Kristal Tin Upset At Successive Supporting Roles

Kristal Tin (田蕊妮) is apparently unhappy about her supporting actress status and is fighting hard for more screen time.

Kristal first made her debut in the entertainment industry in 1993 when she won first place in a singing competition organized by ATV. Afterwards she joined the company as a management artist and became one of the valuable players in the company with her consistent performance. At the end of 2006, Kristal left ATV and continued to pursue her acting career at TVB. Although she enjoys steady work at her new station, Kristal was frequently put into supporting roles and was often overshadowed by popular idol actresses.

A recent report alleged that Kristal is upset at her stalled career progress at TVB. Earlier rumors claimed that Kristal was angry while filming Blades of Justice <舌劍上的公堂> because Priscilla Wong (黃翠如), who is heavily promoted by the company, was suddenly given more screen time and more focus in the plot.

Similarly, Kristal threw a tantrum while filming Brother’s Keeper <巨輪> because Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) appears more frequently in the drama. While she knew that she would be playing a supporting role in the series, Kristal was taken by surprise when she found out that TVB had plans to use Brother’s Keeper as a vehicle to promote Linda Chung to TV Queen status.

Later, when Kristal discovered that she has no scene at all in one of the episodes, Kristal immediately marched into director Amy Wong’s (王心慰) office to demand an explanation. As a compromise, Director Wong ultimately agreed to grant Kristal her wish, giving her a starring role in the upcoming modern thriller Semi Evil Man <忠奸人>.

Source: Apple Daily

This article is written by Katrine for JayneStars.com.

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Responses

  1. It doesn’t matter how her husband promotes her. She can’t ACT. Her husband is at least comedic. She’s not pretty so I don’t understand why she’s so upset that she can’t move up.

    1. Acting is subjective so some may think she can act and some may think she can’t. I think her acting is average and her looks are not great so it will be harder for her to move up. However, timing, luck and connections also play big roles as well which she may not have. Maybe her time has not come yet???

      1. I think she can act. I think she has flawless fair skin. I think she is capable. I also think she is not leading material. I also think she can’t lead. I also can’t understand why she is upset over supporting roles when I feel perhaps she can retire, not that I am saying she should. I do feel there are other actresses worse than her but I do feel there are better actresses or rather more charismatic actresses that should be the lead. Kristal looks too old for half the roles she is offered, she is competent as supporting but boring as the lead.

        So Kristal, face the facts. NOT everyone is a leading actress material and NOT all good actress can be leading actress.

      2. @Funn Lim

        however most of tvb siu sung & fa dan who are leading actors/actresses can’t act as great as them. Krista can definitely act and sing

      3. Same fact even in Hollywood and many others. Because to be able to lead is not just acting ability alone; There must be that extra something. Best combination is able to act and able to lead. Not all have that.

      4. cristal can act but not pretty enough for lead roles.eliza,linda can not act but has a pretty face for lead roles,the point here is you can improve your acting ability but not your face.so i think funn is right that she is not leading material.

      5. Who said that being the leading actors and actresses actually required you to be talented???

      6. agree that the great acting skills doesn’t make one to be leading actress.
        in general commercial movie/series company produce to make money you need that extra. be it the pretty appearance or he stage existence.

        however, given the supporting role and limited screen time, given she is capable she can find ways to portray her supporting character succesfully and outshine the lead actress. It is more admirable when an supporting actress outshine the lead actress. Audience will definitely see it.

        Or she could make non commercial movies and try to win some prizes and get acknowledgement. Then people will ask her for lead roles.

        And being green leave is worthwile too. Flower (mediocre or less acting skills) has quite short lifecycle.

      7. Agree with Funn & HTS.
        Anyway, how we perceive ourselves is not as important as how others look at us. We may think we’re smart and talented while others think/feel that we’re dumb and useless.
        Instead of throwing a tantrum, Kristal should’ve just taken it gracefully and handle the situation with more tact if she’s confident of her own looks or acting ability.

