FANS of Hong Kong heart-throb actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai will remember his rise to stardom as the honest-to-goodness Inspector Cheung Wai-Kit in the best-selling Hong Kong Television Broadcasts (TVB) drama series 'Police Cadet' from the 1980s.
After dazzling thousands of fans in the Cantonese-speaking world for more than four decades, Leung is now playing the exact opposite of Cheung, namely a tycoon Ching Yat Yin, the founder of Carmen Enterprises whose big business is gradually exposed as a fraud.
GOOD AND BAD
"It is great to play a villain. As they always say, a successful actor plays good and bad," said the 61-year-old actor in a recent interview.
The interview was part of Leung's promotion of his latest film 'The Goldfinger' which was screened in cinemas on Dec 30.
In the interview held at Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jalan Imbi here, Leung was joined by The Goldfinger's director Felix Chong and producer Ronald Wong.
"I always believe, being a hero alone is not good enough, likewise being a villain. It is good to experience playing both, and be good in the job," said Leung.
BORN EVIL
Leung also said that he preferred to be a hero with flaws and a villain with a sympathetic backstory, for such characters reflected the real world.
"It is good to have heroes with warts and villains with wounds. Bad guys are good guys turned bad."
POT OF GOLD
When asked about his character Ching, Leung said that he was an overseas-born Chinese with a mysterious background who founded Carmen Enterprises.
"In the 1970s, Ching flees to Hong Kong when his first business fails. By chance, he becomes friends with Tsang Kim Kiu, and they make their first pot of gold in the real estate business.
"Starting with a pest control company worth merely several hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars, Ching forms over a hundred companies within a year.
"Though the source of his funding is the subject of rumours, Ching nevertheless finds success," he said.
BUILT UPON LIES
But a small stock market crash in the early 1980s exposes the true nature of Carmen Enterprises as a scam built upon lies.
Felix said that even though 'The Goldfinger' was described on social media as based on the rise and fall of the Carrian Group, a Hong Kong conglomerate that was known for rapid expansion in the 1980s, but collapsed amidst a major corruption scandal, Carmen Enterprises was fiction.
"It may be inspired by that company in some ways, but the story of Carmen and its founder Ching are different, likewise the characters who interact with Ching," said Felix.
CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
Felix said that 'The Goldfinger' was based on his childhood memories, when adults around him became gloomy due to financial tsunamis affecting Hong Kong in the 1980s.
"I read up on a lot of information about the rise and fall of conglomerates in my country, and when I became a scriptwriter, I turned all of that into a story," he said.
Felix said that the biggest challenge during the production process was to "weave and intricate web of relationships" between the individuals and companies in the film.
"The challenge was to simplify the content to the point where it could be expressed in the form of a human drama."
SCREEN CHEMISTRY
Felix said that having Leung and fellow Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau Tak-Wah co-star in 'The Goldfinger' was a pairing that he had always wanted.
"I'm a big fan of both. Tony and Andy share very strong screen chemistry. When they're together, there's tension even when they are only looking at each other."
JUNIOR STARS
Felix chose relatively junior actors and actresses for the film, because he "wanted the new generation to rise higher".
"I love this generation of actors and actresses. Many of them are outstanding," he said.
"They are brave enough to try new things and this makes their performances worth looking forward to.
"I hope movie-goers will have the chance to appreciate and recognise their talent with this film."
FIGHTING CORRUPTION
'The Goldfinger', with Albert Yeung, Zheng Zhi Hao and Alex Yeung as executive producers also stars Charlene Choi, Simon Yam, Carlos Chan, Michael Ning, Philip Keung, Alex Fong, Tai Bo, Chin La Lok, Catherine Chau and Anita Yuen.
The 125-minute film talks about Hong Kong's war against corruption, courtesy of its Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in the 1970s and 1980s.
JUDGE BRIBED
Senior principal investigator Lau Kai Yuen (Andy) is tasked with investigating the sudden collapse of Carmen Enterprises.
Lau sets his sight on Carmen's founder Ching (Tony) and after facing numerous challenges and threats to his life as well as the lives of his loved ones, he takes Ching to court.
Sadly, the presiding judge turns out to have been bribed, and this means that the "battle royale" between Lau and Ching has only just begun.
Choi plays Ching's loyal secretary Ka Man, while Yam is Ching's business partner Tsang.
Carlos plays banker Ho who is set up by Ching, Tai plays Wu, a tycoon cheated by Ching, Philip plays a Malaysian investor Musharra, and Fong plays Ching's lawyer Kelvin.
