Revisit Yiu Tin Chung (Divergence)

Taking part in Divergence’s promotional campaign back in May of 2005, Gallen Lo was featured in cover story of I-weekly (Singapore) # 392. The magazine sported a curious and somewhat intriguing title, “Gallen Lo – Reborn”, which turned out to be quite appropriate. For those of you who haven’t come across this article, do read on and you’ll see.

Special thanks to my sister, Mouse, for sending me the magazine as a gift!

R: Reporter

G: Gallen

R: You’ve been receiving quite a number of positive comments for your portrayal (of Yiu) in Divergence. Did you expect this (outcome) while filming?

G: No, I was busy trying my best. The same sort of feeling I had had back to my days with TVB. If I couldn’t successfully complete my part, I’d feel awful. There’s always the thought that I might have done better, so for every new role, I’d tell myself to push forth and try something new. The audience may or may not see it, but I still hope to freshen my acting. The most important thing is a good role/script. It was my luck to be able to join Divergence.

R: You shouldn’t have any problem portraying this different (evil) type of character, should you?

G: This character (Yiu) still has in him a bit of humanity. He’s not completely evil. My greatest challenge was the short screen time. Most of the emotional and psychological changes Yiu experienced wasn’t spelled out on the script. I had to imagine and live them from scene to scene. What had happened to my character since the last scene? Had he spent all the nights up? Had he exhausted all the possible means to get back his son? etc… I needed to follow his thought process closely, step by step. I was very tensed at the beginning, mostly due to the fact that I rarely film movies, and partly due to the famous director, Benny Chan. I had very little idea of what to expect, but I knew for sure that if I wasn’t comfortable, I wouldn’t be able to act. I always need a friendly atmosphere in order to perform well. Director Chan actually encouraged me a great deal. After each scene, he would go over it with me, give me pointers. He didn’t criticize.

R: You, Angelica (Lee), and Arron (Kwok) seem to be very close at the press conference.

G: We have great fun doing this promotional tour. Prior to arriving here (Singapore), we have stopped at Beijing, Shanghai and a few other places. We dine together, have a drink or two, chat, and feel good as a group. (I feel) there isn’t any hint of jealousy or competition.

R: Contradicting to what everyone has been speculating about and afraid of, then? When Divergence has just started filming, Hongkong media mentioned something about the actors competing for screen time…

G: That’s HK media. They need a hot topic for discussion. There’s no such thing but the media could report whatever they please. To be frank, I haven’t really paid attention to what they’ve been reporting in the last two years. I won’t let it slide if their reports hurt my family. Otherwise I don’t mind. Back to the topic of filming, I truly am only a rookie in movie industry. Like it or not, I’d have to begin slow and carefully.

R: It’s you who think of yourself as a rookie. People think you’re being modest.

G: Hahaha

R: You really don’t mind the amount of screen time Yiu has in Divergence, as well as the fact that you are not on the official poster?

G: Not at all. I value more the opportunity to give my best in each and every scene. If I let myself being distracted by the side issues, I wouldn’t have been able to excel on what I love to do. Since young, I’ve been always like that. I focus on the tasks I set out to do and try not to be side-tracked. (In the past,) when I had to act, I acted. When I had to sing, I sang. When an interview needed to be done, I accepted the invitation. To me, the pressure builds up when I leave tasks unfinished.

R: So far it seems you are great at everything you do.

G: It really doesn’t matter. The pressure is always there. I used to be very high-strung, hence often I felt depressed. But for the last two years a few changes have taken places, and along the way, things that used to appear impossible have turned into possibilities. Just before coming here we stopped in Beijing, where we accepted interviews until 1 am. We were exhausted but let’s face it, this is a part of our jobs. If I keep on dwelling into the negative aspects and thoughts, at the end the only unhappy person will be me. If you put a positive spin on the things that have to be done, you’ll be happier. A lot of times you are your own savior, nobody is able to help you.

R: How are you about having a name in movie industry?

G: I’m new…

R: Nobody will think of you as a newbie.

G: I’m afraid so. Hence I’ll have to try even harder. But of course opinions are and will vary from person to person. I won’t be thinking about how people look at me (judge me). I will just get going with what I love to do. I don’t think I’ll need to explain too much or have myself compared to anyone.

Continue to Part 2