Stephen Wong Waiting To Be Promoted After 10 Years In TVB
Stephen Wong (黃嘉樂) has been working for TVB for ten years now but he has yet to be promoted to first or second line actor. He admits that it may be due to him not having enough initiative and hence lacking in the capability to handle matters. Stephen, who has been waiting to be promoted, professed that he often consulted Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎) and Kenneth Ma (馬國明) and extracted the strengths of these two TVB actors to learn from.
Stephen, who has a sunny and handsome exterior, had starred in plenty of TVB drama serials and left quite an impression on viewers. For now, Stephen has been accepting series after another with TVB and without even realizing it, he had actually endured with TVB for ten full years now. Although he has yet to be promoted to first or second line actor position, Stephen professed that as compared to many people, he felt it wasn’t considered tough yet. In order to succeed in the entertainment circle, besides needing to work hard, timing, location (being at the right place at the right place) and people (meeting the right people and having good interpersonal skills) were essential elements too.
Asked about what he felt he was lacking in, Stephen said, “Maybe I am extremely lacking in initiative, too silent and deprived of the capability to handle matters. A lot of people thought that I was arrogant as I don’t really speak. As a Sagittarius, by rights, I should be talkative. Actually it’s because I wanted to prevent myself from making mistakes if I continued talking. I do not really know how to say things.”
Comparing To Others Will Only Make Yourself Miserable
In the current broadcast of The Life and Times of A Sentinel <紫禁驚雷>, Stephen acted as as Nalan Xingde (納蘭性德). To act as the Qing Dynasty’s foremost Poet, Stephen professed that there was a certain level of difficulty. Faced with very long dialogues and at the same time, not letting viewers feel puzzled proved to be a great test of skill.
Stephen declared that he will usually receive advice and tips from “Big Brother” Kevin Cheng and “Second Brother” Kenneth Ma, stealing and learning some of their strengths from there. Stephen said, “Many times when filming, we remember dialogues but we don’t remember the opening scene and the positions thus I follow ‘Second Brother’ Kenneth’s advice to take a notebook to record the details upon receiving the script. ‘Big Brother’ Kevin told me to be diligent in doing some homework, immerse myself in any role given and that several times one has to psycho himself and cannot tell himself that he can’t do it! Many times, as an artist, we will find ourselves returning back to a standstill situation. However, we must tell ourselves, ‘I can do it,’ but I will not compare myself to others because it will only make yourself more miserable.”
Stephen was currently busy filming Happy House, Hidden Dragon <樂府藏龍>, acting as Bobby Au-Yeung’s (歐陽震華) younger brother. Towards this senior, Stephen revealed that Bobby wasn’t only the apple of their eye (for making them happy on set) but would also give them opportunities to develop their acting skills further, “No matter how tired he was, Bobby would elevate us, return a reaction to let us develop in our roles and would even find an opportunity for everyone to create some acting sparks for the drama. Bobby really takes good care of juniors like us!”
From Nothing to Lovesick
Other than that, Stephen was earlier rumored with Natalie Tong (唐詩詠) and Coffee Lu (呂晶晶) at the same time. In reply to this, Stephen smiled and said, “If you were to eat salted fish, you have to bear the thirst (One has to pay a price to everything). There really has been an increased number of magazines reporting about my love life, from nothing to making me sound lovesick. Honestly saying, I rather hope that there was no news (about me) than having some negative news written about me.”
Source: Orientaldaily.on.cc
This article was translated by Ah K, a Contributing Writer at JayneStars.com.
Ah K: After reading this interview, Stephen strike me as an awkward young man who doesn’t know how to socialize and is not aggressive enough. He also seems anxious to please but doesn’t know where to start.
Being able to socialize and having good interpersonal skills is a must in the working world and Stephen’s tendency to keep his mouth shut to avoid any unnecessary trouble is a definite no-no. Stephen may seem like a man with principles but sometimes in life, it is necessary to go against your principles like making friends with colleagues you don’t like, be a hypocrite and saying good things you don’t mean in your heart and licking your boss’ boots in order to survive in the working world. The keyword here is flexibility, how much can one’s principles be worth? Will your principles be able to bring you bread and butter? Definitely not.
I also found Stephen to be an actor with some potential. Although his performance and roles haven’t been memorable, he acted rather well in “A Journey Called Life”《金石良緣》and “The Greatness of a Hero”《盛世仁傑》. It does seem rather sad for him to be pushed down to calefare roles even after slogging at TVB for ten years now.
