In the TVB drama Between Love & Desire <完美叛侶>, Ben Wong (黃智賢) plays the third person in Moses Chan (陳豪) and Maggie Shiu’s (邵美琪) marriage. His character is a lawyer, but unlike his barrister role in last year’s Raising the Bar <四個女仔三個BAR>, Ben’s story in Between Love & Desire is less about his prowess in court, and more about his relationship with Maggie. “My character is kind of like a ‘warm guy’ (暖男),” said Ben. ‘Warm guy’ is a Chinese buzzword to mean ideal boyfriend. “Maggie Shiu and I were somewhat like childhood friends. We had a history. I couldn’t stand the way how Moses Chan treated her so I decide to protect her myself. We don’t really have a passionate relationship. It’s a pretty emotional character and quite challenging to play.” Ben’s real life, thankfully, is not as eventful. He and his wife, who is an office worker, has been married for 12 years. They have maintained low-profile lives and have quietly supported each other through the years. Asking if Ben ever had an experience where a “third person” tried to get into their relationship, Ben admitted, “I’ve had women approach me before, but once I felt something was wrong, I immediately bounce off. It destroys your marriage. A relationship takes time to cultivate and protect.” How does Ben and his wife maintain their relationship? He said, “My wife is an office worker so her world is very different from mine. Building trust takes time. We talk about work a lot, and I would always tell her the things I do so she’ll understand my field of work more. Once you understand something, you’ll be more at ease.” Mentioning that his collaboration with Moses Chan and Maggie Shiu is a fresh team-up, Ben said, “We’re all veterans so we were all very prepared. Filming went by really smoothly.” Creds: Oriental Daily
