Felix Wong Mentors Daughter's Acting Career

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Last week, Felix Wong’s (黃日華) 21-year-old daughter, Adrian Wong (黃芷晴) successfully signed with CTI, and will collaborate with Felix in an upcoming detective drama produced by the company. Adrian also said that her father will be her personal director and teacher, exclaiming that she is a lot luckier than many newcomers.

Felix, who earned the name as “fire-breathing Wah” after publicly lashing out at TVB for their unfair treatment during the broadcast of Gun Metal Grey <刑警>, was asked if he was also a strict father to Adrian. Felix smiled warmly and said, “Mom is the strict one. I’m a little more open. When she said she wanted to join the entertainment industry, my wife and I did not oppose it, but we told her that she must finish college before following her pursuits.”

Felix said that he had seen many of Adrian’s school plays and she performed well in them. He laughed and said maybe it is because of the family genes, because Adrian’s mother, Leung Kit Wah (梁潔華), also used to be an actress, and was part of TVB’s Eighth Artist Training Class in which she graduated a year before Felix.

Felix continued, “At that time I was planning to sign with CTI, so why not bring Adrian along? The timing was perfect. However, it is a very difficult career. I already told her the pros and warned her about the cons. It is not equal pay for equal work. Interpersonal relationships are important and we often have unnatural sleeping patterns. I need to let her know the challenges so she is well-prepared psychologically.”

Adrian said, “Daddy told me that as a newcomer, I must do three things – I must be at work on time, memorize the script, and accept advice from seniors humbly and modestly. Daddy said as a newcomer, I must learn more and know more. In my eyes my Daddy is not fierce at all!” When asked if she considered competing in a beauty pageant to get in the circle, Adrian replied, “I’m not prepared to wear a bikini in front of so many people! Also, I was still in school at the time.”

Earlier, there were reports saying that Felix did not want his daughter to be a leng mo (pseudomodel). Felix clarified, “It’s hard to be flexible in this industry if she enters it in a certain image. My daughter asked me for advice – whether or not she should be an actress or a model. I thought she didn’t have the height and figure for a model, so I told her to just focus on acting. After she has achieved more results, she can then decide to move on to other jobs if she wants. And since I will be acting with her, I’ll be able to help her out more.”

When asked if Felix would feel a lot of pressure and stress, he said, “Not really pressured, but I think I will stress out my body! Even when I’m not working, I have to be by Adrian’s side and look after her, so I can give her some more advice.”

Felix Wong Learns from Michael Miu

Known for being a serious and prudent actor, would Felix also breathe fire and yell at his daughter? He laughed, “I’m also afraid that my daughter will see my true colors! But regardless, I will be fair and handles things the right way. If she has done something wrong, I will tell her straight off, but I will be softer. I will try not to blow up, so it does not affect her work!”

He continued, “After working with Sam Gor (Michael Miu, 苗僑偉) in Gun Metal Grey <刑警>, I’ve discovered that he has really high EQ. I’ve never seen him yell at anyone, even when he’s working with a bunch of troublesome people. If it were me, I would have blown up a long time ago! So I thought about it for a while. I actually really like Sam Gor’s approach. At least I would not need to be so wearisome all the time!”

However, Felix insisted that he would still speak out if he encountered unfair arrangements. “I used to get off of work around 4 or 5 AM in the morning, and our next call would be at 6 AM. At that time I had no car, so I had to sleep in the staircases or bathrooms of TVB City. I’ve already told my daughter about these unfair experiences.”

In August, Felix and Adrian will begin filming for CTI’s new drama. When asked if Felix would request for appropriate resting hours, he said, “No, but Ricky Wong (王維基) did tell us that we would work at most 12 to 14 hours a day. That should be okay.”

Why Adrian Did Not Sign with TVB

While working for TVB is difficult, the company is known for its marketing abilities, and newcomers can be easily recognized. When asked why Adrian opted to sign for CTI instead, Felix admitted that it was partially because of his sour relationship with TVB. Felix said, “Yes, it’s somewhat related. But I believe that a huge reason is because TVB has so many newcoming girls debuting every year, including Miss Hong Kong and Miss Chinese International contestants, as well as girls from game shows and acting training class. There are too many people. Therefore, development will be limited and the system will be chaotic. Since I’m not with TVB anymore, I don’t know how she will like be once she’s there. Would her career be affected because of what I did in the past? I’ve discussed this with her, but she said she wanted to follow me. At least I will be able to help her out.”

Asked if Adrian had requested to portray any certain character, Felix said, “I told Mr. Wong to not have my daughter be the lead role in her first drama. It will be too stressful for her. This generation is different from previous ones. When I was younger, we had the chance to work with many talented seniors, such as Lee Heung Kam (李香琴) and DoDo (Carol Cheng, 鄭裕玲). They would teach us and yell at us if we did anything wrong. They were very helpful.”

The entertainment circle is a complicated and unforgiving industry. When asked if he was worried about Adrian, Felix admitted, “I’m most worried about the stress she would have to face. Many artists end up doing silly things because they could not take the stress. I told her to try to relax and get help when she needs it. Right now, she’s signed on for three years. If she loves it, she can continue. If she hates it, she can just leave!”



Creds: Ming Pao