[2023.09.08] ANSON KONG HIDES IN A DARK ROOM TO CULTIVATE FEAR

courtesy of on.cc

Director Nate Ki is pleased with Anson Kong's performance in BACK HOME, but AK still thinks he has room for improvement
courtesy of mingpao.com

MIRROR member Anson Kong Yip Sang's first lead film role BACK HOME (CHUT YUET WUI GWAI) would open soon. Earlier he spoke about the production experience and joked that he did not have the time to be scared. "The set had many people and was very hot, I would only focus on the performance; I never had the time to be scared. However actually something strange did happen there, but they never told me as they were afraid that I would be scared. I only found out after the shoot was over." He admitted that he believed the talk of ghosts and spirits, each time before work he would present incense sticks so he would not be too worried. In order to get into his character, he overcame his fear. Whenever he shot a frightening scenes he would go into a dark room alone to cultivate his emotions. "Sometimes in order to sense the fear, I would lock myself in a dark elevator and imagine what scared me when I was little. I knew outside were plenty of people, so I was OK!" As for his first lead, he admitted that although everyone has said that it was acceptable, he still felt that he had a lot of shortcomings and would keep working hard to play every role well.

"When I went to to the U.S. for the New York Asian Film Festival and watched BACK HOME, I thought my performance was iffy and had a lot of flaws. Some conditions in some spots lost continuity. Ultimately since I had less experience, I don't have enough to have a good grasp. I have talked about that with Lokman (Yeung)." The director felt that AK's performance was worth 90 points, admitting that he still had some lacking spots. They also have had discussions, like some lines could be done better. He felt that AK overall had a decent grasp on horror film's horror and atmosphere. "His character is under a lot of pressure, very intense and rough on the set."

Director Nate Ki (Tse Ka Kei) revealed that from over 20 performers and amateurs around the same age, he chose MIRROR member Anson Kong for the role. He said that before hand he sent parts of the script to the participants for homework and preparation. On the day of the audition he picked a few scenes for AK to perform. They included dramatic and horror scenes. AK did all of his homework and injected a lot of things. He had quite the shade of the protagonist and met what the director had in mind. In conversations the director also felt that he was very happy and interesting, with many aspects that have yet to be chiseled out. Tse Ka Kei remembered that on the day of the audition AK appeared without make up and with acne, which surprised him. AK said, "The company told me, the film company wants me without heavy make up. If that's the case, then I might as well go without any. Before the audition two pimples popped up, which I thought were no problem."

AK felt that the most difficult was the lack of air conditioning on the set, which was both hot and stuffy like a sauna. "The more I worked the thinner I got, which was very suitable for the role. I would find joy for myself from within, give myself a little treat and recharge. I couldn't be in an unhappy and suppressed state for a long time." He said that while training in Korea, after finishing his training and as he prepared to return to Hong Kong, one night something happened. "I shared a room with a trainee from China and one from Taiwan. One night as I slept, I felt someone sitting at the foot of my bed. I saw the Chinese roommate, who had a tattoo on his neck. However when I asked him, he denied it." Tse Ka Kei said that once while watching the playback someone tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, everyone were sitting faraway. He joked, "Maybe someone just passed by and watched the film production."