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How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
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How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China

It’s all thanks to this little show called Story Of Yanxi Palace.

How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
The lines were very challenging for me ’cos the kind of Chinese they used is not the everyday kind of Chinese. And I’m known to be an actor who can memorise my lines very well but this really got me. And the weather was very harsh too. We filmed for four months and all through summer. Can you imagine wearing so many layers and filming in Hengdian where the temperature was like over 40 degree Celsius? It was crazy! You would just perspire like mad after every line. And the director would say, “Cut! Wipe your sweat!” Which made it hard to get into the role ’cos you’re distracted all the time, by the sweat and the wiping of the sweat.
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
I thought about that as well ’cos you only see the outermost layers. But we had to do that ’cos [the layers] helped to form the shape of the costume. Actually, we cheated a bit. It was supposed to be even more layers but we just wore the bare minimum to achieve the desired shape of the imperial guard uniform.
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
My bosses told me that I would have to either wear a cap, or sunglasses or a mask, or a combination of the three when I leave the house, ’cos I would definitely get mobbed or recognised. I didn’t believe them initially but just that day in China, I went downstairs and across the road from my house to buy something and true enough, a lot of people came up to me to ask for photographs (laughs).
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
Food, games, travelling. They would all say they want to come to Singapore to visit me and that I would have to show them around (laughs). They asked me what language we speak in Singapore, why my Mandarin is so good and if every Singaporean speaks Mandarin as well as I do (laughs). They haven’t come across many Singaporean actors in China in recent years so they’re curious about what Singapore is like. Is it really very strict? Are you really not allowed to have chewing gum? Stuff like that.
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
For me, it’s really about luck and timing. Yes, I’ve worked hard for many years, like in Singapore, when I was feeling down about not getting the kind of roles that I want or the opportunities that other people had. But I also feel like this luck and timing is an accumulation of the hard work I’ve put in over the years. Making sure I stay relevant, making sure that I’m always improving my craft. I cannot stress how difficult it is in China. If you think you’re very good-looking, there are lots of people so much better looking than you. If you think you are very talented or that you can act so freaking well, there are a lot of people who are more talented than you. And they all come from very good acting schools. So I have been very lucky so far. I came here expecting to starve and not have jobs but within a month or so, I got my first role in a big show.
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
Lawrence as Hai Lan Cha.
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
Who knew portable fans were an imperial guard’s best friend back in the day? Here, Lawrence and Xu Kai cool themselves down in the 40-degree heat.
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
Lawrence on a skateboarding break with his co-stars Xu Kai (left) and Hong Yao, who plays Prince He, the Emperor’s fiendish younger brother.
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
Lawrence with Qin Lan on the set of Yanxi.
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
“We’re like brother and sister,” he says of Qin Lan, who plays the kindhearted Empress in Yanxi.
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
Yanxi was filmed over four months, during summer where temperatures soared to over 40-degrees Celsius.
How Former Ch 8 Star Lawrence Wong Went From “Unknown” To Getting Mobbed Outside His House In China
Are you surprised his shirtless pics have taken the Internet by storm?
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Jonathan Fam
By Jonathan Fam
Published September 2, 2018
Updated August 27, 2019
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According to Google, Lawrence Wong isn’t the most famous Lawrence Wong in Singapore. That honour would have to go our National Development Minister. But being the most famous Lawrence Wong in Singapore isn’t what the Beijing-based Singaporean actor is gunning for. He has his sights set on much bigger things.

You might have seen him in this little show called Story Of Yanxi Palace, which you should probably drop everything to watch right now, if you aren’t already a fan. It’s an understatement to say that the Qing Dynasty period drama has taken Asia by storm. Thanks to its super addictive story about palace politics and scheming concubines, steered by the most badass heroine since the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (she should be called The Girl With the Jade Hairpin), and the most heartbreaking love story since Romeo and Juliet, the drama, which moves at breakneck speed and doesn’t belabour any plotline, has shattered viewership records in China. As of Aug 23, Yanxi has racked up a cumulative 11.2 billion views online and a whopping 530 million viewers on iQiyi, China’s biggest streaming platform. The drama, which ended its 70-ep run last week, is also massively popular in Hongkong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam, and is now airing on cable here.

