Gallen Harbour

Part 1

Part 2

Transcript:

The following transcript is not a news article, so please do not repost elsewhere. Thanks.

Cross-references:

• Vietnamese Transcript by Uyentam

• Chinese Transcript by 粉色梦呓

Photos: Baidu

Host (Stephen Chan): Our guest for dinner today is Lo Ka Leung. Lo Ka Leung joined TVB nearly 20 years ago and is the first artist who won Best Actor three times. Recently he and his wife have divorced, blaming their own personalities and not any third party as the culprit. That was nearly 30 years of feelings. (Let us see) how much memories this had brought Ka Leung.

Stephen: Cheers! Welcome your return to TVB!

Gallen: Cheers.

S: Have you seen the ad, the “Lo Ka Leung returns” ad?

G: Oh, that!

S: How’s the feeling?

G: Absolutely good… Warm, and touched!

S: Really?

G: Yes

S: What’s so touching?

G: I’ve been with TVB for many years. Now because of me, TVB did such publicity (the ad), I felt very much honored.

S: We’re good to you, yes?

G: Good attention, yes.

S: So does it mean it doesn’t matter how much ATV promises, you won’t go over there?

G: Haha

S: Have they, in fact, sought you out to talk?

G: Yes, yes, we’ve talked a few times. But the truth is I have always regarded TVB as my home. See, I grew up here.

S: You have left for many years. Should have been almost five years. Now you’ve returned. Do you feel any difference working here now, or it is still hard work, just like in the past?

G: Hmm, not much difference, really. But coming back here and getting back in touch with so many good friends, for me, is feel-good time.

S: Just the past few weeks Ng (Francis Ng) criticized TVB new actors and their acting skills, frankly saying their skills are raw and amateur… Now you, even though you have left the TVB circle for a while, but when you come back and interact with the new generation of actors, it shouldn’t be totally unfamiliar since Myolie and you have cooperated before. Do you think that such criticism is unfounded, or do you share the same view?

G: First, actually, if I was one of the veterans…

S: You are, haha

G: Well, if we assume so, I think we should be inclusive, we should be sympathetic to, and be willing to accept. If you ask yourself how in the end their acting would end up being. I think we all need time. Francis and many of us all spent many years to learn the art. But then, we did benefit (learn) a lot from our seniors as well. I myself, for example, had received many pointers from Bik Jie. She mentioned that when you’re (trying to act that you are) not happy, you could sit on a bed and draw a knee up toward your chest, you know, the way your grandfather would sit…

S: She actually taught you that?

G: Yes, taught me in the back room. She said doing so would look very good (natural). [Mimosa: I'm thinking of the image of Tim half-sitting on his hotel bed with a knee drawn upward, in the adjacent room Helen (Flora Chan) was singing Amazing Grace]

S: You’re such a good student

G: It was a good suggestion, hence I listened to. My point is, good guidances are very valuable.

Ex-wife encouraged Gallen to enter New Talent Contest

S: We can see that “Lo Ka Leung” is a TV household name, but you indeed entered the industry as a singer. How did you begin?

G: It actually was my ex-wife…

S: Now you call her ex-wife. Officially divorced huh.

G: Well, Clare sent in the contest entry from. I saw it first when I was still working at a computer company, drawing.

S: What type of drawing?

G: For computer graphic (?), but I love singing. Occasionally I took part in singing competitions. Clare knew that and she helped me in obtaining the form for the Third New Talent Contest.

S: She asked you first?

G: No, but she also helped me to fill it out later, saying “Perhaps you should just give it a try!”. That was not easy, of course. The tension built in front of the camera, but I made it to the top 15. It was somewhat disappointing that I didn’t win the contest, but then James Lu found me, and I signed with him

S: How did he find you?

G: He had my contact number. He was one of the judges.

S: What song did you sing?

G: “The Borrowed Dream”, by Alan Tam

S: So James Lu just called and asked you?

G: Yes, he called and asked whether I’d like to sign with him. I didn’t know why or how I was considered, but thought well maybe I caught his attention.