      8. Being and actress/actor basic requirement is they can act. (演员)> 演 > (act)/tress or (act)/or. If they can’t act, why are they called actress/actors. If anyone who has a pretty face, but cannot act, then anyone can be a lead.

      9. Not sure if this news is accurate. I feel she did a great job acting this feisty tomboy character in Brother’s Keeper.

    2. The same can be said about Linda, who also can’t act and is extremely boring as a lead. So why is Kristal not promoted in the same way as Linda? Well, first, she’s not as young and she’s not considered as pretty as Linda, two things that work against her, especially in Hong Kong. Second, she doesn’t have the pure, innocent, virgin image anymore, another thing that sells like hotcakes in Hong Kong.
      Her acting is admittedly better than Linda’s, and she’s a more versatile and more mature actor. But it all comes down to timing. She spent the bigger part of her youth at ATV where she did experience success and she joined TVB later in her career. If she really did complain, then she needs to accept her situation and try to focus on her success in carrying out supporting roles. And if she didn’t complain and this article is fabricated, then I guess this is all just a promotional gimmick and not much more needs needs to be said.

      1. I disagree. Her delivery is unemotional to the point of cold although her face registers expression. She is not leading material. I know some here do not like Linda but I feel Linda is a much better actress than most gave her credit. Her terror, her fear in episode 1 also says it all. She may not always hit the mark but when she does, she deserves the credit. If you say she is not young and pretty like Linda therefore no lead roles so what about Sheren? What about Esther? What about potentially Kenix who wants to return? Ada? These women are 40 and above. They are not young but they are in leading roles, some may be debatable. As for prettiness, that is subjective. Jessica isn’t that pretty, she is in lead roles. Many many more.

        Linda isn’t boring. You may have watched her boring series. Go for the good ones.

      2. With regards to Esther, Sheren, etc. they were already made leads when they were young and kept their status.

        “Linda isn’t boring. You may have watched her boring series. Go for the good ones.”

        Name a good series for Linda. All I’ve seen her in recent years is CRY, CRY, CRY

      3. I think people liked her acting a villainous character in “Gem of Life”. First, we have to blame TVB for casting her in similar characters in all her drama series. Secondly, Linda has to be blamed for wearing the same style of long hair in almost every one of her drama series. It easily gave people the same image and impression of her in every drama series.

      4. Linda is good with facial expressions and body movement etc but what bothers me alot is her voice. It’s too nice sounding. Whether is she crying, or even when she is angry, she sounds so whiny

      5. That is a good point. A good voice really helps an artiste in acting different characters.

        Ruco Chan is a good example. He is not that good looking, but he has a fantastic voice.

        I think the following elements are very important for an artiste:
        1) Handsome or pretty face
        2) Good and convincing voice
        3) Good acting
        4) Good built (height, etc.)

      6. Oh yea, having a good voice is a big plus too. Some may not look so great but have a great voice which is really attractive as well.

      7. If an artiste has all these four elements, plus good luck and good connections, he or she will easily succeed.

      8. An good artiste does not only act with good facial expressions, he/she should also act with his/her voices and eyes. However, not many artistes are good in acting with their eyes. Some cannot even act with their voices.

    3. You’re on crack! If Kristal can’t act, none of the TVB rookies can. Kristal is way better at acting than all of the TVB noobs.

      1. I can tell you this much. All her recent shows I’ve skipped out on and it’s unfortunate but I really don’t like her acting. She was horrible in Every Move You Make and I was so disappointed because I really thought the drama would be good with Bowie! I forced myself to watch a few episodes of No Good Either Way. Yes Linda’s acting is mediocre but you have to agree that she does her crying scenes pretty well. Even though she recycles her roles at least she can play a role better. Again acting is subjective. I never said she wasn’t better than the other “noobs”. She’s expressionless. All she has is this angry face on all the time. If anything I would categorize her and Kate Tsui on the same level. No matter if you think she can act, YOU HAVE to admit she doesn’t have the looks and I feel like having somewhat of an approachable appearance helps you relate to Hong Kong audience.