In the drama, Lawrence, whose Chinese name is Wang Guan Yi, plays Hai Lan Cha, a kindhearted imperial guard, who is the best friend and comic foil to the drama’s resident heartthrob, Fu Heng (played by the impossibly swoon-worthy Xu Kai). Lawrence’s character, who’s surrounded by some of the vilest, craftiest women ever written for TV but remains untainted by all the double-crossing and betrayal, is immensely likeable. And it has propelled the actor, who says he was an “unknown” in China before the drama aired, to major fame. Ever since Yanxi became must-stream TV, Lawrence’s Weibo followers have skyrocketed from 600k to 2mil while his Instagram followers have gone from 135K to 193K. Last week, he also made it onto the list of most influential artistes in China. He came in at No. 35, no mean feat considering the sheer number of celebrities over there. Safe to say, things
The media in China have also gone gaga over Lawrence, waxing lyrical about his good looks, which alternates between puppy dog-cute and rebel with a cause, and his sculpted bod. He is, in other words, in-demand and very busy, busy, busy now. On the day of this interview, he had taken a red-eye flight back to Beijing, gone straight to work doing promos for Yanxi and had a magazine shoot. In a couple of days, he would be travelling to Hengdian to film a new period drama, where he plays a — we’re not kidding — merman. But for now, we have him all to ourselves, albeit over the phone via WeChat, from Beijing. 8 DAYS: Congrats on the success of Yanxi! How different is your life now? LAWRENCE WONG: Thanks! (Laughs) Well, I guess a lot more people know me now. Not just in Singapore but China, Taiwan, Hongkong, Vietnam... It feels like it’s different yet not so different. Work-wise
What is Qin Lan like as a person? I’m very close to her ’cos she is one of my bosses. I’m signed to her company. She is really one artiste who is the same on-and-off screen. Once when we were shooting together, we stumbled upon a stray dog and she rescued it. She got her driver to take the dog to the vet and paid for all its medical fees. She’s very kindhearted. I’m not trying to be politically-correct here — she’s really like that. How did you get signed to her company? She and her team came to Singapore to shoot a campaign for the Singapore Tourism Board — she was the Chinese ambassador for STB. The boss of my Singapore management company introduced me and some other artistes to her. We hit it off and they asked me if I was willing to go to China. I was like, “Of course!” I needed new challenges and there was nothing to lose for me. It wasn’t like I was an
The bulk of your scenes are with Xu Kai, who has become the biggest heartthrob in China. He’s the one who taught me how to skateboard. And we would go skateboarding after filming. He’s very good at… in China, there’s this term called ‘liao mei’. It means he’s very good at… he has a way with girls lah (laughs). What did you and the rest of the cast members chat about on set? Oh, everything, man. Food, games, travelling. They would all say they want to come to Singapore to visit me and that I would have to show them around (laughs). Do they ask about life in Singapore? Yeah. They asked me what language we speak in Singapore, why my Mandarin is so good and if every Singaporean speaks Mandarin as well as I do (laughs). They haven’t come across many Singaporean actors in China in recent years so they’re curious about what Singapore is like. Is it really very
What’s the toughest part about filming this show? The lines were very challenging for me ’cos the kind of Chinese they used is not the everyday kind of Chinese. And I’m known to be an actor who can memorise my lines very well but this really got me. And the weather was very harsh too. We filmed for four months and all through summer. Can you imagine wearing so many layers and filming in Hengdian where the temperature was like over 40 degree Celsius? It was crazy! You would just perspire like mad after every line. And the director would say, “Cut! Wipe your sweat!” Which made it hard to get into the role ’cos you’re distracted all the time, by the sweat and the wiping of the sweat. You guys did not look like you were sweating at all! Yeah… But actually there were a few scenes where you could see us sweating, like a drop of sweat trickling down our faces (laughs).
Now that the show’s a massive success, do you feel that you’ve finally done well for yourself? I get what you’re asking and I thought that I might feel that way but I don’t. Firstly, I don’t think I’m there there. It’s just that ’cos of this show that more people know me and my path forward might be smoother. But I have to continue working hard to progress in my career. I ask that because China is a massive market, and it’s hard for anyone to get a big break ’cos of the sheer amount of competition. For me, it’s really about luck and timing. Yes, I’ve worked hard for many years, like in Singapore, when I was feeling down about not getting the kind of roles that I want or the opportunities that other people had. But I also feel like this luck and timing is an accumulation of the hard work I’ve put in over the years. Making sure I stay relevant, making sure

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Yanxi Palace Lawrence Wong China

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