Sammul Chan: “I Only Like Some People At TVB!”

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With new Hong Kong television station, City Telecom (CTI) ready to film their first dramas soon, the company has been eagerly recruiting many former TVB actors. Sammul Chan (陳鍵鋒) was one of the artists that CTI owner, Ricky Wong (王維基), has been in recent discussions with. Sammul appeared to keep his options open, remaining non-committal in his response as to which side he will be taking in TVB and CTI’s upcoming “television wars.”

Last year, Sammul spent the majority of his time filming in mainland China. His popularity level surged after appearing in Schemes of a Beauty <美人心计>, in which he won the 2010 Seoul International Drama Awards for the Most Popular Male Artist in the China region. Sammul enjoyed working in mainland China, remarking that the filming fees were much higher due to the larger market.

Returning to Hong Kong for a two-week break earlier, Sammul met with local fans. Many fans attended the gathering, eager to take photos with him. Due to his long absence from Hong Kong, the fans were excited and asked to take numerous photos with their idol, who willingly complied.

Although Sammul’s popularity in Hong Kong was still high, the actor appeared reserved when asked if he would consider filming for Ricky Wong’s CTI. Sammul said, “Everything is not finalized yet. I do not know anything!” However, Sammul admitted that he has kept in touch with Ricky Wong, who flew to Taiwan to visit Sammul’s filming set earlier.

TVB was often dubbed as being “petty” and unforgiving towards artists who leave the company. Asked whether Sammul was concerned that he would be labeled as a “traitor” by TVB if he were to film for a rival station, he replied, “No, many people change jobs in society. So such people should be dubbed as traitors?”

Although he had criticized TVB for their red-tape bureaucracy and unfair salary standards in the past, Sammul indicated that he was not disgruntled. “Actually, TVB treated me okay. However, there are some people that I do not like there!” That appears to be the sentiment towards TVB management in recent years.



Creds: Oriental Daily/Jstars