Kenneth Ma Does Not Care for Fame

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Many people seek to be an actor or actress because of the glory – the fame as well as the celebrity status that comes with the job. However, Kenneth Ma (馬國明) claims that his choice of career was out of his love for acting, and not because he seeks the benefits that come with it.

For the first three years of his acting career, Kenneth played no-name roles such as students, dead bodies and coolies. It was only after he was cast as Roy Ko in Triumph in the Skies <衝上雲霄> in 2003, did he get noticed and finally be given roles with speaking lines. His true breakthrough came last year, when he was cast as Dr. Cheung Yat Kin in The Hippocratic Crush < On Call 36小時>, earning him both My Favorite Male Character at the TVB Anniversary Awards and Best Actor at Malaysia’s Astro On Demand Awards.

Cheung Yat Kin

Kenneth had gone into acting due to his passion, relishing his job every day and not expecting much fame. It was therefore his unambitious good fortune that he starred in The Hippocratic Crush. Kenneth claimed it was not his good acting which had won him the recognition. “After Healing Hands <妙手仁心> [and its sequels in 2005], there has not been another drama about doctors. For the viewers, The Hippocratic Crush was something new and refreshing. The script was good and the series portrayed the doctors in a positive light. Unlike the doctors in Healing Hands who drank red wine and went after the finer things in life, the doctors in The Hippocratic Crush are more realistic because we dined at Cha Chaan Teng and played basketball during our free time, which the viewers could relate to.” And because Cheung Yat Kin was such a likeable character, Hong Kong viewers immediately loved him.

With the recent criticisms of TVB series, Kenneth agreed that some scripts have not been ideally written and it is therefore the artists’ responsibilities to improvise. Kenneth said, “In Survivor’s Law 2 < 律政新人王II>, I improvised a lot. Since the actors are the ones who determine how the viewers see us, it’s normal for us to put our own aspects in.” However, Kenneth claimed that he did little improvisation for Cheung Yat Kit because from the moment he read the script, he could feel and understand the character well.

Learning Opportunities

Though Kenneth does not seek to be a star, his earnestness for his work leads him to improve his acting whenever he can. Working with veterans such as Gallen Lo (羅嘉良), Roger Kwok (郭晉安), Benz Hui (許紹雄) and Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Kenneth will always make use of the opportunity to listen to the advice of the masters. Kenneth also loves to watch other dramas in his free time. Regardless if a drama is deemed as good or bad, Kenneth will watch it to use as study and reference. “I always say, even if you watch ten films of Chow Yun Fat (周潤發), you will never be better than him. When you watch a bad drama, you are able to see why it’s bad and you learn from the mistakes.”

While other artists may play games on their computers or phones during breaks, Kenneth will make use of the free time to pop into other studios to observe the seniors acting. Realizing that each actor has his own flair, Kenneth knows that blatantly copying other actors’ styles will not work. “If it’s Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung Chiu Wai (梁朝偉) or Sean Lau (劉青雲 ), no one is able to copy their characteristics. No one knows exactly what they are thinking and by watching them on screen, you will not be able to copy too. Every little move makes up their characteristics. Even if you can imitate their actions, you cannot copy their psyche.” Kenneth revealed his own special characteristic lies in his ability to play a broad spectrum of characters.

Besides last minute changes to scripts, TVB stars also have to endure long working hours, amidst many other miseries. Even then, the results may not always be proportionate to the efforts put in. At the end of the day, it has to be the artists’ own motivations that push them. Kenneth said of his motivation, “I don’t dream of being anyone’s idol. From young, my value has never changed – I want to be a down-to-earth person. I’ll rather have money than fame.”


Creds: Kuangitvb