{"id":8841,"date":"2016-03-22T15:49:54","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T07:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=8841"},"modified":"2022-03-30T16:46:25","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T08:46:25","slug":"leung-kin-ping-ten-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2016\/03\/leung-kin-ping-ten-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Belated Acclaim for Veteran Actor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Evergreen performer Leung Kin-ping finds his moment of glory after 30 years<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Lynette Zhang<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Leung
Leung plays a taxi driver in the Dialect segment of the movie Ten Years<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leung Kin-ping never set out to be an actor, never dreamed of setting the stage or screen ablaze. But over the course of a nearly 30-year career, he has cultivated an exacting love for his craft.<\/p>\n

There is no movie star aura yet the man with the gentle voice, wearing blue jeans, red jacket and sneakers does immediately strike you as someone you recognise from a television drama even if you cannot name him. If you have seen the surprise hit independent movie Ten Years<\/a><\/em>, which is made up of five short films, you may instantly recognise him as the taxi driver in the Dialect<\/em> segment.<\/p>\n

Leung is known in Hong Kong as a \u201cgreen leaf\u201d or evergreen actor, one recognised for playing supporting parts rather than the lead. He has even been called \u201cKing of Green Leaves\u201d. Leung takes the label in his stride, \u201cI think it is just a way of complimenting,\u201d Leung says. \u201cThanks a lot!\u201d<\/p>\n

Now 55 years old, Leung entered the television industry during the golden age of Hong Kong\u2019s movie and television output. He grew up at a time when watching television was the most common form of entertainment and, as a child, he was captivated by the stories about TV and movie stars.<\/p>\n

Without a higher diploma and with limited employment options, Leung was driven by his childhood fantasy to enter the entertainment business.<\/p>\n

He first worked as a photo printer in Shaw Brother Pictures Limited, then a public relations officer, and finally became an actor with Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) in 1986.<\/p>\n

Leung says he cultivated his interest in acting gradually through the decades while making a living from it. He compares this to a child who is pushed by his parents to play the piano and only realises the beauty of performance after years and years of practice.<\/p>\n

Right from the start, he set himself a simple goal \u2013 to keep on improving. For the first 12 years, he felt satisfied with the small improvements he made every year. But when the 13th year came around, he panicked and found himself stuck because of what he describes as TVB\u2019s rigid structure and lack of innovation.<\/p>\n

In recent years, many local viewers, especially the younger ones, have complained about TVB programmes for their hackneyed and repetitive storylines, unrealistic plots and careless onscreen mistakes. Many have deserted the station\u2019s dramas and turned to Korean or American television series instead.<\/p>\n

Just as viewers are bored, it turns out the actors are bored too, except unlike Leung, few of them are prepared to say it publicly.<\/p>\n

Leung says it was difficult to create any chemistry with his acting partners on TVB shoots because everything was so familiar. He usually simulates scenes in his head before shooting and he found his predictions were 90 per cent correct when the shoot began. \u201cI know the facial expression and pace he [the character] will use.\u201d Leung says with a bitter smile, \u201cThere is no surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leung bluntly states that the main problem with the Hong Kong television industry is the lack of competition. \u201cNo competition, no improvement,\u201d he says. TVB\u2019s monopoly is leading to market shrinkage and saturation, and the consequence is a lack of new blood and fresh ideas.<\/p>\n

Leung hints that the television industry has reverted to the situation in 1960s, when the only newcomers in the industry were the poor and the rich. That is, people who either had no other choice of career or did not have the pressure of making a living. In any case, since the market is shrinking, most production teams prefer to choose experienced actors over new actors.<\/p>\n

The moribund situation was shaken up when Ricky Wong Wai-kay prepared to launch Hong Kong Television Network Limited (HKTV) in 2012. By investing in edgy local drama, HKTV opened Hong Kong viewers\u2019 eyes to the possibility of having different genres of television series, such as political dramas, musical dramas, superhero action comedies and more. It was a radical departure from the medical and crime dramas that are TVB mainstays.<\/p>\n

Leung quit TVB for HKTV in 2012, but there was nothing romantic about his decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just moved for a higher salary,\u201d he says. \u201cWe are not stars. It is difficult to survive in this industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leung describes himself as \u201cfarmer in the performance industry\u201d, one who faces a similar predicament as a real farmer. They both invest a lot of effort to produce a product and sell it to some large companies. The companies earn a lot with the product, but give just a little back to the farmers.<\/p>\n

Despite high hopes, HKTV ultimately failed to win a domestic free-to-air television license. But rather than fade away, Leung\u2019s career took other unexpected turns.<\/p>\n

In 2014, a short film he starred in, The Tricycle Thief<\/em>, was nominated for Best International Short Film in the Toronto Film Festival. Then, last year he gained local acclaim for his performances in an episode of RTHK\u2019s \u00a0Below the Lion Rock 2015<\/a><\/em> and the sleeper hit Ten Years<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Leung
Leung playing Go Gor, a recyling truck driver, in Lion Rock 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Playing a recycling truck driver called Go Gor in the former programme, Leung struck a chord with many Hongkongers in his portrayal of the grassroots\u2019 struggle to get by.<\/p>\n

Leung believes actors\u2019 performances can only resonate with the audience when they are true to life. To play Go Gor, Leung sat in his car every day to observe a ragman on the other side of the street for hours just to learn his style and posture.<\/p>\n

The same realistic performance also brought him a lot of praise for Ten Years<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The dystopian film is a surreal imagination of what Hong Kong will be like in a decade\u2019s time. Local heritage and culture is disappearing, conspiracies abound, citizens are oppressed by censorship and coercion and Cantonese is vanishing. The themes all reflect current controversies in Hong Kong. Many audiences see Ten Years<\/em> as a prophecy.<\/p>\n

But to Leung, the movie is just a \u201clogical deduction.\u201d He sees it as a reflection of people\u2019s thoughts today. \u201cPeople feel worried and anxious about the current situation in Hong Kong,\u201d he says. \u201cThey express this through the movie. That is normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if he was worried that his participation in Ten Years<\/em> might lead to his being banned in the Mainland, Leung laughs. \u201cNo. Who can escape from the political?\u201d He thinks people should try to understand the political concerns and thoughts that are behind Ten Years<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Leung has two daughters and he does not want them to live in a world where they cannot speak freely. \u201cThe most precious thing in Hong Kong is freedom. We cannot lose freedom of speech,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Leung is uncertain about his future. He does not know what challenges or opportunities will be in front of him. The only thing he knows is that he hopes to tackle new challenges in 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor other careers, you have to retire at the age of 60,\u201d he says, \u201cBut\u00a0\u00a0 being an actor, you can act as long as you can still walk, think and talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Edited by Esther Chan<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leung Kin-ping never set out to be an actor, then he spent 30 years in supporting roles at TVB and now the hit movie Ten Years has finally made him a star.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1938,79],"tags":[57,33,205,98,439,146],"class_list":["post-8841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issue-139","category-people","tag-art","tag-culture","tag-hong-kong","tag-media","tag-movie","tag-television"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8841"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20845,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8841\/revisions\/20845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}