CR : test1 @ ThaiTv3 Board
This English translation is based on the chinese translation by wanpaku_doggy. I've benefitted so much from translations by huilo, wanpaku_doggy, gk, etc., so this is a little contribution in return.
2006/11/23 JUNON Vic Chou
LOVE
Vic Chou - the real side of a 25 year old
Vic Chou, a member of the super group F4, popular not only in Taiwan but in Asia as well, starred in Meteor Garden as Huazelei and made female fans all over Asia fell in love with him. He stole hearts with his large eyes, perfectly (my added adjective, hehe) proportioned face and melancholy expressions. He likes sleeping and eating and being the youngest of F4, is especially loved. Since spending 5 years in the profession, the 25-year old is now becoming more and more mature. In our first interview with Vic, let’s explore the charisma of this Hua Liu star.
Although he’s gorgeous, he has a forthright personality and comes across as very approachable and at ease. He is able to let anyone who meets him to be open and frank with him. Although Vic exudes a princely aura, he is down to earth and his favourite food is curry. Smiling shyly, “I received so much curry mix from fans from Japan I won’t be able to finish eating.” “What other Japanese food do you like?” Vic told us with a contented smile: “Roast meat is especially good, and oh, today when we arrived in Japan, I went shopping in a convenience store, and found that....อ่านไม่ออก is also very good. We had grilled eel rice for lunch today with our colleagues, I inadvertently swallowed a small piece of bone which got stuck in my throat, that was a bit uncomfortable but I’m all right now, not to worry.(smile)”
Vic, who has been straight forward and forthright during the interview interspersed with humorous responses, is affectionately referred to by fans as “ZaiZai”. Translated into Japanese, this means “little boy”.
This is what my grandmother called me when I was little. But I am already 25 years old. Although I may still be childish in certain aspects, I know I am an adult now, and I feel that I need to progress and mature.
So what is his personality like? He’s the youngest member of F4 and tends to be spoiled. When the four appear together in press conferences, he always manages to liven the occasion and atmosphere up with his smiles and jokes. And because of ZaiZai, other members of F4 can respond to reporters’ questions with relaxed and happy state of mind. “People around me tend to say I am able to liven up an occasion, in Chinese we usually refer to someone like this as..ตัวจีนอ่านไม่ออก(a person who is able to make people around him happy), and I have been referred to as a ตัวจีนอ่านไม่ออกtoo. Apparently ตัวจีนตัวเดิม..55 is a kind of food that can make people feel happy. Because I am the youngest of the 4, I can joke in interviews and be light hearted, and probably because of this, people tend to think of me as an adorable little brother.”
In addition to this innocent side, as an actor, his improvement is extensive and obvious. As widely known, when he entered the profession 5 years ago, he had no interest in the entertainment world, and was discovered by the producer of Meteor Garden coincidentally when he accompanied a friend to the audition, to become HuaZeLei.
In the beginning when I first entered this profession, I didn’t really have any goals to work towards as it was not something I had wanted to do in the first place. After Meteor Garden was aired, all of a sudden as if overnight, there was a lot of commotion around us. Thinking back, I felt as if I was at loss of what I should be doing (smile). If I can say something to the Vic then, I would tell him to be articulate with his dialogue.
As for Meteor Garden being broadcast in Japan again, zaizai blushes, drops his head and said “It’s a bit embarrassing; I somehow can’t bear to watch my performance”. Zaizai’s charisma comes from consistently treating people with sincerity and being genuine, unchanged even though he has already become a superstar. So which aspects would Zaizai prefer to be complimented on?
I have often received compliments on my looks and being cute/adorable, etc, these being more superficial aspects. Of course I am happy since people are sincere in their compliments. However I would prefer to hear people’s compliments about my acting, such as how I have acted very well in a certain scene.
Although he entered this profession with absolutely no prior training and foundation, Zai Zai is raising the bar on himself as an actor. And as a matter of fact, after Meteor Garden, Vic starred as the main character in Poor Prince, and he also showed his serious acting skills in Mars. As an actor, his improvement is obvious to all. Currently, Vic has a challenging role in Silence, which is being broadcasted on BS TV, as a young man with only 3 months to live. Being a drama series about a couple that fate has played a joke on, Zai Zai hopes that the series can show the intense belief about love. This leads to our interest for zaizai’s views on love that are consistent with his age.
What is love? This is a difficult question. I think it is about facing it with courage but this is not enough. I am not qualified to elaborate on the topic of love. (Smile) I think love is a topic that a life time may not be long enough to understand. Silence talks about obstacles to love, I am a person who dares to take on and face the obstacles around me. Even if it is not very romantic, I think some kind of obstacles to love may happen to anybody. I am a person who is loyal to my own feelings, and will not be influenced by opposing views around me. Other that this, I think it is important to be confident. If there is no confidence, everything will be difficult to achieve.
Ny aspiration is to be a responsible and reliable man
Although Vic chooses his words carefully, he still comes across as sincere and genuine with no pretence. We are deeply attracted by such a straightforward person. More importantly, his charisma is complemented by the masculinity that is increasingly emanating from him. During the F4 concert in HK this spring, as if wanting to be rid of his princely clean image, Zai Zai will show audience a sexy and bold performance of dancing off his clothes while he sings.
I admire men with marked individuality, very masculine. In terms of appearance, they should have telltale signs of age on their forehead and eyes. For the middle aged men, they don’t need to do anything except stand in front of the audience and they can exude their charisma. In terms of acting, my current exercise is how to project and express a mature image beyond my age through changes in inner expressions rather than through appearance.
Zaizai is concentrating on working concurrently on his debut movie and another drama series. So what are Zaizai’s dreams for the future?
I am actually quite greedy (smile). I want to try out all kinds of things. I want to challenge the roles that I have not played before. I want to play somebody who has been deeply pained, or try playing someone who is abnormal psychologically. Through books and reports, I know that these parts cannot be fully and effectively portrayed without the prerequisite good acting skills. So I hope that one day I will have the opportunity to take on this type of roles.
From his earnest and sincere attitude towards acting, I believe the day that ZaiZai can play this type of role will not be far. Lastly, in terms of goals as a grown man, Zaizai said a bit shyly:
First of all, I hope I can become an upright and responsible person. I hope I can be regarded as trusting and dependable by the women and everyone else around me. I will work diligently towards this goal.
Credit English translation by abcdef4zz@vicpower.net
)
