Selena Li Doesn’t Know Her Place at TVB
In front of the press, Slow Boat Home <情越海岸線> star Selena Li (李詩韻) gave the impression that she is cold and watchful, but she had the habit of partying at clubs and meeting the young and rich second generation heirs. The 32-year-old actress does not agree.
“They say I like to date rich heirs, but please don’t forget that I had a five-year relationship with a boyfriend called Patrick Tang (鄧健泓). I definitely do not want [to date] the second generation. I like guys who achieve success with their own hands.”
In Slow Boat Home, Selena portrays Heidi Kwok, a manipulative and calculative woman who betrays her loved ones in order to achieve new heights in her career. Although Selena herself had studied accounting when she was in college, she has learned that numbers do not mean everything, and unlike Heidi – in which everything and everyone is counted as a pawn – Selena understands that not everything can be counted.
“Heidi is a very difficult character. She has a goal, she knows how to get there, and she is willing to achieve anything to climb up that ladder. But she also has a heart, and halfway through the story, she feels the guilt. There are many sides to her. Sometimes she is happy and sometimes she is kind, but on the other side, she is lonely, sad, and scheming. There are many layers to her, and she is someone I have never tried playing before.”
Selena is grateful to have come upon a role like Heidi’s. Being one of the most difficult roles that she has ever portrayed, the actress considers Heidi to be a new breakthrough in her career.
Selena Still Feels Lost
Selena made her debut as a contestant for the Miss Hong Kong pageant in 2003. Although she took home the Miss Talent and Miss Photogenic special awards at the pageant, Selena failed to make it into the finalist round, becoming the first Miss Photogenic winner in history to have failed to make it as a top five finalist.
“I never liked the feeling of losing. Whether or not it was for school or for sports, I have to be number one. When I joined the pageant, I honestly expected myself to at least make it to a runner-up, but in the end, I couldn’t even enter the top five. Honestly, I instantly cried. I considered leaving everything behind and moving back to Canada. But the future is unpredictable, and in the end, I was able to get job offers and do considerably well in the business. After less than three years, I was able to play second-lead roles, and I was happy. But after that… I’ve tried doing supporting roles, and even guest roles, and sometimes I go back to doing second-lead roles, but honestly, I really don’t know what my place is at the moment. I still feel so lost.”
There are many things that cannot be counted, and in this case, Selena finds her future in the industry as unpredictable. “I’ve learned to relax, and learn to understand that no one will stay number one forever. As long as you’ve tried, you’ll learn how to enjoy the struggle.”
In 2005, when Selena was beginning to find a name for herself in the industry, her father filed for bankruptcy. It was reported that her father’s debt collectors even sent a letter to TVB, requesting for Selena to pay up.
“Many believed that since my parents were rich, I must have lived a very privileged life. But my siblings and I never really lived like we were rich. My mother is very frugal. She did not hire a housekeeper for our house in Canada. My siblings and I were in charge of the house cleaning. Thinking back, I was never really that close to my parents, but they were still very supportive. I was worried about my father [after the bankruptcy]. He is a very traditional man as he seems to believe that he is responsible for everything, but we all got through it together.”
Rich Second Generation Out of the Equation
“I know many girls want to marry the rich, especially second generation heirs. The father is in charge of earning the money while the son and his wife are in charge of spending it. For me, rich second generation heirs are definitely not my cup of tea. I’ve met too many of them, and our values are completely different. If we don’t have common ground, how will we be able to communicate? I can’t even imagine being friends with them!”
Selena continued, “It doesn’t matter if his financial situation is rich or poor. The most important thing is devotion. I am really loyal when it comes to love, and I will ask for my boyfriend to be the same. I believe in karma – if you lie, expect others to do the same to you. Yes, a perfect man is hard to find, but I believe that there are still some out there. I will be waiting.”