The problem with Stephen is that he isn’t aggressive enough to seek opportunities for himself and doesn’t dare to be associated with other TVB actresses. Even his peers like Vincent Wong (王浩信) and Him Law (羅仲謙) have surpassed him, gaining popularity due to their constant appearance in the tabloids with Yoyo Chen (陳自瑤) and Theresa Fu (傅穎) so yes, bad news of getting romantically involved with co-stars can sometimes be better than no news at all. As for whether he sought opportunities for himself, did he ever ask TVB why he hasn’t been promoted and fight for a chance to be? Being aggressive is always better than doing nothing. Chances don’t just lie there, waiting for people to pick them up, it has to be created.
ok, i haven’t read through the whole interview or story of Stephen but I used to find him pretty handsome hahaha but my view about him changed after reading about his story with Natalie and the other girl named Coco if i’m not mistaken.
I think he’s lack of maturity in term of looks and darn, the article didn’t say his age so can’t really tell how old he is now, he looks 26-29 to me. I don’t think he can convince audience with his boyish looks if he’s given a lead role. well that’s my personal opinion.
oops i just notice that the girl he’s dating is called Coffee
Veejay,
I find Stephen Wong to be good looking as well. Since he’s been in the industry for 10 years, he should be around the age of 28 to 30.
Agree with Ah K that Stephen’s social skills may have limited him from securing larger roles. Acting wise, Stephen reminds me of Lai Lok Yi, in which he still seems a bit awkward on screen.
Stephen Wong Ka-Lok (Chinese: 黃嘉樂, born 14 December 1978) is a Hong Kong actor currently working for TVB.
He will be 33 this year.
@Jayne,
Yes, his acting is still pretty stiff to me like he’s reading his dialogue only without facial impression to go along with his role.
Maybe he will stand out if he drops his boyish looks and act like Kevin Cheng in Ghetto which give the audience a new refreshing looks of Kevin.
@Leilafan,
Thanks for the info Dear! Wow he’s older than me in actual.
@Jayne – Yes Jayne, he reminds me of Lai Lok Yi who’s still stiff and reading dialogues onscreen, and lacking onscreen and offscreen charisma.
He looks like 26-28 instead of 33!
At first I thought they were talking about Stephen Huynh/Wong… I did not know that there was another Stephen Wong that works for TVB.
Hmmm, I don’t know. Even after 10 years, his acting is still as awkward as when I first saw him in Shine On You. And I agree, people like him who don’t excel in acting and doesn’t have much news really can’t catch the audience’s attention. He’s really handsome though so if he can stand out a little he can easily become another Raymond Lam.
one of the best looking TVB actor…too bad he got no chance to shine…
one of the best looking, but with the lowest charisma and a stiff onscreen face but sometimes I see him cry quite well.
“Asked about what he felt he was lacking in…”
Asking skills perhaps? Sometimes it takes more than socializing skills. But the one he quoted, Kevin also lacked that. He however got the full backing of 620.
I also question if Kevin is the best person for him to go to consult about acting. Kevin himself has problems emoting.
@Funn Lim:
Haha, yes, I agree about acting skills, Stephen’s acting skills isn’t outstanding enough if he wishes to be placed as a first or second line actor. But he has the potential lahs plus he has the looks, if coupled with the right role, he might make it.
@Chriselle:
Lol, although I’m a Kevin fan, I was also wondering whether Kevin is the best person to seek acting skills advice from, have to admit that Kevin’s acting is like a periodic cycle, fluctuating and never steady, like he can perform well as Law Ba in “Ghetto Justice”, Chong Man-Hei in “The Ultimate Crime Fighter” and Cheung Sing-Hei in “The Last One Standing” but doesn’t perform as well in “Burning Flame III”, “A Fistful of Stances” and “Home Troopers”.
@Ah K –
Kevin still has problem emoting. His best role Law Ba is eccentric, well written and well developed, and makes him funnier and interesting but after watching Only You I don’t see much difference with his acting in those 2 series. He has improved a lot, that I admit. So Kevin should win Most Favourtie Character.
Maybe most improved? Kevin has no problem emoting, his problem is he is just not a good actor.
I agree and lack of charisma too although he is good looking. For some reason his face is stiff and boring onscreen.
Kevin might be quiet, but, he has his own way of socialising that endears him to people. If not Jazz won’t defend him in VDO. I read an account written by a backstage person who has worked in TVB. He talked about various artists he met and one of them is Kevin Cheng. He said after his contract ended, TVB didn’t continue it and he has to go. Kevin gave him a contact of a person he knew to help him find a new job. He was very grateful to Kevin. Jazz in DVO interview said Kevin treated everyone very well. He bought for each of his siblings in AFOS a matching handphone as present.
