Rising TVB Stars to Watch in 2013
Every year, only a few lucky actors manage to journey up to the top of TVB stardom, but in 2013, expect to watch out for the breakout of six!
Faced with strong competition against new up-and-coming television station, City Telecom, TVB is pressured to introduce new faces in their dramas in order to keep their station fresh, lively, and competent for the oncoming television battle.
Christine Kuo (苟芸慧)
After winning Miss Chinese International crown in 2009, Christine quickly climbed up the television ranks. She had a major role in her debut television drama, Don Juan De Mercado <情人眼裏高一D> in 2010, and has since appeared in five Hong Kong films. As one of TVB’s first generations of goddesses, Christine is also very popular among endorsers. Along with her good looks and diligent work ethics, it will not take long until Christine sees stardom, and 2013 may be the year she sees it.
Christine’s 2013 Dramas: Beauty at War <金枝慾孽 (貳)>, A Great Way to Care 2 <仁心解碼>, Love Reverses Three Lifetimes of Fate <情逆三世缘>
Mandy Wong (黃智雯)
Mandy’s breakthrough performance in L’Escargot <缺宅男女> has won the hearts – or hatred – of the Hong Kong audience, and in a scenario of nearly no strong competitors, Mandy won 2012’s Most Improved Actress award in a landslide victory. “I have many expectations for next year,” said Mandy. “I hope that I will have another breakthrough, that the audience will be able to see a different side of Mandy Wong.” Mandy explained that she is exceptionally confident and proud with her performance in the upcoming A Change of Heart <好心作怪>, and revealed that the producer allowed Mandy to design the role herself. “I hope to continue to rise to the top.”
Mandy’s 2013 Dramas: Sergeant Tabloid <女警愛作戰>, Love Reverses Three Lifetimes of Fate <情逆三世緣>, The Hippocratic Crush 2 <On Call 36小時II>, A Change of Heart
Kenneth Ma (馬國明)
Kenneth may already one of TVB’s most popular stars, but the leading actor has no means of slowing down. Next year will be an opportunity for Kenneth to shine and compete for the Best Actor honors. As for his career prospects in 2013, Kenneth said, “Of course I would like to take a step farther, but I would not pressure myself too much about it. Sometimes luck depends on the script, and not just by performance. Although I have many dramas lined up for next year, I am afraid that I will not be able to provide enough freshness for the audience. I am not stressed about The Hippocratic Crush sequel. Whenever I film a drama, I would always maintain a playful mood so I would be able to have the courage to try new things, to give myself more chances for improvement.”
Kenneth’s 2013 Dramas: Season of Love <戀愛季節>, Triumph in the Skies 2 <衝上雲霄II>, The Hippocratic Crush 2
Ruco Chan (陳展鵬)
Unlike all the actors on this list, Ruco became an instant leading star after starring in just one drama. Indeed, Ruco was the biggest breakout star of 2011, thanks to his commendable performance in The Other Truth <真相>. But what happened to Ruco in 2012? With only two dramas having aired so far, could Ruco be running out of favor with TVB already? Those fears can now be tossed out of the window, because 2013 may be Ruco’s year to shine again.
Six of Ruco’s yet-to-air dramas are currently planned for next year. With so many dramas up his sleeves, Ruco is currently the most highly-utilized actor at TVB. Ruco said, “I am very happy and lucky to be able to film so many different kinds of dramas. I also really enjoy the filming process. To be honest, I am not that stressed about it. I only hope that the audience will enjoy my performances. Personally, I like Ruse of Engagement <叛逃> and Big Wheel <巨輪> the most. I had many action scenes, and many of them were without stunt doubles. I hope to bring the audience film-quality television entertainment.”
Ruco’s 2013 Dramas: Cupid Stupid <戀愛星求人>, Love Road GPS <心路GPS>, Love Exceeds the Coastline <情越海岸線>, Unrequited Love Double Cities <單戀雙城>, Ruse of Engagement, Big Wheel
Oscar Leung (梁烈唯)
When it comes to listing out the rising stars of 2012, Oscar definitely tops that list. Oscar received acclaim for his performances in L’Escargot, Tiger Cubs <飛虎>, and The Confidant <大太監>. It is no surprise that Oscar won this year’s Most Improved Actor award. Besides dramas, Oscar also had the opportunity to perform in the big screen. In 2012, he had a supporting performance in Natural Born Lovers <天生愛情狂>, and in January 2013, Oscar will star alongside Him Law (羅仲謙) in Young and Dangerous: Reloaded <古惑仔：江湖新秩序>.
