ARTISTE SPOTLIGHT
Some facts and figures...
Bosco Wong Chung Chak was born on 13th December 1980 in Hong Kong and is an only child. Standing at around six feet tall,
he has a pair of expressive eyes, a cute smile and a very distinctive and appealing voice. He is a self-confessed cleanliness
freak and hates anything that is dirty or untidy, especially dirty and unkept fingernails. Bosco has a hidden talent in
cooking and claims that if he wasn't an actor, he would be a chef. Fusion cookery is his speciality. The other love of his life
is cars. Spotted by a talent scout at the
tender age of sixteen in 1997, he made an advert for a lemon tea drink opposite Cecilia Cheung, who then went on to become
a major star on the big screen. For Bosco, he completed his matriculation exams before signing with TVB in 1999.
Since then, his rise to become main lead has been steady, being sent to host the late night music programmes before breaking
into drama productions, with roles in "Burning Flame", "Slim Chances" and "The Awakening Story". His big break came when he was
offered the role of Tam Chi Tung, equal lead alongside Ron Ng in "Find the Light". Highly acclaimed for his deeply emotive yet
subtle performance in this series, offers of work kept coming in for him as he went on to make appearances in "Aqua Heroes",
high profile "Triumph in the Skies" and another equal lead role in "To Love with No Regrets" opposite Amy Kwok. Other
appearances include "The Last Breakthrough" and "Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion" which is yet to be aired.
For Bosco, "Wong Fei Hung - Master of Kung Fu" can be called his most representative performance to date as he took on the
definite male lead playing the young version of the much revered and admired Master Wong. Following in the footsteps of master
martial artistes such as Jet Li and Kwan Tak Hing, this was a very important role for him and one that he took much care in
perfecting. From taking lessons in Hung Kune and asking for instruction from co-stars and Kung Fu masters in their own right
John Chiang and Gordon Liu to ensuring that he displayed the calm and collected demeanour characteristic of Master Wong, Bosco
ensured that every little detail was perfect and this resulted in applause and enjoyment from the viewers and a performance
that exuded excellence and turned around the falling ratings trend for TVB.
Bosco has always had a great affinity to working with some classic veteran actors. After working with Damian Lau in "Find the
Light", John Chiang and Gordon Liu in "Wong Fei Hung" and Amy Kwok in "To Love with No Regrets", Bosco's latest production has
brought him together with Liza Wang in "My Sassy Mother in Law" (working title), where he plays a secret super hero in the Qing
Dynasty.
Bosco on Life
The road to stardom is never easy and for Bosco, the learning and maturity curve has been a steep one since he entered the
entertainment industry at the tender age of 19. Having grown up under the protection of his parents in a rather sheltered
environment, the playful personality of Bosco brought him many problems and he was forced to grow up quickly in a shower
of negative press, including accusations that he was a 'leecher' by an ex-girlfriend and getting into fights in public.
"People who know me will know that I am a very generous person and when we used to go out for dinner, then I would pay for
others and vice versa. However, I learned very quickly that I have to be very careful about these things now because I don't
want to give them ammunition to talk about me.
"A lot of people have said that I am always very playful, like a big kid and maybe this is because I was an only child and
didn't really grow up. When I was younger, my mother would discipline me and tell me off, but my father rarely did. He would
buy me any toy I wanted and I had little responsibility for my family as my parents have never asked me for anything in return.
As a result, when I met with difficult situations, I was always very afraid and tearful, but my parents have always been there
to support me. No reprimanding or scolding, just the wisened words of my father: 'There are lessons you must learn.'
"As an artiste, I have to remember that I must be careful of my actions and I see it like this: I can eat fishballs in the
street, but I have to make sure that I don't throw the stick on the floor afterwards. This is the price I have to pay for
choosing this career, but to do so many things that other people cannot, it is worth it."
Having now reaped some rewards for the last seven years work, Bosco knows he cannot afford to take a step back and the only
way to keep progressing is to keep learning and gaining experiences.
"If acting is like learning Kung Fu, I am only at the novice stage. I want to be a great character actor, like John (Chiang).
If I was to pursue the 'idol' route, then I know I wouldn't last very long in this industry. Working on 'Wong Fei Hung', John
taught me a lot of things. As you know, he has made so many martial arts films, but he not only taught me a lot of Kung Fu moves,
he also showed me how to accommodate the camera and make the choreography look even better."
Bosco has also turned to reading to broaden his horizons and improve his empathy skills.
"When I read, I can imagine myself as the character in the book. I am currently reading 'The Minds of Billy Milligan' and I will
think about when thet time comes that I have to play a character who has multiple personality disorder, then how would I play it?
Thinking about it more in this way also makes me understand other people's lives."
Watching films is another way of doing this and he has recently developed a love for the works of Stanley Kubrick, watching
films such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "A Clockwork Orange" over and over again, noting the staging and plot development.
Also Martin Scorsese's "After Hours" and recent production "The Aviator" have also become among his favourites. With so much
enthusiasm for film, does he want to break onto the silver screen?
"Not really, I would actually like to do theatre more. A veteran actor once said to me that someone who can do television may
not necessarily be able to perform on the stage, but someone who can perform on stage can definitely do television."
From these words, it would appear that Bosco's sights are set much further than just that of a teen idol....
Em's thoughts on Bosco...
Having decided to skip watching "Find the Light" and "Aqua Heroes", the first time I came across Bosco was during
"Triumph in the Skies", but his performance didn't strike me as anything amazing because other than being 'the guy who
beat Ron in the exams' and 'the guy who followed Sammul around', he was probably the most transparent member of S4. "To
Love with No Regrets" was another series I didn't watch for some reason or other, so for me, Bosco continued to be just
a name that appeared in the news from time to time, but I had no true opinions of. It was only after watching "Wong Fei Hung"
that I realised how much potential this guy had and finally roused my curiosity to find out a little more about him.
Discovering the Bosco Land site, reading up on him in articles and going back to wach "Find the Light" enlightened me and brought me
up to speed and now I can safely say that I am very impressed with this young up and coming star. Okay, he's pretty tall and
good-looking, but what I find in Bosco is a very genuine and positive attitude to his work and life. In interviews, he is
always upfront and honest, willing to admit his shortcomings and mistakes and through reading comments from his co-stars and
his seniors, he seems to have truly earned their respect and admiration through his hardworking attitude, modesty and
willingness to learn - little wonder that he has been dubbed 'The Pride and Joy of TVB' after being publicly praised by TVB
production chief Lok Yee Ling during a press event and being included in many promotional groups such as 'S4', 'New Five Tigers'
and last year's 'Six Olympic Stars'. He has the making of a true star and if he keeps this up, then I can see him reaching
the dizzy heights comparable to Tony Leung and Louis Koo one day.
Taking things a bit closer to the present though, I am looking forward to his forthcoming co-operation with Roger Kwok, Jessica
Hsuan and the "Square Pegs" bunch in "The Legend of Ah Wong" and many more great performances to come.
Article by Em
Picture sources: TVB.com, Bosco Land
Other resources: Sudden Weekly, TVB Weekly
return to main page