Over the span of his career, Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) has played a diverse range of roles. He stars as the wealthy heir to a huge business empire in TVB Anniversary series, Overachievers <名門暗戰>. While Wayne values the quality of the production, the strong chemistry among the cast, and the multi-dimensional character development, he is much less appreciative of the lavish lifestyles that are depicted in the show. Wayne Values Freedom Over Wealth Due to his role in Overachievers, Wayne had a taste of living in the life of a Hong Kong elite. Having experienced luxuries like private jets, yachts and private islands, Wayne was, however, not impressed and prefers his own relatively ordinary life. He adds that having limitless wealth may appear desirable at first glance, but is actually a dangerous and stressful existence. Wayne emphasizes that he values freedom over wealth, “To me, to be truly happy in life, one needs to have freedom, both the physical freedom to do anything I want to do, and also freedom from mental stress.” He cited the example of Hong Kong tycoon, Li Ka Shing (李嘉誠), who never goes anywhere without a team of personal bodyguards. Wayne also mentioned that superstars Andy Lau (劉德華) or Tony Leung (梁朝偉) lack freedom, as they always attract wide media attention when they appear in public. “I can go about my daily life with no problems, whether I am shopping or visiting street food stalls. Right now, my finances have also improved, but I have not lost my freedom. This is the ideal position to be in!” Wayne is Content with Being Financially Secure Wayne sees money as merely a means of security, as he does not crave extravagance or luxury. His wife also shares similar views. Before Wayne became famous, she once told him, “You don’t need to be able to afford a property to marry me!” True to his philosophy, Wayne and his family are not residing in the house that he had meticulously designed its feng shui, and had saved up many years for. Instead, they are living in a rented property near Sheung Shui, while leasing the “feng shui house” to a friend. Wayne explained, “The original house has become a bit cramped, especially as my son is growing up and becoming taller. We were actually hoping to purchase a larger house, but property is expensive, so we are renting for now.” He adds that being financially comfortable is more than he could ask for, as he had not entered the industry with any expectations of success. He has seen many of his seniors in the industry eventually retiring in obscurity, while the increasing number of good-looking newcomers in the industry intensified the competition for good roles. For Wayne to have received leading roles in light of such circumstances, it was unexpected and he already feels immensely gratified. Creds: stheadline