    4. You’re on crack! If Kristal can’t act, none of the TVB rookies can. Kristal is way better at acting than all of the TVB noobs.

      1. I agree – she can act but she doesnt have the look for a leading role.

        it;s all marketing.

      2. My personal opinion – I think Kristal may be more suited to movie roles where audience don’t have to look at her for long period of time (just like her husband). I would enjoy their stereotyped roles (usually characters with sarcastic humour) more than having to sit through countless episodes just waiting for it to end.

    5. If anyone should complain,. it is Nancy Wu (great actress, good looks but no luck on leading roles, or no luck with TVB executives).

      Kristal is ‘old’, and looks more like an auntie, so she should be thankful that she is not acting as the protaganist’s mother or some ‘yi mah gu chae’. Hahaha.

      She did act well in some dramas and can carry the role, but its far from leading. the cast.

      1. I’d vouch for Nancy Wu too. She also looks lovely and sweet in person, though a bit petite.
        In order to promote an artiste to be the lead, I’m sure his/her popularity with the audience/public is very important.
        Linda definitely has a wider fan base than Kristal, so whether one is talented than the other is not important.

  2. She has been leading dramas, except they’re mostly male focused dramas so the spotlight is not on her, like King Maker, No Good Either Way, Every Move You Make… She can act for sure. That scene in BK where she was taking the call from the kidnappers says it all.

    1. She has been one of the leading females but she did not lead the dramas. She was like how Moses always was, along for the ride in ensemble pieces. Take away everyone, see her alone and I wonder can she really lead?

      1. agree. what you say funn can also apply to your idol linda and to tv queen tavia yeung. have you ever seen them leading ALONE? NO. so why can’t other people say linda and tavia can’t lead a series too and not leading material?

      2. Agree with Funn.To me Linda quite charismatic n have leading aura. But somehow she need co-star to make her more interesting. Her acting quite decend . Kristal acting nothin special to mention and sometime quite bore to watch.She dun have de factor that Linda have. (my 2 cent base on both previous series)

      3. Can Linda lead alone without strong co-star? I think Missing You answers it all.

      4. how many people even remember ‘missing you’ or what linda did in it? maybe elaine yiu and helen are the most memorable thing in what was otherwise a snobfest uninteresting series with boring leads. they should be thankful for the sub stories which has strong actors such as elaine yiu and helen.

      5. Because I remember A Journey Called Life and she held her own against the veterans and complimented Steven Ma and that birthing Scene alone is the testament to her good acting. She is not the best but I am surprised how many ignored her good performances and highlighted the bad ones which were few. I thought she was good in Gem of Life, I thought she was cute in Daddy Good Deeds and I thought she was wonderful in River Of Wine. Yes she cries a lot but is it her fault that her character faces tragic circumstances and therefore cries? Kristal is deadpan most of the time, why no one thinks she is always so unemotional? Like I said, Linda is a far better actress than many give her credit for. She has good times, she has bad times but everytime she is on her downtime, I will remember A Journey Called Life and I will give her the benefit of the doubt. Her best roles are those with a streak of defiance and rebellious nature. Her weakest are those that requires her to be soft and therefore weak. That is why I said she is at her best at playing the opposite of her real persona which she shows to the public. She can lead. The series I named she was the 1st leading lady or perhaps maybe 2nd but still substantial focus on her.

        Point is if you think Kristal is great and denied her great moment of glory as leading actresses, well.. I think she is at her best as the supporting and attention not on her. You think Linda is terrible and cry cry cry notwithstanding the fact that her character requires her to cry cry cry, what more can I say?

      6. wayne’s bullet brain initiated the ratings slump season along with beauty at war. so can’t say that wayne is rating puller anymore. only when tvb air change of heart which has the great joey meng that ratings climb back to 30’s gradually along with positive discussion for the series minus everything about the horrible wooden niki chow. and triumph2 saves tvb.

        joey must be the only atv actress to get lead roles and she also managed to give wonderul performances in both her comeback series although a bit overshadowed by ivana and corinna and may chan in inbound beause she didn’t sing.

