TAIPEI – Here’s a tip: if you ever find yourself needing to say no to Vivian Hsu (oh, poor you): Try not to look into her eyes.

Because when you do, you’ll find yourself lost, staring at the 38-year-old’s beautiful, electrifying eyes and flawless skin, your heart beating more quickly as you try to remember your next question. Or your name. Or the fact that your face probably looks like an oversized pancake next to her tiny, pixie-like one.

Call her what you will - actress, singer, lyricist, model, sex goddess. We learned the hard way, during our interview for her new film Rhythm Of The Rain at W Hotel in Taipei, that no one escapes her easy manners and intoxicating charm.

And yes, that includes tired, cynical female reporters.

Q: What surprised you most about working with Vincent Fang?

A: Well, it has to be his transition from lyricist to director. He has a lot of heavy responsibilities as a director. I write lyrics too, and songwriting is a lonely process. You can finish your work alone in a room. But as director, you have to take care of many other things, including the artistic direction, communicating with the cast, the editing and post-production. So I think he’s really brave and talented. And his mind ... through this film we can see his creativity. In the past he’s always shown that side of him through his lyrics. But now he’s speaking through images. This morning, I gave him a note that I’d written last night. He seemed to really like it, and asked me to recite it on stage today! Were you there this afternoon?

Q: Yes I was watching you offstage.

A: I started stammering because I couldn’t remember what I’d written! (laughs) I read it to him today, because I’d written the note as a foreword to the movie’s photo book. He’s written so many songs, but I think the way his mind works is so much more beautiful in person. He’s creative every day. He comes up with something completely new some days when he arrives on set, something that is not already written in the script. He speaks through the camera, and he’s always thinking about how he should shoot a scene. And I think that’s beautiful.

Q: Is he very reserved?

A: The director? Well he’s reserved, but it’s brought him a sense of humour, and he’s really funny. (laughs) This morning, we were filming something, and every time his mouth moved we would just start laughing.

Q: Did you bully him on set?

A: Oh, who would dare to, my goodness! The director’s the most important person on set, who would be brave enough to bully him? Plus, he’s a very good leader. He makes people feel comfortable, and accomplishes what he needs to at the same time.

Q: Have you thought about writing a song with him?

A: In the movie I perform two songs – the first, a duet with Alan Kuo, is written by him. I’ve released more than twenty albums, but I’ve never sung anything like this. The entire song is performed in falsetto. And he’s always been very literary, plus Alan Kuo’s rap – the rap written by Vincent Fang – it’s quite a difficult song. His lyrics aren’t exactly contemporary Chinese. So if you don’t read the lyrics you might not know what we’re singing. But the arrangement of the song is really exciting. The lyrics to the other song are written by me – Come Love Me. And my style is really a lot more contemporary, more direct. So in a sense, we worked together musically on this film.

Q: But have you thought about writing song lyrics together?

A: I don’t even now what that might become of that! A person from ancient times and a modern person! (laughs loudly)

Q: Yes, it could be a duet.

A: I think that should be interesting! In the movie, we had to focus on (my character) Sharon. But in the future, if I were to release another music album, I think Vincent Fang would support me if I asked him to write song lyrics for me. Maybe then we can use your great idea.

Q: Okay, and you have been in the entertainment industry for ... 18 years?

A: 24. (laughs) I just counted, recently.

Q: I’m 25, by the way.

A: God! So you were one year old when ... I’ve become the jie jie (Mandarin for “elder sister”).

Q: But you look great, obviously. Much better than any 25-year-old.

A: That’s because Vivian jie jie uses Singapore’s Bio-essence. (laughs)

Q: Now you’re just taking the opportunity to promote the product you endorse. But do tell us, you play a college student in Rhythm Of The Rain – what’s most challenging about that?

