the one he released in year 2009 or another new one.
He talk like he has only released one album (最後答案) before. But, his 2nd album was released in 2009. I just listened to the interview not long ago. If it’s a 2009 interview, I wouldn’t be able to listen to in year 2011. Archive already deleted.
“Kenneth Chan comes across as intelligent and articulate. ”
I agree that he seems like a very mature person with a seasoned personality. Too bad he doesn’t appear on the HK news a lot. No chance of reading an interview about him.
nick cheung once said in an interview that during his time at ATV, he was unhappy because nobody watches ATV series. It didn’t matter how hard hard he tried or how well he did because nobody seemed to care about ATV series, even his family didn’t watch it.
My heart goes out to him when he said that he had to hide in the bathroom during premier. Must’ve been a hard road but that is all behind him now. I wish him success and looking forward to watching more of his series, he is definitely capable of capturing the audience’s attention.
He’s good in acting and looks a lot better than kenneth ma, lai lok yi, bosco wong etc…he should get leading roles. i remembered him from cameo roles.
In the scene where Keith was scolded by his mother and he told his mother he suspect he’s not her son, Ruco look so boyish there. Gone are those manly intensity and gravity. He looks a bit like a teenage son have a small a tantrum. At that moment, he also look quite innocent. No more villainous look. I don’t know. It give a feel of a teenager talking to his mom.
Scenes of Keith with his mother bring out another side of Keith and another look from Ruco. You don’t see his expression of his with he interact with others. 😀
AWWWWW… that’s good to hear. I wish I can re-watch that scene again! 😀
I can’t agree more with your comments, Kidd. I think Ruco marvelled at his acting as Keith. As a lawyer, a son, a friend and a “lovelorn” guy when it comes to Mavis.
I also like the scene when Mavis received flowers from Alex and Keith thought Alex was interested in Mavis. His jealous look was kinda cute. 🙂