According to Kenneth Ma (馬國明), the media has only overhyped him as the ascending Diamond Bachelor because of his relative lack of gossip material. Though it was reported that Kenneth has caught many beautiful women’s hearts, including reigning Miss Hong Kong, Carat Cheung (張名雅), the clean-imaged 39-year-old only has eyes for a woman who has no vices and gets along well with his family. Despite numerous attempts to brush off the Diamond Bachelor label he was appointed with, even to the extent of admitting he spouts vulgarities and visits pornographic websites, Kenneth holds the reigning title after Moses Chan (陳豪) was taken by Aimee Chan (陳茵媺). Even with his lack of vices such as smoking and partying, the humble Kenneth still thinks other bachelors at TVB, such as Ron Ng (吳卓羲), Bosco Wong (黃宗澤) and Ruco Chan (陳展鵬) deserve the title more. Kenneth said, “Of course a Diamond Bachelor must be single. On top of that, he must have a successful career and I still have not shown any results in that area.” His Ideal Woman With TVB beauties such as Rebecca Zhu (朱晨麗), Selena Li (李詩韻), Natalie Tong (唐詩詠), Eliza Sum (岑麗香) and even Margie Tsang (曾華倩) singing praises for him, and Carat Cheung’s confession of her admiration, Kenneth definitely deserves the title of Diamond Bachelor. In past interviews with the press, Kenneth has revealed snippets of his requirements in choosing a romantic partner. With the public’s binocular eyes on his love life now, Kenneth finally revealed the kind of woman he wants. “I am a person who loves my family a lot. For that reason, I’m still staying with my family. So the most important characteristic for my girlfriend is not her beauty, but her ability to live and get along well with my family. My parents are well-known to be nice people. If a woman cannot get along with them, then the problem must definitely lie within the woman. I don’t smoke nor drink because I hate the smell of smoke and alcohol, so my girlfriend cannot possess these habits either,” Kenneth said. The self-confessed introvert would also prefer his girlfriend to be more proactive and chattier than him. Kenneth admitted though he has dated a few women before, nothing has come to fruition. Likening finding a girlfriend to buying a house or car, Kenneth felt it all depends on fate and should not be rushed. Step by Step Success The youngest of three children, Kenneth learnt how to care for his family when his father had to toggle between Canada and Hong Kong often for his work. After graduating from University of British Columbia, Kenneth originally wanted to follow his father’s footsteps and become a mechanical engineer. When he returned to Hong Kong, Kenneth sent out more than 70 resumes, and he only received one in return – an interview notice for TVB’s Artist Training Class. Joining TVB changed the course of his life. Last year alone, Kenneth not only clinched the My Favorite Male Character award for his role in The Hippocratic Crush < On Call 36小時>, he also walked away with the Best Actor award at Malaysia’s Astro On Demand awards. He also received the Outstanding Television Performing Actor award voted by The Federation of Hong Kong Film Makers. However, the road to stardom has not been an easy one for Kenneth. In the first 3 years of his career, he was only given cameo roles. He recalled that his most memorable role was acting as a cockroach in Dayo Wong’s (黃子華) music video, “Blue Sky” <藍天>. Though it had been hard on his pride, the strong-minded Kenneth pressed on and treated the role as a way to hone his skills. It was only after he signed a TVB management contract did he begin to get meatier roles, such as appearing in Triumph in the Skies <衝上雲霄>. Kenneth said sentimentally, “I have moved up step by step these 13 years. Though it has been a struggle, there were happy times too.” Fine with Supporting Roles Although Kenneth has ascended to become one of TVB’s top siu sangs, he does not mind taking supporting roles as well. “Even though I may be deemed as good, my result still falls short of the best. So if you ask me to be the male lead, I’ll be happy but if you cast me in a supporting role, I’ll also be willing to take it. Supporting roles will allow a lot of opportunity to explore my characters, yet at the same time, I don’t have to worry about the ratings of the series.” Kenneth emphasized that the success of a good series not only depends on its lead cast, and he often encourages newcomers not to be discouraged when they are given minor roles. Although Kenneth also wished to take on more villainous roles, the role of Dr. Cheung Yat Kin in The Hippocratic Crush is his favorite role to-date. Not only did the role help garner more fans for Kenneth, it was also indirectly his money tree. He said, “I used to only have a promotional event once a month. Now, I have an event every week!” Kenneth added, “Perhaps the viewers really like my doctor image thus I’m really looking forward to resuming my role in The Hippocratic Crush 2.” Creds: Apple Daily