      7. it was unfair to say kristal was given chance in every move you make. she has littlr action to do! they give bowie the focus and intelligence! give bosco the action scenes! give aimee the lovey dovey girl scenes! even ruco got his part of emotional scenes! what’s left for kristal when they wrote her as a plain cop?

      8. priscilla definitely has too much luck and chance going on for her with her mediocre acting. would understand if kristal feel disappointed to have priscilla leading over her!

      9. “what’s left for kristal when they wrote her as a plain cop?”

        errr…. be the supporting cast she is supposed to be?If she’s cast as the plain cop and she’s so plain that you don’t want to look at her, doesn’t that mean she is boring? I didn’t think she was plain anyway. And I didn’t like that series.

      10. Again, Priscilla is well liked compared to Kristal. And yes, younger, prettier. But well liked.

      11. @sel_fi_wu
        The change of heart has the great michael miu, bosco wong and niki chow as well, why didnt you mention them? Success of one drama is not due to one person, nor can the failure of one drama be blamed on another.

  3. TVB does not highly promote ATV artistes, such as Elena Kong, Alice Chan, Kristal Tin, Joey Meng, and Ruco Chan. Joey is just lucky that her role was well accepted by the audience earlier this year, and Ruco gets promoted because TVB is now short of siu sangs who can act.

    Moreover, Kristal looks older than her age and is big built. There are not that many big built middle-aged 1st lead actors who can pair up with her.

    In fact, Elena Kong is prettier and acts better than Kristal, but she is still a supporting actress in TVB. Her acting is well recognized by people and has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the last 3 years, and she still has not received any awards yet.

    1. “TVB does not highly promote ATV artistes”

      Kong Wah was the lead actor in ATV and joined TVB as lead actor (and in my opinion the babysitter of Miss HKs) and Esther was not leading in ATV but she came into TVB as a lead actress. And I believe many more. I believe Elena, Kristal and Alice were not leading in ATV. They were minor players? But Joey was ATV’s top actress, has cult following, filmed several cult series and therefore if she doesn’t lead in TVB, who else can?

      Ruco is promoted but I have a feeling his fanbase is more dedicated than it is large. He needs to work up his credentials in popularity and not lose his passion for acting.

    2. To be honest, if we really peel back the layers, a lot of TVB’s current and former artists as well as producers came from ATV and some of them were treated well while others were not, so it’s really hard to say that the under promotion is entirely because of the ATV factor.

      With all that said however, I personally feel that the TVB of the past (in the 80s and 90s) treated ATV artists way better than they do now (which leads me to believe that the ‘bias’ against ATV actors was more prevalent during Mona Fong’s rule, which was pretty much post-2000s era). Compare the fate of the artists who jumped ship from ATV to TVB back in the 80s/90s and those who did so post 2000 and you’ll see a huge difference.

      Oh and I honestly don’t count Ruco as a true ATV actor because he actually originated at TVB (greaduated from TVB’s acting class in the 90s and started his career filming series for TVB). He jumped ship to ATV when his career was going nowhere, honed his acting skills, built up his resumed, and later returned to TVB…so to me, he is a TVB actor, fair and square.

  4. Honestly, Krista is better in acting than Linda. Linda can’t act.Beside linda is not TV queen quality. Esther, Joey, Sheren, Ada are the more qualify ones.

    TVB is only promoting young artists , but not talented actors/actresses. This is honestly not fair to the others who really deserves them.

    1. Yes all the female actress u named are better actress than Linda BUT none of them can get people to watch their dramas!!! Sorry but Esther, Joey, sheren and Ada all only got ratings of 24 points this year!!! Horrible!! Linda will definitely get over 30 points rating this year. Last year witness insecurity got the highest rating of the year! Linda may not have the best acting skills in your standards but she definitely have lots of people that want to watch her. All the dramas with Linda have high ratings!!!

