With the popular and critical success of A Fist Within Four Walls <城寨英雄>, it is pretty much a sure deal that we would get to see Ruco Chan (陳展鵬) sitting among the top five for TV King this year. The manhua-inspired kung fu drama, produced by Jazz Boon (文偉鴻), premiered on August 1 to record-shattering ratings, and continues to see a rise in viewership despite facing competition from the Rio Olympics. The TV King award is hot and ready for Ruco Chan. “It’s not easy to be TV King,” said Ruco, who stars in Four Walls as the hot-blooded kung fu novice, Chor Au-kuen. “It gets harder and harder every year. Besides guaranteed talents like Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Roger Kwok (郭晉安), and Bobby Au-yeung (歐陽震華), we also have [non-TVB] actors like Anthony Wong (黃秋生), Alex Fong (方中信), and Gallen Lo (羅嘉良) competing for the award. Strong competitors continue to defeat stronger rivals. It’s not an easy feat!” On Shooting “A Fist Within Four Walls” Four Walls, shot between August and November 2015, stars Ruco as Chor Au-kuen, an inexperienced but gifted martial arts novice who returns to the Kowloon Walled City to search for his long-lost sister. In the city he gets acquainted with various highly-skilled kung fu masters, and also uncovers the mystery behind his father’s murder fifteen years ago. Yuen Qiu (元秋), Philip Ng (伍允龍), Nancy Wu (胡定欣), Benjamin Yuen (袁偉豪), and Grace Wong (王君馨) also star. Ruco was one of the last Four Walls actors to get casted, leaving him only a month to prepare for his role. “When I first received the script, I was in the midst of shooting Brother’s Keeper II <巨輪II>. I was given only a few weeks to train physically, and also had to learn Bajiquan. I had to build muscle on top of that, too.” To stay in the shape that is required for his role, Ruco worked out whenever he could. He did push-ups in between takes to maintain his physique, and went on a strict diet. “It was honestly a struggle. I was 163 pounds at the start of filming, but then dropped to 153 pounds. I went on a very strict diet to prepare for that arena fighting scene. On the night I completed the sequence, I went out to get a hamburger to award myself. It was so good!” Kung fu dramas have always been extremely taxing to do, and injuries are unavoidable. Ruco recalled, “The one incident I remember the most was with KK Cheung (張國強). He fought with an umbrella and I used a really long staff as my weapon. In our fight, he accidentally poked the corner of my eye with his umbrella and it immediately formed a bruise. He couldn’t stop apologizing. But during take two, I accidentally hit him in the head with my staff. I knew something was off at the time, but KK continued to do the scene without stopping. It wasn’t until the director yelled cut when we all realized how serious his injury was. He had to get stitches. Now it was my turn to feel bad!” Winning TV King “Gets Harder and Harder Every Year” With the popularity and acclaim that Four Walls is getting, it is no surprise that Ruco is receiving all the buzz for TV King, but Ruco still think he has much to learn, and much to improve on. Winning TV King requires not only a good role, but also true talent. “I would never say I don’t want to win it, but in my opinion, a real TV King and Film King is an actor who is versatile with a wide range. Like what Eric Tsang (曾志偉) has said before: a good actor is someone who becomes his character. This is why, in my opinion, I should not pester after the award.” This year, Ruco will be competing against the likes of Bobby Au-yeung and Wayne Lai, veteran actors who have also headlined successful dramas this year, for TV King. “It gets harder and harder every year,” he said. “Strong competitors continue to defeat stronger rivals. It’s not an easy feat!” But even if Ruco ends up losing the award in the end, he has already won everything with Four Walls. A good role is hard to come by; a good script is even harder. “Ratings is something that we actors cannot control. And while I’ve always been confident in Four Wall’s script, the best thing about this drama was the cast and crew, and our team spirit. From that alone, I’ve felt like I’ve already won something.” Though Ruco will be busy filming new projects in the meantime, the TV King hopeful said he is looking for the opportunity to write his own screenplay. “I want to tell everyone my story. My mind’s been swimming with ideas. I want to do a story about a gay couple, or a couple in a troubled marriage, or anything with societal impact.” “Four Walls” Spoilers? The Last 10 Episodes Will Be Big Four Walls is intense, entertaining, and viewers are begging for more. There are only about two weeks of episodes left, but Ruco encourages fans to keep watching, because it’s only going to get better. “When we were about halfway into filming, a cast member asked me if I’ve read the scripts after episode 20. His tone seemed to be implying something, so I immediately went to read it when I got back home. And it’s true! Something intense does happen, and I think it’s going to get an explosive response when it comes out!” But Ruco refused to drop the spoiler, explaining that the producer has passed down orders for the cast to stay quiet. “Just wait! It’s better to watch it on your own!” Creds: Oriental Daily