Oscar’s 2013 Dramas: Season of Love, A Great Way to Care 2
Eliza Sam (岑麗香)
After Oscar, Eliza is the next biggest, and fastest, rising star of 2012. With Eliza’s effortlessly cute appearance and personality, Eliza has the won the hearts of both men and women. Eliza quickly shot to fame after the broadcast of Divas in Distress <巴不得媽媽…>, and became a popular favorite among producers and endorsers. Eliza will star in at least four dramas in 2013, and this time, she may have a higher chance in bringing home the Most Improved Actress award new year. “I really want to thank the producers and the company for giving me so many opportunities this year,” said Eliza. “I have pressure, but I will not have it affect me. I hope that I will do better in the future, do all my roles justice, but what I hope the most is to get recognized by the audience for my talents. I should only win an award when I am ready.”
Eliza’s 2013 Dramas: Inbound Troubles <老表，你好嘢>, Sniper Attack 2013 <神槍狙擊2013>, Triumph in the Skies 2, The Hippocratic Crush 2
Source: 3 Weekly #690 via ihktv.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Kenneth Ma and especially Ruco Chan are hardly rising stars. They have arisen. I think it is wrong to label them as rising star when the rest fits the bill.
Funny how Oscar is rising star in TVB but ke le fe in movies. So the division between TV actors and movie actors still exist. I wonder will the cinemagoers call Wayne a ke le fe if he made the transition to movies? Quite pompous reaction if you ask me.
Wouldn’t call Oscar a rising star in TVB either.
i know, when i see ruco i was like what????? he is already a good lead no? the others i dont care hahaa lol…
pretty insulting to call him a ke le fe. he’s the second lead in Y&D. the fact he’s made it to the movies is pretty good, especially since very few TVB stars have made an actual transition to film.
i hope you realize it’s incredibly insulting to call any working actor a ke le fe, if they’re not an extra.
If only Christine can act and speak properly. And Eliza not a big fan of her, she still needs a lot of improvement.
I wholeheartedly agree with you about Christine and Eliza, they still need to improve on their acting skills. TVB has to be in a desperate situation to promote two newbies with mediocre acting skillis.
I have more confidence in Eliza Sam than Christine Kuo. After all, Eliza has only finished filming two drama series, and her first one in “Ghetto Justice 2” was a very very minor role.
i also have more confidence in eliza,her cantonese is better than christine and her appeal is suitable for more different type roles i think.
Agreed with all these comments. Christine really needs to work on her Cantonese. Her acting is not that great either… :\
Ruco all the way!!!
Mandy Wong should be able to leapfrog Eliza and Christine…they just don’t possess the finesse to carry out their roles especially the more serious roles…they are both just pretty faces…
Agree. Mandy Wong is so much better in acting. The other two goddesses only have pretty faces and perhaps bodies, but no acting.
I realize Mandy will be good in comedy after watching her in Friendly Fire. She pretty funny. She could be next Sandra Ng Kwan-yu
yeh mandy is really versatile,but the only role she doesnt look like is playing goddess i think.
Please bring back the old faces. Kinda tired seeing the same old ppl.
Ruco Chan seemed to film most of his new drama series related to LOVE, LOVE, and LOVE. He should be an actor with acting, not one with a pretty face or being a love idol.
It’s too bad TVB keeps giving him these small dramas with non-extraordinary casts.
Um no . Christine Kuo need to LEARN HOW TO SPEAK CANTONESE and expressions first. Eliza Sam needs to fix her accent.
If Ruco Chan wanna shine,he should stop acting villainous roles.
I think he has, to some extent, in all his new drama series
Wrong, he can shine either way bc he has superior acting skills. Even a good character will be lame when played by someone who can’t act.
Personally I prefer seeing Ruco as an antihero e.g Dexter or Sherlock.
i gotta feeling ruco may be the next louis koo cos ruco and bad good and bad boy roles just like louis
it seems like there’s 3 categories in this. ruco and kenneth in the first one; they shouldn’t be considered rising stars, they’re already lead actors. mandy and oscar in the second one since they both recently won awards. and the third category is eliza and christine…who don’t deserve the amount of attention that they get, considering that their acting isn’t even close to good.