      1. …………… because Linda is an idol actress, not a solid actress. She has too many diehard fans like you.

      2. If BK gets over 30 points, I wouldn’t attribute it all to Linda. There’s Ruco and Edwin, and also the fact that it’s so close to anniversary.

      3. wow look at linda fan putting down stellar older actresses. wait why you conveniently skip linda’s forgettable series ‘missing you’ which airs later than witness insecurity? that series has almost no discussion and interest from audience. if there’s any it was mainly due to the veteran cast and elaine yiu! beauty at war has more interest and discussion.

        wait how come you conveniently skip joey’s high rated and popular inbound troubles? and her change of heart only suffers the first week because of beauty at war’s effect but rising consistently afterwards and manage to bring back the ratings to 30 points towards the end after beauty at war’s slump and joey was highly praised! and ada was praised extensively for her perofrmance in beauty despite the ratings.

      4. That is a fact. As much as we all hate that fact, the person who can get the ratings get favoured. Bobby, Wayne, etc. Wayne has been bashed recently with names thrown in to replace his place but seriously, who will switch on the TV for those names? But many will for Wayne. Because audiences are not only young people or working adults but older people who likes to watch TV. The ones at home are the demographic that is now.

        That is not to say they veterans are not good actors. Many are very good actors, some better than a whole lot of people but will anyone turn on TV to watch them? If yes, why TVB needs to bring in Wong Jing to bring in the old timers like Tony leung and etc? Because the ratings are not up. They need someone to headline the show. I will bet if Dicky Cheung comes back he will get the ratings even if he looks weird now.

        I am not sure how popular Linda is amongst the demographic but she is well liked. You can criticise her acting, her same roles but viewers like her and because of that many will tune in to watch. It is not because one is young or popular. She isn’t young anymore. Popular? Well she didn’t just appear and got popular. It took a bit of time, but of course she had it easier than the male counterparts. This is the same phenomena with Charmaine Sheh. She isn’t a good actress to many but she is likable, viewers like to watch her (whether out of genuine affection or waiting to see a car crash so to speak). What is an idol actress and what is a solid actress? Any young one starts off as a novice, if they get too popular she is idol actress. Will you call Leonardo DiCaprio an idol actor? He started as a solid actor, became an idol actor and now back to solid actor but even he is boring with the same dramatic role one after another. Actors have high points and low points but those who keeps audiences with them deserves some credit. I am not a die hard Linda fan and she is not my idol but I am surprised by the comparisons. But then if Charmaine is at TVB, she may be the one getting the comparisons that Linda is getting. And I will hang my neck out here and say Linda is the better actress as compared to Charmaine.

        And no I don’t think Mandy is that great and no, poor poor unpromoted Nancy is not the next big thing at TVB but she could be the solid supporting actress to the next big thing like how Kong Wah had to do.

      5. My comment under moderation thanks to you know who. Repost.

        That is a fact. As much as we all hate that fact, the person who can get the ratings get favoured. Bobby, Wayne, etc. Wayne has been bashed recently with names thrown in to replace his place but seriously, who will switch on the TV for those names? But many will for Wayne. Because audiences are not only young people or working adults but older people who likes to watch TV. The ones at home are the demographic that is now.

        That is not to say they veterans are not good actors. Many are very good actors, some better than a whole lot of people but will anyone turn on TV to watch them? If yes, why TVB needs to bring in Wong Jing to bring in the old timers like Tony leung and etc? Because the ratings are not up. They need someone to headline the show. I will bet if Dic-ky Cheung comes back he will get the ratings even if he looks weird now.

