Juno Mak
A Young man with aspirations

By Jenny Chan


Juno Mak in his youth.

Juno Mak, 18, is a controversial new singer. In 2002 he caught the public's attention not because of his excellent musical performances but because of his wealthy family background. The public concluded that family money was the sole reason that he got into showbiz.

Question: Where did you do your education?
Answer: I had my pre-education in Hong Kong. Then, I went to Canada and finished my primary education there. After that, I came back to Hong Kong and studied at Hong Kong International School until Grade 12.

Q: When you were a student, what kinds of extra-curricular activities did you participate in?
A: I joined charity activities like selling flags for Yan Chai Hospital. Besides, I like playing table tennis and I was a member of the school table-tennis club. I also started learning free fighting at school 3 years ago. I have been a teaching assistant of the school free fighting club since then.

Q: Did you ever dream of being an artist when you were a little kid?
A: Absolutely not. I dreamt to be a novelist, a comic writer or even a lawyer, but never dreamt of being a performance artist when I was a kid. However, I love listening to Beyond’s songs and watching dancing. I don’t know how I got interested in them. And I started learning dancing 2 years ago.

Q: You signed a singing contract with Universal Music Limited when you were just 14. What was the response of your family toward your decision?
A: My family is very open-minded. They didn’t oppose my decision. They have never forced me to attain excellent academic achievements. An average academic result would be acceptable to them.

Q: What was your daily schedule at that time?
A: Every day after school at around 3 p.m., I practiced singing, dancing and free fighting for three to four hours. Then I had dinner with my family. We used to have some fruit and watch a film after that. Before going to bed, I did my homework, read musical lyrics and watched videos.

Q: So, how did you strike a balance between studying and handling the work arranged by your company?
A: As I was learning a lot of things, time management was a pain in the neck. On the other hand, I couldn’t help reading novels and comics, so I had no time to read my textbooks.

Q: There is tremendous criticism saying that your success is due solely to your family's financial support. How do you regard the role of your family in your career?
A: They are certainly my best supporters and motivators. Their support and concern mean a lot to me. The media always focus on my family background and conclude that all the awards I got involve bribery. They simply ignore all the effort I have made throughout the year.
Therefore, I have to work much harder to prove that my effort is worthy of merit, and thank my family for all they have been doing for me.

Q: What was the attitude of your family towards those remarks?
A: They did not care about them. They regard those remarks as jokes, which merely provide people with another talking point.

Q: How do you relieve your stress?
A: Simply taking a bath and reading comics works for me.

Q: What have you learnt from being a performance artist so far?
A: I have already realized that the effort paid is not necessarily in direct proportion to the result I expected. Yet, I don’t mind and I’ll continue to do my best. Moreover, I like to thank those people who have ever hated me because they make me treasure those who support me.

Q: You have said that in order to be a successful artist, one must equip himself continuously. How do you equip yourself then?
A: Although I am so busy that I do not have time to learn something new, I keep improving myself by taking part in different kinds of work. Learning through experience is also another effective way to equip oneself. I am not a novice artist anymore, but I still regard myself as a novice.
I am desperate for new experiences and opportunities. I’m going to act in a comedy series, two films and a drama in the coming year. I’ll also perform in a mini-concert and have records released. I’m looking forward to them.

Q: Despite the time constraints, what else would you want to learn?
A: I would like to learn different types of dancing from abroad since I am still not good enough at it. I wish to learn drumming because it involves a strong sense of rhythm. Actually, I once learnt it when I was at my secondary school.

Q: How do you describe yourself in general?
A: I am an optimistic person. I like to imagine and that is why I like watching films and reading comics as well as dreaming to be a writer when I was a kid.
On one hand, I am active since I like dancing and playing sports. On the other hand, I like staying at home, reading comics, playing computer games, and chatting with friends on ICQ.