Source: kuangaitvb.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
I’m right here, Selena
So you are a self-made millionaire…good for you. You better have a good sense of direction to set Selena on the right course as the article states that she is “lost”. As for Selena, she should do her best and let the roles fall into placebe it supportin or lead. Her acting ability is nt thebest and her facial expression is primarily good for dramatic roles. She has not traditionally did well in comedies.
Didn’t you read the article did you? “Selena continued, “It doesn’t matter if his financial situation is rich or poor. The most important thing is devotion. I am really loyal when it comes to love, and I will ask for my boyfriend to be the same. I believe in karma – if you lie, expect others to do the same to you. Yes, a perfect man is hard to find, but I believe that there are still some out there. I will be waiting.””
I’d be totally devoted to her, such a beautiful lady!
“I’d be totally devoted to her…”
lol
What’s so funny about being devoted to someone?
One can dream right?
Funny, I read the heading and thought it’s a typical Addy heading. It’s another sensationalised attempt that is mismatched with the body of the article…
Puff,
I chose the title to highlight Selena’s sentiments regarding her career:
“After less than three years, I was able to play second-lead roles, and I was happy. But after that… I’ve tried doing supporting roles, and even guest roles, and sometimes I go back to doing second-lead roles, but honestly, I really don’t know what my place is at the moment. I still feel so lost.”
The article spoke about her feelings towards her career and love life, in which the title highlights her career rather than love life.
Hahahaha Puff, i thought the same thing :p
I admit Selena’s position in TVB is weird! It’s like TVB just gives her random roles going from second lead to guest role then second again then supporting then back to second again!
I was actually shocked she didn’t make it to top 5… She won 2 awards… But I guess that didn’t help.
hope she gets more roles in the future, paired with vincent wong.. a good match!
How can such a good girl not have a bf yet….maybe she’s just really picky, geez
She should be promoted or move to China. I don’t know what she saw in that Patrick.
I hope TVB will promote her soon. Her acting has a lot of room for improvement, but with the right male pairing, she is pretty good. I actually really liked her with Raymond Lam in Face to Fate and also like her with Ma Ming. Plus, she has the classic ladylike elegance aura in her that actresses such as Aimee, Christine, and Eliza don’t have.
Omgg Aimee and Eliza…they can’t act. Christine too but at least she is prettier.
Cara says “Plus, she has the classic ladylike elegance aura in her that actresses such as Aimee, Christine, and Eliza don’t have.”
Very true, especially Eliza. And Selina is way better than Aimee in acting skills in ‘Slow Boat Home’, definitely yes, but why is Aimee promoted more and given better roles than her????
“Very true, especially of Eliza” She has no aura or sophistication or elegance.
Eliza only sells cutesiness (and that’s probably not even a word)
I agree that Selena is a better actress than Aimee, but Aimee is probably a lot more popular due to being Miss Hong Kong and dating Moses (which also helps bring in the $$$ when they do promotions). I think it just seems like Aimee gets better roles because of how the media portrays it but she’s usually had a lot of smaller supporting roles only and this is the first year she is lead. Selena has had some bigger roles, and she will be lead female in the series with Kenneth. Now that Aimee is most likely pregnant, she probably won’t be going back to acting for a while.
I can’t stand Aimee’s English in slow boat home. It was really annoying. I never liked watching her in a series but I hate her even more after slow boat home. It was painful but turned it on because e there’s nothing to watch.
I think Selena is considered a second-line leading actress along with Sharon, Aimee, and Kristal. She gets a lot of good roles but she just needs a breakthrough role for the audience to really remember her.
I’m confused about her position at TVB as well. Sharon’s leading over her in Awfully Lawful (or Lawfully Awful, I forget) yet during the photo shoot, Selena was standing in the front while Sharon was in the second line.
Anyway, I love Selena so I do hope she gets a breakthrough role soon! Looking forward to Cold Mountain, Hidden Dragon as playing two roles in the same series seems pretty challenging.
Well outside of TVB, it is good to play roles that are leading and also supporting. They can help develop acting skills and can help them improve. Even in Hollywood, famous actors and actresses sometimes play leading and sometimes play supporting.