Good points.
Not a fan of Mandy, but I enjoyed her acting in friendly Fire. She was a natural in comedy roles and was less irritating than her roles in Hippocratic Crush and L’Escargot.
really? i thought she was ok…could of done better with the china accent cause you can still hear her speak like a honger at times.
I agree Ruco is most likely to breakthrough. Looking forward to his roles in Big Wheel and Ruse of Engagement.
We’ll see a lot of Eliza and Christine in 2013, but that doesn’t mean a breakthrough. More likely to gain the wrath of the audience instead.
Mandy, Oscar, Kenneth already had their breakout this past year. They will continue to have opportunities, but I don’t see that they will have a new “breakthrough”
Who I think will truly breakthrough is Ruco, Edwin Siu, Natalie Tong, Tavia Yeung (in a breakthrough role): http://casualtvb.blogspot.ca/2012/12/2013-forecast.html
Big Wheels has Linda Chung, Edwin Siu and Kristal Tin so it’s not that small and the storyline remind us of the classic hits from 90’s? Seelais will dig this. At least Ruco has many dramas which means if one fails he still has others which might be a hit.
why there is no mention of :
nancy wu, natalie tong, edwin siu, aimee, him law, sharon chan, vincent wong, cilla kung, sire ma & ben wong
TVB should not ignore Benjamin Yuen, Matthew Ko, Derek Kwok, Raymond Cho,
Im more interested in to see how the TV-battle will progress. I expect the free licences to be issued in March or sooner.
That’s the best defence Olympus can come up with after the threat of war from the titans and king Hades? I don’t know why goddess Oceane Zhu is missing from battle bc even if she can’t “speak” she has the power save the kingdom 🙂
Still a bit afraid that Ruco’s newfound powers after he achieved godhood can’t save him from the moronic strategies set forth.
In modern day Olympus there are many mortals pretending to be gods. No wonder so many enemies have emerged with the intent to detroy it, LOL
Kenneth is still a rising star? He WAS a few years back with La Femme Desperado, Survivor’s Law 2 etc. I won’t call him a rising star anymore, he has arisen. Can’t wait for On Call 2, hope it won’t be disappointing.
Ruco had his breakthrough role last year, he’s considered as the 2nd line (?) actor, maybe he’ll get himself into the 1st line next year by having so many dramas.
Oscar and Mandy are really the rising stars of the year! They really shined. Mandy should pick up more comedic roles, love her in Friendly Fire. Anticipating to see more sides of them.
I find Eliza Sam a lil better than Christine, I find her to have a better potential than Christine. I just can’t stand Christine, it’s not just her Cantonese that annoys, there’s something with her that isn’t right everytime she acts. Her expression maybe. She may be a goddess but definitely not an actress, I don’t see her potential. (Unlike Mandy who I’ve already noticed when she’s still an extra in a sitcom)
Highly doubt that 2013 will be as successful a year for Kenneth as it was this year for him just because of the series that were mentioned in this article. Seasons of Fate looks like another romantic drama meant for the Valentine’s holiday. I’m sure it will be decent as it features a lot of the fa dans and siu sangs but nothing that will be memorable for Kenneth. As for the sequels, I believe he will be overshadowed by the veterans like Francis/Chilam and Lawrence Ng in both Triumph and Hippocratic respectively. He’ll have to wait yet another year for that BA award.
Agree with the above points on Kenneth Ma. He will not shine in the above-mentioned drama series.
I still don’t get why does TVB need to add Lawrence Ng into the sequel. He had already said that he won’t be interfering YuTao, wouldn’t it be weird for him to appear in the drama like that? If they wanna make Dr. Cheng Zi Mei popular again, just make another sequel for HH, let Yat Kin Tao shine in THC 2.
TVB should enlist the help of some veteran actors/actresses from years past to spice up the different dramas…It would be a coup if they were able to get Anthony Wong, Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Simon Yam or someone similar to play in a Tiger Cubs, PTU, Legal or Court series sequel such as they did in Triumph in the Skies II.
Simon Yam would be perfect…I love his acting.
I am looking forward to seeing improvement from Christine over 2013… but I think we are still at least a year away from a breakthrough year for her. My guess is 2014 will be her year (if she doesn’t let all the “negative Nancies” get to her first :P)
TVB should not air Cupid Stupid. It is a garbage drama.