Moses Chan Blames TVB for Dull Acting in “Line Walker: The Prelude”

In the currently airing Line Walker: The Prelude <使徒行者2>Moses Chan‘s (陳豪) portrayal as a triad kingpin is one-dimensional and dull. This deeply contrasts with Moses’ previous performances in Heart of Greed <溏心風暴> and War and Beauty <金枝慾孽>, which solidified him as a capable actor. Is Moses’ dull performance in recent roles a reflection of a declining passion in his acting?

As Moses only films one TVB series per year in order to focus on his coffee shop and spend more time with wife Aimee Chan (陳茵媺) and their three children, some viewers believe that Moses may no longer be prioritizing his acting career.

As though to address his recent poor performances, Moses took an indirect jab at TVB in a recent episode of Luisa Maria Leitao’s (黎芷珊) talk show, Telling Maria <最佳拍檔>. He cited the production crew for their lack of preparation, poor script, and time management.

Moses said, “Actually, I’ve always said this. It’s not about how far I can go. It is more about how profound a character can be written. As an actor, I can go as in-depth as you want, but it depends on how extensive the character is written.

“Also, how much time will they allow me to do prep work? Take a movie for example. If you give the actor enough time to get into character and spend enough time to elaborate on the internal world of the character, there is a lot an actor can achieve.”

Moses added that he felt that TVB’s the standards for acting performances have declined in recent years. “In a television [drama], I think the expectations these days are not very high. To be honest, even if you can go in-depth with the acting, but you will not feel it onscreen. Why? Because [the scene] won’t be portrayed on a deep level, so I always say it depends on the drama’s requirements.”

As a lead actor, should Moses attribute his performance to the lack of support from the production crew and staff? Should he have the responsibility to give his best efforts despite a poor script and sometimes imperfect co-star? Does Moses realize that his attitude may impact viewers’ perception of an entire television station or even other actors in the industry? Many people say that Hong Kong dramas are dying, and if artistes share Moses’ attitude, then it is a matter of time before this becomes a reality.

Source: HK01.com

This article is written by Huynh for JayneStars.com.

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Responses

  1. I’m ok with his portrayal of Victor. Not into the hair though lol

    There was not a lot of romance in the drama, but the chemistry was there. What a big contrast from LW1!

    1. @tiffany same here. I feel like he portrayed Victor very well. He is right, blame the poor script. LW2 is not the big shot like they used to say but Moses, Michael and Jessica have done the good job here. Thats all.

      1. @tiffany yea. Thats the only reason to keep watching this series 🙂 anyway, why they didnt give Jessica the villainous role?? She is the master of it. Its a waste for her acting skills to take this role.

  2. Moses did not criticise his Line Walker character in the interview. He was just explaining that that in TV series there isn’t as much time to prepare a character conpared to movies. Also I felt his performance along with Jessica were the best in the series.

  3. ” Does Moses realize that his attitude may impact viewers’ perception of an entire television station or even other actors in the industry? Many people say that Hong Kong dramas are dying, and if artistes share Moses’ attitude, then it is a matter of time before this becomes a reality”

    Seriously?

    People will suddenly think poorly of TVB because he made the comment and will usher in the downfall of TVB because he spoke his mind?

    He is right in some ways. While acting is ultimately his responsibility TVB does have problems. They hire and reuse bad actors and actresses too much. Miss HK is not a good source for talent.

    The shows are rushed. anybody who makes it till the last week of a TVB show knows how much of a mess they become. Poor writing and too many characters. TVB seems to think the only acting scenes that matter are crying scenes so they put tons in.

    So no, Moses won’t cause tvbs downfall, they are doing that all on their own. People now can watch tv from around the world easily and finally see how bad these shows are. Things won’t get better unless people speak their mind.

  4. I personally think he did a well-job as Victor in LW2. Obviously, his chemistry with Jessica was there despite the fact this is their 1st time collaborated together. This is the 1st time in a very long time that I followed TVB drama from the beginning until its last episode.

  5. I also agree with many of you here that Moses did well as Victor in LW2. In fact, i enjoyed Moses’ cool acting more than Jordan Chan’s in OCTB. Moses was able to bring out the feeling for his cool character, while Jordan was just acting cool and unable to portray the inner feeling of his character in OCTB.

    Having watched both LW1 & LW2, i enjoyed The Prelude (LW2) more because the dialogues r meaningful and the scenes were well-executed to bring out the desired impacts to the audience. Surprisingly i also like Priscilla and Benjamin chemistry more than Charmaine and Raymond although I believe many would still love Charmaine/Raymond…but Priscilla/Benjamin seems more natural in portraying their characters/relationship that I was actually hoping for the two of them to end up together, but too bad…TVB favouritizes Pakho than Benjamin in this series.