        I am not sure how popular Linda is amongst the demographic but she is well liked. You can criticise her acting, her same roles but viewers like her and because of that many will tune in to watch. It is not because one is young or popular. She isn’t young anymore. Popular? Well she didn’t just appear and got popular. It took a bit of time, but of course she had it easier than the male counterparts. This is the same phenomena with Charmaine Sheh. She isn’t a good actress to many but she is likable, viewers like to watch her (whether out of genuine affection or waiting to see a car crash so to speak). What is an idol actress and what is a solid actress? Any young one starts off as a novice, if they get too popular she is idol actress. Will you call Leonardo DiCaprio an idol actor? He started as a solid actor, became an idol actor and now back to solid actor but even he is boring with the same dramatic role one after another. Actors have high points and low points but those who keeps audiences with them deserves some credit. I am not a die hard Linda fan and she is not my idol but I am surprised by the comparisons. But then if Charmaine is at TVB, she may be the one getting the comparisons that Linda is getting. And I will hang my neck out here and say Linda is the better actress as compared to Charmaine.

        There are some actresses whose appearance just brightens up your day, whether on screen or off. For many Linda has that quality. I don’t quite care for the Jade girl image or tag line, she is no Jade girl for all I know but she cultivates her image very very carefully and she lives by her image. It is hard to do but I respect her for it.

        And no I don’t think Mandy is that great and no, poor poor unpromoted Nancy is not the next big thing at TVB but she could be the solid supporting actress to the next big thing like how Kong Wah had to do.

      6. Linda can be a good actress it’s just that she hasn’t been given the right roles. Her role in a Journey Called Life is about the only roles of hers that I thought was great and her best role to date. Maybe she can do it again next summer for TC2. But until we see that from her, we can’t really say much on what kind of an actress she is.

      7. Linda is not a good actress. The only reason why witness security got the rating it has is due to the story line. Bosco is why I watch the series.

        Linda is totally boring. And seriously I cannot remember missing you, I have to google it.

        And that show, that she acted with Myolie and Bobby, she was absolute horror.

  5. Maybe she should embrace all the opportunities that come her way and quit the belly aching before she gets the BOOT. She should be grateful TVB is giving her big roles because she is NOT nice to look at onscreen.

  6. Oh man another nonsense news. Please guys, u have got to know what’s make up news and what’s real. I don’t think she will complain like that. I think her acting was ok in episode 1. Also she is not the only one that don’t have screen time in episode 2!!! Linda did not too. Reporters are just making news for the drama.

    1. Agreed!! Cant believe people are even discussing about this rubbish article…and saying things like “Kristal, face the fact” hahahahah!

    2. Agree. I think this is rubbish. We’re just seeing this article because TVB is trying to promote BK.

      Apparently, in HK, the “best” news is bad news.

      1. I think this article may be somewhat true. Her husband has complained numerous times on weibo about TVB or things related to her career,

  7. Kristal Tin was very pretty when she was young, much prettier than Linda Chung. She just spent her prime time in ATV.

  8. The storyline looks boring. I’m not gonna watch it. Besides, she’s paired up with Edwin. It’s so weird.

    1. Selena, the story is solid thus far. Give it a chance. It is not all Kristal and moreover she wasn’t terrible.

      If you like you can follow my short recaps here at http://www.point2e.com/2013/09/er-brothers-keeper-tvb2013.html

      I have a feeling there won’t be many Linda fans due to this series. Her character seems like a weak helpless girl. Kristal I think will get the audiences’ support since she is more streetsmart even if she nags nags nags.

      1. @Jackson

        Agree! She’s ALWAYS the weak one. very boring.
        Don’t even mention about Tiger Club 2, this is a miscast

  9. She previously already denied that fact besides I don’t think she cares about titles, she truly has passion for acting. Besides her character seems more interesting than Linda’s in BK. From brief scenes shown in the theme video, her character is definitely something to keep an eye on.

    I wouldn’t consider Kristal a supporting actress in BK, she’s one of the four leads.

  10. With Aimee and Fala gone, I think Kristal has actually slipped in as one of their top fadans. In their last group picture, she was actually in the front row close to the center. To me, Kristal is a very good actress although she does look a little older due to her short haircut. It’s not necessarily a disadvantage since they are missing fadans in the older age range that can pair up with the older siu sangs, and that’s why she’s paired with Roger in the last 2 series.

