Wayne Lai's Portrayal of Li Lianying in TVB Drama "The Confidant"

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This year will be Wayne Lai’s (黎耀祥) third year in a row in which he is starring in an Anniversary series. All eyes will be on him when it comes to the TV King and the Best Drama awards for The Confidant <大太監>. However, Wayne said he feels no inherent stress and pressure from as he enjoys the filming process more than the outcome.

In The Confidant, Wayne portrays a Li Lianying (李連英) that is different from the commonly accepted idea of the most powerful eunuch of China during the rule of Empress Dowager Cixi. Wayne said he did not prepare his role by researching Li Lianying’s history, but instead counted on the guidance of the scriptwriters and the producer.

“There are different versions of Li Lianying’s history floating around. On top of that, I cannot stray from the producer’s visualization of the character. We are trying to dramatize history, so of course part of the facts may be skewed or exaggerated. In some areas, the portrayal may even conflict with the actual truth!”

The Confidant begins with Li Lianying as a minor palace eunuch working for one of the concubines. When asked if there was any expectation from the producer on how he should approach playing the role of a palace eunuch, Wayne admits there was not any concept at all to start with since are no real-life examples. The image of a feminine coward with high-pitched voice is only a stereotype, and does not apply to most castrated men. In The Confidant, most, if not all of the actors playing roles of eunuchs perform with their normal tone of voice.

Love Scene With Nancy Wu

Breaking another stereotype of a eunuch, Wayne will have a love scene with the palace maid, Sin yung (Nancy Wu 胡定欣). In that time period many palace eunuchs and palace maids dined and worked together, and not surprisingly some of them established feelings towards each other. In one scene, Wayne embraces Nancy, but fails how to express his feeling. There is no desire and passion involved in the scene.

Also in the series there are plots revolving around the sentimental side of eunuchs, as some even want to get married. Although they cannot be physically intimate, they will accept a close emotional relationship.



Creds: Oriental Daily