Of course, the backing of 620 is very important. 😀
The only person who doesn’t get along well with Kevin is Wong Hei. Why?
Really?? I did not know that Kevin and Wong Hei don’t get along. Does anyone know why??
Stephen is actually quite handsome if you just look at him. But once he opens his mouth, his speaking reminds me of Natalie. I don’t know if it’s considered an accent, but his speech is very unnatural. Wow, time flies by fast. 10 years already?! 😮
I didn’t know he plays a poet in Sentinel. He seems very loyal to Kangxi and he’s an official, that’s all. His character may be historical, but TVB chose to leave out that part of his character since it’s only 25 episodes and they would rather develop more important characters like Dor-Bo and Fuk-Chuen? Hmm…
I think he’s better looking than Lai Lok Yi, who is relatively at the same position as him when offered roles. Maybe Lok Yi is a bit higher since he made it to series posters, but I don’t recall Steven being in one. I think I’ll still prefer Lok Yi’s acting since Steven’s voice is hard to listen to. Don’t know if he will be good enough for first supporting, but perhaps with a custom-tailored role, he can shine?
Stephen is better looking than Chris but Chris is still luckier. Stephen couldn’t even crack into jayne’s top 50 sexiest man contest and Greg lee did! Poor guy.
Stephen doesn’t have any headlines. Greg managed to overshadow Nic Tse for a few weeks 😀
He might be better looking than Lok Yi but he’s more wooden than Lok Yi and Lok Yi himself is already a one note expression wood! Stephen should be a model instead. Model don’t need to speak or act.
I reckon he is still really wooden in his acting (even though he’s been in the industry 10 years). And he’s not that handsome to me. I’m happy with him staying in calefe roles =P
He remind me of wooden Ron in the past but Ron ha improved tremendously and Stephen NOT.
“… like a man with principles but sometimes in life, it is necessary to go against your principles like making friends with colleagues you don’t like, be a hypocrite and saying good things you don’t mean in your heart and licking your boss’ boots in order to survive in the working world. The keyword here is flexibility, how much can one’s principles be worth? Will your principles be able to bring you bread and butter? Definitely not.”
Good point, but not very well conveyed. It should be that people must prioritise their principles based on what they believe is most important to their own wellbeing. There are many jobs in life where you don’t have to bend your principles. Simultaneously there aren’t many principles that necessarily need to be maintained without regard for anything else. However, in the showbiz, I’d say you’re very lucky if you don’t need to be at least a little two-faced.
@SDS:
Good point made as well but as I said, “Flexibility”, meaning that you can bend or stick to some of your principles as long as you don’t lose yourself.
In show-biz world, you need to kiss a-s-s your boss to get roles. However in real life, not all jobs are like that.
At my work, I do not need to lick boots anyone. As long as I meet my monthly sales quotas, I don’t need to kiss-ass anyone.
Others job I don’t know, but certainly not my job.
Stephen don’t need to lick boots, he should improve his acting first. He’s a talking wood in most of his series.
I didn’t say he needs to lick boots, I don’t think licking boots all the times is good anyways.
I was just response to SDS comment above. You not read SDS comment?
Your comment appear independently so I took it as an independent comment and not a reply to SDS
Yes Vivien, sorry about that my fault. I thought I click reply right below SDS comment when I reply. I must just click reply and not right below SDS comments.
He kinda reminds me of how Kenneth Ma used to be. I hope Kenneth gives him some advice on how to open himself up more. I actually think he portrayed a cool lawyer in The Other Truth.
Also, it seems like the cast from A Fistful of Stances seem really close. Stephen still calls Kevin Big Brother and Kenneth Second Brother, and when I watch Jazz Lam doing interviews, he still calls Kevin Big Brother still. I was watching one where he said that he gets mad if anyone has anything bad to say about Kevin and how he got his siblings from that cast matching cell phones for Xmas. I like hearing happy stories about stars getting along. hehe
hahahaha me too!
He don’t sound as hardworking and nice as Kenneth. If he want to get better opportunities he should work hard to have better social skills.
Kum Sin Mo was a shy boy too when he first came to the ET industry. WOng Faye as well they are both shy ppl but somehow they came across as very COOL icone to many audience. I gotta say they’re both very talented artist because they became really good with their acting or singing skills because of the sucess there’re tons of ppl working for them kissing their ass everyday so they aren’t so shy anymore.
You don’t really need to change yourself and be all fake, if your really good it’ll be noticed and discovered someday. To me Stephen’s acting skill is poor, it looks unnatural. Strictly my opinion. Therefore he should think of doing something else…If not before he know it it’ll be another 10 yrs. I mean who has another 10 yrs to waste? However I feel bad for him though but yet you can’t blame anyone for it.
just wanted to quickly comment – those semi-tight 3/4 pants don’t really suit a hairy leg, LOL
That style don’t suit him too! ROFL
His acting is still mediocre.