A: When we’re teenagers and haven’t gone through a lot in life, our eyes betray our innocence. We have clear eyes, so to speak. Well, that’s not to say that our eyes aren’t clear now, or that we are all long-sighted! (laughs) We’ve gone through more, and yes, we can keep our hearts youthful, but it’s easy to see the experience and wisdom in our gaze. You have to take that away (for the role), and I find that really challenging. For (my character) Sharon – I can’t really play the guitar, for example, but I can learn for the role. It’s easy to add something that you don’t yet know, and more difficult to remove something that you already know. So when I film scenes set in school, I close my eyes and let my heart go silent, and remember what I was like as a teenager in school. And when I open my eyes, it becomes easier to portray the character. But if your heart can’t be still, you can’t trick anyone with your gaze.

Q: What have you learned, as an adult, that you wish you had known as a teenager?

A: I think people shape their values and their perspectives as they go through different stages in life, because they continue experiencing and feeling different things in life. In the past, I would work really, really hard. I really worked so hard, even at the expense of my life. Now I think it’s really important to be healthy. So now I work hard, but I don’t faint anymore. My motto used to be – it’s okay to work till just before I faint. And my highest record was, I went a whole week without sleeping, flying around for work. But now I think it’s important to work hard, but it’s also important to rest well when it’s time to rest. In the past, my family wasn’t very well-to-do, so I appreciated every single job opportunity, and would work to my bones. I didn’t have a choice. I had a job, so I felt like I had to cherish each opportunity. But now, like Vincent Fang said, he’s very happy because he can do what he likes every day for a living. So I think I’m very fortunate. Life for my family is no longer so hard. So now I would like to pursue the life of an ordinary person. I haven’t been able to live an ordinary life, so I would like to pull some of it back to my life now.

Q: Is that possible?

A: Yes, as long as you make time for it.

Q: But your schedule still looks insane to me.

A: Alan Kuo and I made four movies each this year. We were just chatting earlier, I asked him, “how’s your new movie coming along?” He said, “we’re still shooting”. And I said, “gosh, why is the shoot for your movie in Malaysia so long?” And he said “oh, that’s wrapped, but I am now making another movie.” And I said, “wow, your schedule’s worse than mine!”

Q: Then how do you find time to do the things that you like to do?

A: It’s possible, it’s still possible to make the arrangements. Family is still really important to me. So no matter ... actually three years ago my father fell gravely ill. So from then, I changed the way I thought about work. My father almost left us. So I realised how important it is to spend time with my family, and to stay healthy. As long as we can live humbly, that’s enough. Family is still the most important.

Q: Many people think of you as sexy, or cute. And in the film you play a rocker. But how would you describe yourself in real life?

A: (Pause) I think I’m more easy-going in person. I take good care of the people around me. I love my family and friends. I love to give, without thinking of receiving. So I’m very happy.

Q: Does that get tiring?

A: Nope. It’s better to give than to receive. What you said earlier ... it’s because I’ve spent many years in the entertainment industry. I’m an actress, and also a singer. I’ve accepted many challenging roles that I never thought would be possible, for example songwriting, hosting or even releasing Japanese albums. Many people have given me many titles, and that’s okay. Because we’re here to perform, we’re here to accept all sorts of challenging roles. That’s how we find originality, that’s how we find more possibilities. I think it’s a failure, if the audience stops looking forward to your performances. If they look forward to each one of your new shows, or your new music albums, then you’ve succeeded.

Q: You perform in a band with your ex-boyfriend in the movie. Would you agree to something like that in your personal life? Do you keep in touch with your exes?

A: Not really. I think the distance ... A lot of people can. But I can’t. But we wouldn’t become enemies. We still greet each other when we meet.

Q: And if you did like someone, would you fight with other women for him?

A: I wouldn’t, if it involves one of my good friends. This depends on fate. If he doesn’t belong to you, there’s no use fighting for him. These things have to happen naturally. If my good friend and I fall for the same person, I would let her have him. I’d rather see my friend find happiness.

Q: But it’s never happened before?

A: No it hasn’t. (laughs) Luckily, we all have different tastes in men!

Q: Okay, last question. What is your biggest dream right now?

A: I’d like to continue being a happy person. (smiles)

Rhythm Of The Rain premieres in Singapore on Oct 10.