Lawrence Ng Says He Was “Exploited” By TVB & That He Could Make More Attending One Event In China Than Working 2 Months At The Broadcaster

We guess there goes all chances of veteran Hongkong actor Lawrence Ng returning to TVB.

The 57-year-old, who was one of the broadcaster’s top stars, thanks to his roles in hit dramas like The Hippocratic Crush II and The Healing Hands 2, left TVB in 2006 and has been working in China ever since.

The star recently opened up about the reason behind his big move to China to the Chinese media, saying, “I used to be paid a couple of thousand [HK$] a month."

HK$10K is the equivalent of S$1.7K.

Lawrence in The Hippocratic Crush II

"The rental for my home costs almost that much so it was very difficult to make ends meet. [The life of a celeb] isn’t as glamorous as people think it is... where we earn lots of money. When I was with TVB, I was often exploited and wasn’t paid a fair wage.”

Lawrence continued, “For example, when I was filming a drama, if I was supposed to be paid HK$10 for it, TVB would take HK$8 and leave HK$2 for me. It was really difficult to continue living like this. People assume that celebs earn a lot of money by filming dramas but [the reality] is that a lot of us are struggling.”

Attending an event like this would take up a few hours at most

The actor, who is now based in Shenzhen where he owns a home, says that working in China is a lot less stressful. “Even if I’m not the male lead, being the second or third lead pays so much better than what I’d get in Hongkong,” he said.

“There are also other sources of income, such as attending events. A lot of Hongkong artistes can live a good life just by attending events here. Going to just one pays you as much as two months of salary in TVB. That’s why a lot of veteran artistes are doing that instead of filming dramas. Honestly, this is a way out for us.”

Photos: PBE Media