S: So you signed?

G: Yes I did. At that point all I felt was this nice feeling of being discovered… in showbiz… Everybody thought so back then.

S: You didn’t discuss with Clare?

G: Of course we did, all the time.

S: And she agreed?

G: She did not oppose

S: So what was your first work assignment after you signed?

G: I recorded songs for his company - Yip Mak, which were mostly ATV theme songs. Emperor Qin’s theme song and the soundtrack were recorded during this period of time.

S: Ah, your first record and it was on the first emperor! “The whole world under my feet”, huh!

Read this transcript in Vietnamese

From a Singer to a TVB Actor

S: Why did you leave singing and move on to acting?

G: My manager suggested I tried acting, see how it would turn out. Honestly, deep down inside I didn’t really want to do so, since I was afraid of socializing. I didn’t enjoy talking or chatting much. You know, I was suffering from stuttering when I was young.

S: You were very young when you had that, 11, right?

G: Yes.

S: Do they say why your condition was like that? Why didn’t it start earlier, but until you turned 11?

G: It probably had something to do with one’s confidence. I was very quiet even at home. I was a very obedient child who would listen to everyone and did what was told. I didn’t exactly communicate, so whenever I needed to do so, I wouldn’t know how to express my exact feelings. I was always afraid of not saying the right thing: should I say it like this or not. I guess it was the fear that causes the stuttering, but since I entered showbiz, the condition has lessened a great deal.

“City Stories” Brought Name to Audience

S: So you signed with TVB in 1986, beginning your acting career.

G: Yes.

S: With “City Stories” as your debut?

G: Sort of.

S: Following the broadcast of this series, Gallen Lo Ka Leung went from a no-name actor to a much more familiar face. Everyone knew you after the series aired, I believe.

G: Well, it happened quite fast. Just about a week into airing, people started to notice. Quite fast.

S: So how did you feel?

G: I was elated, haha

S: hahahaha

S: Much happier than when you first started, right? But then, did you start worrying about stuff like - Geez, now I wouldn’t be able to catch the bus…

G: Ah, the buses… Up to that point it was a little more of taxi anyway… Before “City”, there actually were a few others, such as “The Final Verdict”.

S: Before “Verdict”, it was “Seasons”, wasn’t it?

G: Yes, that’s correct.

S: In that series you’ve just mentioned, “Seasons”, you cooperated with quite a good number of veteran actors, were you nervous?

G: Oh yes, of course. I was very, very nervous… But in reality, “Mother” (Tang Bik Wan, lead actress of “Seasons”) ran the whole show. She had her say over the whole set. At the end of filming, she would tell us jokes as well.

S: Seriously?

G: Yes

S: Bik Jie? (sister Bik)

G: Yes, that’s her.

S: What kind of jokes did she tell you guys? Can you tell them to me?

G: Here? Oh no, I can’t. Not here, haha…

S: I honestly didn’t know this.

G: She loved chatting with us. She was really cool and friendly. At lunches she would never let us pay.

S: So what was your impression of Bik Jie? I actually don’t know her that well.

G: She has a sense of humor, but she talks politely. She isn’t so strict and didn’t force us to do things in exact certain ways, but then all you need to do is looking at her face and you’d do (exactly what she wants). I think she is a very optimistic individual. It didn’t matter what happened on the set, she was always pushing things forward.

S: Beside Bik Jie Tang Bik Wan, there was also Tony Leung Chiu Wai.

G: Yes, there was.

S: How was he at that time?

G: My lasting impression about Leung Chiu Wai was when we finished some outdoor scenes and came back to the station. Inside the station there was this narrow long bench where we usually took a nap, waiting for the make-up room to open. So that one day when I woke up, I saw Leung Chiu Wai. My reaction was “Leung Chiu Wai is queueing!” He was very patient waiting for his turn in line. He was then done with “The Duke of Mount Deer”, was very famous at that point, and he did follow the rule. There were so many people waiting for the make-up room that day, Leung Chiu Wai didn’t count on the fact that he was well-known to request preferential treatment.

