Hongkong actor Alex Fong Chung Sun, 57, was a guest on a recent episode of TVB talkshow Bong Bong, Amigo! where he talked about his early days in showbiz. In 1986, his older sister suggested he model, which led to him becoming an actor. Less than a year later, he landed the lead role in movie Life Is A Moment Story, though he said the experience was less than pleasant.

“At that time, the film industry was obsessed with hierarchy, so we newbies had a really rough time. Every day at work, there would be people (he’s referring to the more experienced crew) who would ‘greet’ us,” he shared, adding that he would never watch his old movies. “Rewatching the shows I did in the past makes me disgusted,” he said.

Throughout his long career, Alex has often been called the “Richard Gere of the East”. While that may seem like a compliment to many, Alex revealed that he actually hated people calling him that.

In fact, he still loathes it, a fact that he didn’t bother to hide when he was asked about it. “Can you don’t keep talking about [Richard Gere]? He is in his seventies, you ask any young person now if they know who he is. It’s pointless [to talk about this],” the straight-talking actor added.

Alex says his shoot-from-the-hip personality has offended many people in showbiz over the years.

“I later told myself that I would only say 30 per cent of what I feel, as for the other 70 per cent, I would analyse it myself,” he said. When asked if this means he talks less now, Alex said “Wisdom comes after experience, and I’ve accumulated so many unnecessary experiences!”

Alex, whose real name is Fu Lik, joined TVB in 1992 and has starred in many hit dramas like 1995's ICAC Investigators and 2001's Burning Flame II. He is also known his leading roles in movies like the award-winning One Nite In Mongkok (2004). In 2008 he married 1993 Miss Hongkong pageant winner Hoyan Mok and they had their daughter Fu Ka-Ching the same year.

Photos: Weibo