Stephen’s acting is mediocre at his best. No presence too and forgettable.
Stephen is handsome but he lacks the charm.
this semi new generation of male actors have a weird canto accent. sometimes feel they are saying this in a ‘false tone’ way.
noticed this happens with Stephen Wong and Chris Lai. Stephen has a more serious one.
and the one that bothers me the most is with in LOO with the Chau twins, they have a lot of dialogue and a lot of them have this ‘false tone’ when speaking…. its really bothering..
Yes I noticed the twins speaking too but it’s cute to see real twins in a series so it don’t bother me much.
Ah K – very nicely written. I love reading about second and third line artist. Some of these are truly individuals that are passionate about acting and not so much into the popularity/fame thing.
I’m really liking his role in Life & Times of a Sentinel. I really think it’s the facial hair. I’m loving the shaggy look these days. 🙂
Maybe the facial hair helps him look more manly? I find Stephen to be a little girly looking, like Lai Lok Yi. More masculine, coarser facial features of say guys like Bosco Wong and Him Law are more attractive.
However, in the end it’s all about the whole package. To me, the person and personality are much more important than the handsome face – a person with an unappealing exterior but beautiful character is a much nicer, and sexier person than vice versa.
I like him. So glad they finally give him a chance.
Wish they’ll think of promoting POwer Chan as well. That one really really can act & is obviously passionate abt the art!
Power Chan is disappointing in TLOAS as the emperor. He’s not convincing has the wrong gestures and doesn’t give out the air of an emperor. His acting fell short behind Steven and even Kenneth.
Yes agree! And does he cross his legs when he sits? (when playing the emperor that is). I dont think emperors back then crossed their legs… Shows he’s not that great
Actually Qing dynasty isn’t that old, so crossing his leg may not be inaccurate. But yes he is wrongly cast.
@Funn
An emperor in Qing dynasty don’t cross legs! ROFL
No one knows how Qing Emperor sits. Just because other actors who played Qing Emperors didn’t cross their legs doesn’t mean Power’s portrayal is wrong.
@ Vivien
“An emperor in Qing dynasty don’t cross legs! ROFL”
How did you know? You went back in time to see for yourself?
Aren’t there paintings and stuff from that period of the emperor? When have you seen a painting of the emperor crossing his legs?
@ Jadio
Paintings are not like photograph. It’s not candid camera. It took a long time to paint a portrait. So, when Emperor sit for portrait, of course will sit the most formal way.
Even modern day ministers and kings don’t cross their legs when they take official photos with official uniform. Does that mean they never crossed their legs?
@Kidd
Most likely
late w/ the response … I have to say Power Chan’s body gestures come off as pretty awkward, a bit on OTT. I sense him trying very hard to implement his interpretation, which I applaud, but not too convincing.
He’s got the soft character which seems like it suits Kang Xi pretty well, however, he doesn’t have the maturity to cohabit his softness.
The more surprising character for me was the fifth brother. Steven Ma was his usual self, good but not spectacular. He’s lost a little spark himself 🙁
“Stephen declared that he will usually receive advice and tips from “Big Brother” Kevin Cheng and “Second Brother” Kenneth Ma, stealing and learning some of their strengths from there. “
It seems that AFOS has forged a strong brotherhood between the guys. Jazz also called Kevin ‘big brother’ in his VDO Next interview and defended Kevin on the news of him getting black face.
Stephen does look a lot younger but there is just something lacking in his acting which prevents him from being in the List “A” category. I think it would be quite difficult for him to move up the ladder. He seems to be better in the category “B” roles. But I still like him anyway.
It’s ironic that he asked Kevin and Kenneth for advice, seeing as both of them are afflicted with the same problem as Stephen himself: lack of charisma.
Ahhhhhhh… come on…. Kenneth? Ok, lack of charisma… ok… I thought I read lack of looks… agree agree
kenneth doesn’t lack charisma, he just haven’t been able to deliver consistently.
kevin did lack charisma until GJ.
hahah asking kenneth and Kevin for advice? No offense but weren’t they in TVB for years before they got promoted? Look at Gallen Law. He played villians in early series before he became a big brother. And look at Joe Mak. I thought he never became anything than supporting characters but damn his patience paid off! His acting isn’t that persuading and i think his promotion was his luckiest break ever!!! So i say you just got to stick with TVB for a while and you eventually get noticed and promoted.