  6. diana80 says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation.
    October 22, 2017 at 3:39 am
    I also agree with many of you here that Moses did well as Victor in LW2. In fact, i enjoyed Moses’ cool acting more than Jordan Chan’s in OCTB. Moses was able to bring out the emotion for his cool character, while Jordan was just acting cool but unable to portray the inner feeling of his character in OCTB.

    Having watched both LW1 & LW2, i enjoyed The Prelude (LW2) more because the dialogues r meaningful and the scenes were well-executed to bring out the desired impacts to the audience. Surprisingly i also like Priscilla and Benjamin chemistry more than Charmaine and Raymond although I believe many would still love Charmaine/Raymond…but Priscilla/Benjamin seems more natural in portraying their characters/relationship that I was actually hoping for the two of them to end up together, but too bad…TVB favouritizes Pakho than Benjamin in this series for the station is hoping that Pakho would continue to film TVB series in future.

    Reply to diana80

  7. True but Moses to me was never a great dramatic actor.His dramatic acting was almost always one single expression, and yes, dull. He does better as a comedic actor again because of his limited expressions. Yes he could have had more time to prepare but considering his limited range, it wouldn’t have helped him much.

  8. I felt that Jessica Hsuan’s role could’ve been played by an average actor at TVB. it was a waste to bring Jessica in to play the role that she played. She should’ve been the antagonist like someone had mentioned.

  9. I like Moses as Victor, he did well. Storyline is alright but the casts did very well. i like LW2 more than LW1.

  10. I agree with many of you here that Moses did well as Victor in LW2. Having watched both LW1 & LW2, i also prefer LW2 more than LW1. In fact, i’ve posted my comment on this article earlier, but my comment is awaiting moderation till now.

    Besides Moses & Jessica’s good chemistry, i also like Priscilla and Benjamin’s interactions that i think were more natural and enjoyable than Charmaine and Raymond’s in LW1.

  11. While I’m not the hugest fan of the main casts of LW1 (Raymond, Charmaine, Sharon), I did find myself way more invested in it than in LW2, which I have yet to catch up on.

    LW2 lacks some charm. It could be that the whole idea of undercover cops has been way overplayed or the fact that they made LW2 way too serious…not sure but I felt the absence of a comic relief. Oscar Leung’s Muk Sut and Charmaine’s many “moms” balanced out a lot of the intense and otherwise, illogical scenes.

    In LW2, our only source of humor comes from Benjamin and Priscilla’s exchanges (Team Tin Tong+ Jeng Mui FTW). This of course, gets overshadowed by Priscilla and Pakho’s boring and bland romance. The other relationships in LW2 are equally dull – Moses and Jessica lack chemistry. Even my undying love for Michael Miu can not make me believe that Cheuk Sir and Scarlet are interesting people. I know that Michael Miu and Jessica can have great chemistry (as evidenced by Dicey Business and Gun Metal Grey) so I blame this 100% on the script. I’m also generally annoyed that Cheuk Sir’s romantic storyline in LW2 is this underwhelming, as his relationship with Elena Kong’s Katie in LW1 was one of the main highlights for me.

    I’m on episode 26 so far and can honestly believe that the whole cast got shafted with a horrible script. Character development is pretty much nonexistent, relationships (both mentorship and romantic) lack substance, “twists” were predictable, and this series was generally a waste of talent.

  12. Though I have never been fond of Moses’ acting, he does actually have a point about the poorly written scripts and the declining standards at TVB….that’s why there are so many examples of actors/actresses whose acting never went anywhere when they worked for TVB, but are able to shine in projects they participate in after they leave….the environment is different and so are the standards. Many people seem to think that the TVB way is the “right way” but it’s actually not – it’s just that their way has been “the only way” for so long that everyone is used to it.

    I actually think the last paragraph of the article is a bit OTT, lol. While I feel that actors should do their part in trying to make the best of what they have and still put 110% into their performances regardless of how crappy the script is, I can also understand them not wanting to do so because in their minds, there’s no point, since TVB is the way they are and never going to change — it’s easier to just go through the motions, collect your paycheck, and go home. And to answer the last 2 questions — um, no…Moses’ attitude has no impact because viewers’ negative perception of TVB have long been out there, even before Moses started in the industry….TVB (more specifically their management) essentially did themselves in with their own antiquated policies and refusal to improve (and various other stupidities that I won’t list out here)…so yea, technically it has nothing to do with Moses. And no need to wait until “a matter of time” – HK dramas have been “dying” for at least a decade already….again, nothing to do with Moses, lol. Whoever wrote this article must have been living under a rock for the past 20 years…

  13. He should also blame the stylist who gave him the worst haircut ever? hahah OMG, he’s always been an unattractive guy but i find him to be downright ugly and old in this series.

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