[2026.04.15] TAIWAN STARS MAKE THE PILGRIMMAGE TO TONY LEUNG CHIU WAI'S MASTER CLASS

Tony Leung Chiu Wai compares himself to evening tuberose, saying that outside work he is a regular person and would only shine at work.

Carina Lau accompanies her husband Tony Leung Chiu Wai to promote his new film in Taiwan

Tony Leung Chiu Wai and director Ildiko Enyedi pose for a photo with the audience
courtesy of mingpao.com

Tony Leung Chiu Wai and his wife Carina Lau Ka Ling went to Taiwan to promote the movie SILENT FRIEND, and attended the master class and post-screening discussion at the Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival the night before, attracting many Taiwanese stars to make pilgrimages. They included Gwei Lun-mei, Cheryl Yang Jinhua, Sandrina Pinna (Cheung Yung Yung) and Ko Chia-yen. He shared "one day of Leung Chiu Wai", revealing that while not at work he would exercise, watch movies, go for drives. The new film used a centuries-old ginkgo tree as the core image, and Leung Chiu Wai used evening tuberose as a metaphor for himself: ordinary during the day and only emitted fragrance at night. He also said that he has never resisted the nude scene in the film, thinking that it is part of the role.

Leung Chiu Wai and his wife Lau Ka Ling arrived in Taiwan the day before yesterday, and he attended the master class and post- screening discussion at the Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival in the evening. Yesterday he attended the press conference of SILENT FRIENDS with Hungarian female director Ildiko Enyedi. The master class the night before attracted many Taiwanese artists such as Guei Lun-mei, Cheryl Yang, Sandrine Pinna, Ko Chia-yen and Tseng Jing-hua. Thousands of film professionals signed up, in the end only 300 lucky people obtained the "class qualification" as they wished.

Three time Golden Horse Best Actor Leung Chiu Wai went to Taiwan the day before yesterday to give a lecture, and two time Golden Horse "Best Supporting Actor" Liu Kuan-ting interviewed him to share his experience in filming for more than 40 years. Wai Jai talked about his views on acting, believing that the focus of performance is whether you are in the state or not. If you are relaxed and focused during acting, the performance can enter the condition. He also provided some methods that could help with entering the character, such as designing something small, the character's mental state, condition, and background setting, any method would do. He talked about his performance that was praised for his "eyes can act", and said that he did not deliberately do it, but felt that his eyes reflected his inner thoughts.

Leung Chiu Wai shared "One Day of Leung Chiu Wai", revealing that if he was not at work, he would usually exercise as soon as he gets up, have lunch, and then go out for a drive; if there is a good movie, he would watch a movie, eat salad and soba noodles in the evening, and watch a good TV series or a good book after dinner. He said that he started exercising because he felt that actors need a lot of energy. "If I am not in good enough shape, when I run into emotional scenes that would need to be shot multiple times I really would want to die."

As a Best Actor Leung Chiu Wai admitted that he had encountered overweight emotional scenes and a director kept yelling cut like mad, "That director later asked me to make a film and I refused. I wouldn't mention which director. In short, it requires a lot of physical fitness. When I started exercising, I have already reached the state I should be." Referring to his experience of working with different directors, Leung Chiu Wai said that he often met and chatted with Wong Kar Wai before collaborating, because without a script he needed to trust the director and know what the director needed. "Although I don't know what Wong Kar Wai wants." He said that when he made DAYS OF BEING WILD (AH FEI JING JUEN), the scene in which he and Maggie Cheung Yuk Man ate pears took thirty or forty takes and Wong Kar Wai did not say why. When he got home he was very unhappy, thinking why he was still unable to achieve such a simple shot. It was not until he collaborated with director Hou Hsiao-hsien on CITY OF SADNESS that he was inspired to begin reading literary novels, which helped his performance by describing scenes and reactions in a rich, detailed and specific way, and began to change his acting style. "Until one day, I went to see my own shot in DAYS OF BEING WILD and I knew what my condition was. Wong Kar Wai wanted me to have no trace of acting." He starred in the Jeff Lau Chun Wai directed comedy film EAGLE SHOOTING HEROES. Leung Chiu Wai said that he was very relaxed because he was working with a familiar team. Lau Chun Wai would demonstrate for him, he joked, "His performance is funnier than mine."

Leung Chiu Wai revealed that SILENT FRIEND director Ildiko Enyedi sent him several books on neuroscience, plants, and philosophy. He not only read a lot of books, but also convinced himself that he was a neuroscientist. His friends even jokingly asked him, "Since you are studying so seriously, are you going for the doctorate degree?" He praised Ildiko Enyedi for being very good at guiding the actors. He was not nervous at all when working with her. He did not resist the nude performance in the film either, because it was part of the character's experimentation.

The film centered itself around a centuries-old ginkgo tree. Using trees as a metaphor for herself, the director chose a birch tree while Leung laughed and said that he was like an evening tuberose (which was also another term for manure): ordinary during the day and only emitted fragrance at night. "Just like I am an ordinary person when I leave work, I only shine when I work." He felt that he had no special pursuit at this stage, "I just want to enjoy every creation, this time the preparation time is longer. It was like facing a table of good dishes, slowly tasting each dish."

In the film industry for more than 40 years, Leung Chiu Wai would now leave his comfort zone and choose to work with other unfamiliar teams and all new creative environment. He wanted to make himself "unaccustomed to it", "Because only when you are not used to it, would there be new things. Now is the final stage of my performance. There is nothing to be afraid of, so I would try a little more new things."

In an interview with the media, Leung Chiu Wai confirmed the legend of buying 6 seats at a cinema. He explained, "I was afraid that the people next to me wouldn't watch the movie and would only watch me." During this trip to Taiwan, Leung Chiu Wai met some fans who have followed him for decades and felt that they have not changed. Some fans mentioned that the last time they saw him was 20 years ago. Leung Chiu Wai said, "Thank you for their continued support to me, and I hope that I won't take so long before seeing them again in the future."

Wai Jai's first European film SILENT FRIEND would open today in South Korea. He visited South Korea again from the 2nd to the 4th of this month, and was interviewed by a Korean magazine during his stay in South Korea with Korean actor Lee Jung-jae as the host. Wai Jai reiterated that he has filmed the popular Korean girl group NewJeans' song "Cool With You" music video without pay in the past. "When I was filming the music video, I actually didn't get paid. I thought of it as giving a small gift to Korean fans at that time." Lee Jung-jae also revealed that the music video director showed off to others, "He showed off to people everywhere, saying that he was so honored and very excited to be able to shoot with actor Tony Leung."