Anita Yuen says she was only ever intimidated by one actor — Leslie Cheung; reveals how their first scene together was an epic fail
Much has been written about Hong Kong actress Anita Yuen's scrappy and straightforward personality.
Over the years, the now 52-year-old has been painted by the media as an overbearing, ‘my-way-or-the-highway’ kind of star — the complete opposite of her easy-going husband, Julian Cheung.
Anita got her start in showbiz after winning the Miss Hong Kong pageant in 1990 when she was just 18.
The actress was born into a family of police officers, nine to be exact, and spent most of her childhood living in a police dormitory.
According to Anita, she was “wilder” and “more daring” than most kids, so much so that her mum never allowed her to go for school camps.
“Maybe she was afraid I would beat some [other kid] up, or get into trouble,” she explained.
Even during her time at the Miss Hong Kong pageant, Anita had trouble fitting in due to her “rowdy personality”.
“Did you already start offending people back then?” asked a curious Yifeng.
“Of course I did. But I also met some benefactors. I got to know some journalists, and at some point, maybe it was because I was confident in winning the pageant, I went overboard with some of the things I said. They would warn me [against saying those things] or suggest I change the way I phrased things,” said Anita.
She continued: “I understood their advice, but I hadn’t learnt from it yet. At that time, I only knew to avoid those that didn’t like me. I only spoke to journalists that I was familiar with. That in turn, made me offend the people who didn’t like me more. I didn’t know how to make peace with them ‘cos I was unaware of what they were thinking.”
In 1994, Anita worked with Leslie Cheung on He’s A Woman, She’s A Man
Anita found success right at the start of her career.
She won Best New Performer at the Hong Kong Film Awards for her big screen debut in The Days of Being Dumb (1993). She would go on to win Best Actress in 1994 and 1995 for her performances in C’est la vie, mon cheri and He's a Woman, She's a Man.
As Yifeng put it, Anita’s success as a newbie has not been matched by anyone since.
“I was definitely lucky, it’s something that can’t be denied. I was also lucky to have met [director] Peter Chan, who gave me many opportunities,” said Anita.
When she was still a newbie, Anita had already worked with A-listers, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Anita Mui, and Tony Leung.
Yifeng wanted to know how Anita coped with the stress of acting with such big names.
The actress attributed it to being “young and fearless”.
“It’s a trait young Anita had. I was not scared of anything. I was young and [it was a time where] I wasn’t afraid of offending others with my words. I could eat a lot without watching my weight, and go out without fearing danger,” she said.
However, Anita admitted to being afraid of one actor — Leslie Cheung.
Describing her meeting with the late star as a “setback”, Anita recalled: “During the start of my career, I worked with Tony Leung and Jacky Cheung. Of course, I [didn’t act out of place] then, I quietly learnt from the sidelines. They were nice to newbies, and I never felt intimidated by their presence. I also did not have the feeling that I couldn’t match up to them while acting.”
However, things were completely different when she worked with Leslie on He’s A Woman, She’s A Man.
“My memory is good when it comes to learning my scripts. If you gave me lines to memorise in the morning, I would be able to film those scenes in the afternoon,” revealed Anita.
“The very first scene I filmed with Leslie, I had to introduce my character. I had a good understanding of the relationship between his and Carina Lau’s characters in the show, and I had to recite two full pages of lines. That was never a problem for me,” she recalled.
During their first meeting, Leslie told her: “I heard you’re very good at memorising scripts.”
At that point, Anita humbly told him she was “okay at it”.
“However, when we started filming, I had almost 10 NG takes. I suddenly felt scared. I had to talk about their relationship, and I couldn’t deliver my lines as though I was just reciting words. I had to deliver it [smoothly] in a way that brought across the right emotions.”
That was when Anita started to doubt herself.
“I wanted to show him that besides being good at memorising my script, I could also deliver my lines well with the right emotions. That in turn, resulted in me making mistakes,” she said, adding that it was a setback “she will never forget”.
Anita really wanted to impress Leslie, but her plan backfired
On the topic of being labelled as “bad tempered” in the media, Anita said: “I cannot deny that I am bad tempered. Maybe it’s because I’m too stuck in my ways. Like how I avoided the journalists who didn’t like me. It’s a habit that I still have today. If I’m not able to earn your favour, I will let it go.”
For example, if she was working on a show, and there were issues with lighting or the location that caused the filming to overrun, she would speak up about it.
“I can’t help it. I feel like if my [work hours] were scheduled from a certain time to a certain time, that’s what we should stick to. I offended people ‘cos of that. I would start scolding people,” said Anita, who also admitted to being “rigid” that way.
She would approach the producers and tell them off for the delay. She recalled saying to them: “If you’re not going to start filming, I will leave.”
Yifeng then asked: “You won’t be able to leave even if you scolded them, no?”
With a laugh, Anita replied: “Usually after getting scolded, they would let [me] leave.”
“Of course I still became friends with some of the people I scolded. We would hang out for drinks after work. If they understand you, they would be okay with it. But for others, maybe they’re stuck in a difficult situation themselves and couldn't understand [me]. Some are also simply not efficient enough at their jobs to help,” said Anita.
Photos: Hear You Out/meWATCH, Sohu
Catch part 2 of the episode below, or watch both episodes of Hear U Out on meWATCH.
