[2021.03.15] INTIMATE SCENES ARE NOT AWKWARD FOR CARLOS CHAN AND MICHELLE WAI

During the pandemic Michelle Wai and Carlos Chan had zero income for months.  During their time off they worked hard on improving themselves, waiting for when the opportunity arose they would perform even better.

Michelle Wai and Carlos Chan are close friends so they have great chemistry.  Playing a couple is not difficult for them at all.

Ken Hung, Michelle Wai and Carlos Chan work together on HAPPILY EVER AFTER in 2009.  3 rookies at the time knew nothing about film at all.
courtesy of mingpao.com

Carlos Chan Ka Lok and Michelle Wai Sze Nga last year due to the pandemic had months of zero income. The Lunar New Year film that they worked together on, READY OR KNOT (BUT YUT SING FUN) also ran into one obstacle after another. Midway through the production the film halted due to the severity of the pandemic. Despite their fears they safely finished the film, but then ran into the fourth wave of the pandemic. The government ordered all Hong Kong cinemas to suspend operation until mid last month. READY's release was postponed from the Lunar New Year to Easter. Speaking of the new film, Chan Ka Lok and Wai Sze Nga played a couple. When they made their intimate scenes they were so focused that the crew mistook them for really dating. Only because they knew each other early on, their relationship was deep and they were able to let go and perform without any worry.

After months of zero jobs, zero income, Wai Sze Nga and Chan Ka Lok were very concerned once. Wai Sze Nga said that when the pandemic first started last year, she had no job for 3 months. She not only had to pay her mortgage but also take care of her parents. She was very worried but she also gained something. She had more time to spend with her family. At home she read more books and watched more movies to improve herself. Ka Lok had it worse in comparison to Wai Sze Nga. For half a year he had zero income. He said, "At first I didn't feel the pandemic would have such a large impact. I even thought it was pretty good, as I could rest a little. Then one day I was cleaning around the house. I who never look at the bills looked and realized that I had no income for 6 months. At that moment I panicked, but I couldn't do anything. This was how the climate was."

Like to play soccer, Ka Lok only saw it as off season and made the comparison to a team on the verge of relegation. He felt that as long as he was well trained, prepared himself, when the new season starts he would have good performance and be able to jump from the bottom to the top of the league. "As long as I maintain such a state of mind, I hope to slowly improve."

Wai Sze Nga and Ka Lok 11 years after HAPPILY EVER AFTER (HUNG SEUNG WOR NEI JOI YUT HEI) worked together again on READY OR KNOT (BUT YUT SING FUN). Because they both belonged under the Emperor Entertainment banner and were privately good friends, they were not awkward playing a couple with many intimate scenes. They did not need to hold anything back.

Ka Lok said that they had chemistry and let go, even the crew on the set were whispering, suspecting that they were in love. He said, "One scene had a lot of bodily contact. Because we trusted each other, I wouldn't worry whether she would feel I was taking advantage and she also didn't mind my touching. The next time after completing the intimate scene, the rumor on the set actually was, 'Are they together, why can they have no worry at all?' This was the advantage of being familiar with each other. We could go a little further, let go and play the roles. We needn't worry about the other would misunderstand."

Wai Sze Nga described kissing Ka Lok felt like kissing her own hand. She would not be embarrassed. The way they conversed in the film actually was just like they did normally, which was very real.

Working with Wai Sze Nga again, Ka Lok felt unusual and said, "My memory was still stuck on the feeling of making HAPPILY EVER AFTER with her and being rookies. We didn't know anything about film, just stumbling our ways through. Working together again this time, we have traveled much further in this industry and grown a lot."

Wai Sze Nga agreed that she and Ka Lok have both grown, praising that his acting also matured. He dared to let go and perform, which was very different from before. She said, "Everyone have the guts to try, which we didn't dare while making HAPPILY. Now we would attack each other to see if the other would be able to handle it. His acting has improved a lot." Ka Lok awkwardly said thank you and also praised Wai Sze Nga was a genius, in her first film HAPPILY EVER AFTER she already performed very well. "She mostly played dramatic scenes, I never guessed that she also had comedic genes and have a comedic sense in READY. She was like a guy."

In the new film Wai Sze Nga broke up with her boyfriend of many years Ka Lok, because he was dragging his feet and unwilling ot wed. In real life it was just the opposite. Wai Sze Nga said, "I had a boyfriend who wanted to get married, but I have a fear of marriage. I got scared and left."

She disagreed that a couple would have to get married after dating for a long time. "I would get married because of my family or wanting to start a family. I would be happy to have a family, but right now when I think of focusing all my energy on family and taking care of children, I wouldn't have time to play video games. So for now I wouldn't consider the issue of marriage. Of course it would be the best to find a boyfriend with common interest. He doesn't have to keep me company while I play games, but he would understand why I like to play. We can't be people of two different worlds."

Ka Lok had a different view on marriage. Instead he wanted to get married and felt that he was at the right age. "Most of my male classmates are already married, some are even fathers. When I see how happy they are, I would imagine getting marriage and having children. I agree that children should be had while I am young, you can calculate how much energy you have to play with the children. I am turning 35 soon, at 45 I can still play soccer with my 10 year old son. With too much distance, the chance to spend time with the children becomes a little less. As long as work is stable and I run into the right person, I would mind getting married. However I wouldn't deliberately plan on when. I don't want to give myself the pressure to have to complete in one or two years." Whether on or off screen, many have said that marriage was the graveyard of love. Ka Lok felt that it would depend of how much you liked the other person. He said, "If you really like them, you wouldn't be afraid of any graveyard. You would just jump in together."