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The daughter kicks back : Interview with Marsha Yuen
Making a name in Hong Kong 1/1 - Page 1
Info
Author(s) : Arnaud Lanuque
Date : 14/3/2006
Type(s) : Interview
 
 Intext Links  
People :
Cheng Pei Pei
Marsha Yuen Chi Wai
 
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 Notes  
Photo (c) Arnaud Lanuque


Hong Kong, in a cafe lounge from a posh hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. The elegant Marsha Yuen was sitting opposite me, close to her mother, the veteran actress Cheng Pei Pei. Yuen openly discusses her short film career debut and her future projects.

Making a name in Hong Kong

HKCinemagic : You became famous after vying in the 1999 Miss HK contest. Why you entered this competition and how did you feel during the show?
Marsha Yuen : I actually entered this contest because, during that time, I just came to Hong Kong and I was modelling. I didn't really get many jobs yet because I just started like for three months. And my mother had a lot of friends who were trying to give me suggestions about how to enter in the business. Just during that time, people were starting to put in their names, to register for Miss Hong Kong. Usually, you have someone nominating you and so my mother had some friends to suggest that I enter the contest. And, to me and my mother, we didn't know what to expect from Miss Hong Kong. So, I just did it because people suggested doing it and my mother during that time was doing Mulan (TV-series) and she was worried I would have nothing to do. So, I did the competition and it was very different from what I expected. When I watched beauty pageant in the US , it was very different from Hong Kong . I think in Hong Kong , it's more of a show.
 
HKCinemagic : Could you speak Cantonese at that time?
M Y : No, I couldn't speak Cantonese then. I guess this was the stepping stone to me to actually starting to speak Cantonese. Before that, I was too scared to speak or even try; I knew that once I started to say anything people would start to speak English with me. So actually, it was a very good way for me to learn Cantonese and to interact with different people. And so, I think it was a good experience because of that.
 
HKCinemagic : Did job propositions come quickly after you got the prize (of first runner up)?
M Y : Yeah. After the competition, the talent department of TVB approached me and said they had a TV-series, a contemporary sitcom that they'd like me to be in. They told me what the character was a Chinese from overseas, which fitted me perfectly. They asked me if I could handle the job as I would be speaking Cantonese. So I took the job and from that point on, that's when my career as actress started.
 
HKCinemagic : Was the celebrity of your mother of any help for you?
M Y : I think, for the Miss Hong Kong pageant, as everybody knew I was Cheng Pei Pei's daughter, there was more noise. But it's not necessarily the reason why I earned my title. Because, how much noise you have in the newspaper and how you do in the competition are two completely different things. Maybe, even if I didn't get the title from the competition, it could have helped because of the noise. Even if I didn't get the title, a movie company or a director would have approached me. So, it was helpful in a general manner, yes.
 
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