No. 1 sexual fantasy of Taiwan girls gets his break
GOOD looks and musical talent combined to earn him the title of the No. 1 sexual fantasy of Taiwanese girls in an online poll in July this year.
But hordes of admiring fans may not be Wang Lee Hom's cup of tea; he has said he does not want to be idolised and relishes the control and focus he has over his career.
The Asian-American singer-songwriter-producer, who is from New York, released his first Mandarin album, Rival Beethoven, in 1995, and has released six more since. Besides writing his own songs, Wang also produces most of the albums himself.
He was named the most outstanding male singer at the TVB 8 Mandarin Music Awards in July this year. China Strike Force is his first attempt at acting and he plays Alex, a police officer in it.
Wang reflected on his budding career and the movie.
Q What was it like to do your own stunts?
A It was very challenging. Stanley had a gongfu teacher teach me in Shanghai for a few weeks. I love Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, and Stanley Tong movies, so to be able to star in a movie like China Strike Force is like a childhood fantasy.
I'm not really an actor, and this is my first time on the big screen, so I was really doing this for fun. It was a learning experience. Stanley, the way he does stunts, he's very off the cuff. He'll walk onto the set and say, 'Hey, Lee Hom, how about you jump through that window and kick the guy? Can you do that?'
Stanley has so much experience, if you just give him a bit of room he'll come up with something creative.
Q And was filming the movie what you expected it would be?
A No, not really. It took much longer than I expected. A lot of the time was just waiting around. If the weather wasn't right, we couldn't shoot and we'd have to take the day off. There are a lot of things you can't control in filming a movie that I didn't think of.
Q You also acted in Tekken recently, another action movie. Is there something about action movies, or is it a coincidence?
A Even five years ago, if you asked me what movie I would want to act in, I would have told you it was an action film. In Asia, they have this real strength in action films, people like Stanley Tong. And he's very recognised internationally as a good director.
Besides, I don't see myself as a very good actor, so in an action film, you don't have that many lines. You can do a lot of fighting and stuff, which I feel comfortable doing. It's a good start for me because I can get my dose of acting, but it's not above what I can do.
Q What was the worst part about acting in the movie?
A Seeing myself on screen. I'm not very used to it yet. It's like when you record your voice and you hear it, or if you see yourself on a screen, 'Oh, do I really look like that?'
When I see myself in the first movie, I become hyper-critical, like I don't like the way I deliver a particular line. That's why it's really good to have a director like Stanley. I can trust him to edit it for me, because I wouldn't be able to edit myself.
Q Does acting compromise your musical work?
A You can't expect a person to just do music his whole life. It's important for a musician to do other things, or he'll become very narrow as a person. There are lots of things I like to do, like going to a museum, or watching movies.
One of the things I was warned about by my mentors when I was just in my teens deciding on pursuing a career in music, was to make sure that I didn't just do music.
The worst thing about some musicians is they only know music. That's not what being an artist means. The important thing is not the music. It's what you say.
Q What's the one thing you refused to give up for your career that's costing you the most?
A It's insisting on writing and producing my songs. First of all, the record company gives me double the pressure in terms of getting sales, since I'm responsible for practically all aspects of the albums.
It also means I don't have that much time to make new music as much as I'd like to. But the most important thing for me in my contract with Sony Music is the clause that says I'm the producer. That means I have complete say about how I want my music to be.