My Uncle - James Lu

S: Those theme songs, did you seek them out yourself?

G: No, it was James Lu who helped me.

S: He helped you a lot, didn’t he?

G: Yes, he did.

S: He was almost an uncle to you, then.

G: Exactly. After we signed, he taught me many things, including etiquette - dining etiquette: where to leave your glass (on the dinner table); how to handle your fork and knife; what attire to wear to appropriate functions… He taught me everything.

S: Including what to say and what not to say?

G: Yes, that.

S: How to face reporters?

G: Yes, that, too. When you have a girlfriend, you want to say so, but he said “nothing would happen if you don’t say it, but if you do, (bad) things WILL certainly happen!”

S: So that was why you didn’t publicize your private love life.

G: I didn’t.

S: Did Clare feel bad about that? Why you guys have to hide (your relationship)?

G: Of course she must have been a little upset, but she was a great girlfriend, very understanding, so she went along with us.

S: So you guys must have dated very secretly, especially then when people would recognize you on the street.

G: Those who know us of course also know about us dating. If we just went out for a normal date, others wouldn’t notice. Dinner dates, well, just like you said, we had to be a little more cautious.

S: What do you mean? You stayed at one table and she a separate one? Haha…

G: Not that extreme. We still stayed at the same table, but you know, like you said…

S: Ah, no hand-holding?

G: Uh, no hand-holding, nothing of such nature.

S: You said yourself that James Lu had helped you a lot - to join TVB, to select your first two series, and so on. So why, then, around the 90’s did you two fall apart? What happened at the end?

G: Well, On Chai (Roger Kwok Chun On), entered some legal dispute with uncle Lu, so the tension built up and the cooperation went under much pressure. All the rumors were flying, as well. I remember one night, On Chai and I walked up to his house, which was just in my neighborhood, and tried to see if he would like to settle out of court by just simply ending our contracts. Everything would have been solved right then and there, but he didn’t agree and we ended up at the Court.

S: What was the dispute?

G: Over the use of our signatures. I remember Cheung Yiu Wan being one of his (Lu’s) witnesses. Nobody won.

S: Who sued whom?

G: On Chai (Roger) sued uncle Lu.

S: It was Kwok Chun On’s problem, why did you jump into the water after him? It actually didn’t involve you, did it?

G: It didn’t involve me. I actually was one of the witnesses. But of course since I was on On Chai’s side, with James Lu the relationship was no longer… merry, so we ended the contract, that was all.

S: So at the very end, the contracts were ended in peace?

G: It’s okay from my end.

S: Yet you still feel he had helped you a lot?

G: Definitely.

S: He had helped you a lot, I’ll help you too. Haha… Try some food here…

Learn the Art from the Veterans

S: Everybody certainly remembers your interesting character in “The Final Verdict”, as Kenneth Tsang’s son. Other lead actor was Adam Cheng. Did he leave you with any special impression? Did he teach you anything? Channeled any “power” to you?

G: I didn’t have much scenes with him. Most of my scenes were shared with On Chai, but I watched him (Adam) and realized how consistent he was.

S: His style?

G: His style was very consistent from the start to the very end. My first scene (on “Verdict”’s set) was actually with Tsang Gor (brother Tsang). I had to exchange conversation with him inside a very dark space, which didn’t help my nervousness at all. He was very strict, and when he didn’t joke around, he really frightened me.

S: You thought he was a very strict person?

G: He is. Very strict and very fierce. But then, during the time I was filming “Verdict” with him and after working with him for a while, one day he stopped me on my way “Hey, young handsome, you have a very important scene today, right? You will have to kill yourself. Have you read your script? Read it carefully, okay? You won’t overlook it, right? You won’t mess it up, okay?”, hahaha

S: He was coaxing a kid?

G: Yes, as if he was coaxing a kid.

S: Hahaha

G: He actually cared (for me). He hoped I wouldn’t mess it up and waste a (my) good scene.

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