    1. And Wayne Lai. I don’t want to see Wayne paired up again with Sire Ma, Nancy Wu, Elaine Yiu, or Natalie Tong. They are all too young for Wayne Lai.

      1. Wayne’s pairing with Sire was the worst, but I actually like him with Nancy. I’m glad that his current series will have him pairing up with Louisa So who’s closer in age, and that he’ll be with Christine Ng in Will Power. Some couples with big age differences work but Wayne’s big weakness is in romantic scenes so that’s probably why a lot of his pairings are awkward.

      2. Correct. I agree that Wayne’s pairing up with Nancy Wu was not that bad in “FH3”. It was due to Nancy Wu’s mature acting. Not many young actresses have that kind of mature acting. They all looked like Wayne’s nieces to me.

      3. Wayne Lai even teased that he wanted to pair up with Angelababy in “Bullet Brain” because TVB was short of actresses before filming!!!

      4. Agree that Wayne’s pairing with Sire was the worst. Sire Ma was horrible. Pairing up with Nancy, one of the young actress, in FH3 was not bad. Age does make a difference. If Sire’s role was replaced with a more mature actress (or maybe just Nancy Wu)in Bullet Brain, it could have been much better.

  11. IMHO, 98% of the younger generation, as in Charmaine Sheh & Co, and below, cannot act. They have the same facial expressions and body language in almost every series they appear in. The older generation though, as in first liners like Damian Lau, Susan Tse, Michael Tse, Idy Chan, Elena Kong, just to name a few, and second liners such as Evergreen Mak, Lee Kwok Lum and Derek Kwok, for example, are a joy to watch. In the words of a seriously great actor, Nick Cheung, acting is not about merely changing your shirt or hairstyle to morph into a new character role. The mark of a truly good actor is when you are not able to recognise him or her in their different roles and find yourself asking – Hey, is this the same actor as the one who starred in that other series?

    No offence to any fans out there, but I find current first line actors such as Raymond Lam, Kenneth Ma, Kate Tsui, Myolie Wu, etc, totally insipid in their acting. Myolie especially, with her artificial whiny voice, is totally irritating. They made it through their looks, not that I think any of them particularly stunning. As for Kristal Tin, with her dearth of good looks and acting ability, she should be grateful that she is able to find any work at all.

    Perhaps my taste is unusual, but I even find movie kings such as Leong Chiu Wai and Francis Ng absolutely over-rated. They are completely wooden, and look and behave the same in just about every movie they appear in. The truly competent actors out there are Nick Cheung, who always looks different in his various movies and is prepared to make immense personal sacrifices and undergo gruelling training for a role, and Tony Leung Ka-Fai. These two are particularly impressive since they do not have movie star good looks to leverage off on, and the fact that they have achieved the level of success that they have is testament to their acting skills. Andy Lau is not bad either. But Aaron, Leon, and Nic Tse are hopeless. Just my personal views, of course.

    Perhaps Jayne can organise a poll for Best Movie and TV actor/actress. That should be interesting.

    1. Good points. If you cannot recognize an artiste, it shows that the artiste is not acting himself/herself. He/she is acting a character.

    2. In the words of a seriously great actor, Nick Cheung, acting is not about merely changing your shirt or hairstyle to morph into a new character role. The mark of a truly good actor is when you are not able to recognise him or her in their different roles and find yourself asking – Hey, is this the same actor as the one who starred in that other series?
      —————

      Definitely agree with the above. Yes, acting is subjective, but the above is a good ‘baseline’ for figuring out whether a person is truly a great actor or not.

      The other thing I look for too is how convincingly an actor/actress is able to play roles that are completely opposite of how they are in real life. Power Chan is the best example that comes to mind in this category, as he is able to take every single role he gets and convince us that he is that person — yet in real life, he is no where near similar to many of the characters he portrays (honestly, Power is way way way overdue for an award…).

  12. LOL, if she’s upset, Elena and Nancy should be even more upset.

  13. I won’t watch the drama if lead by Kristal without any good leading actor like Ruco or Roger Kwok. She doesn’t has charisma and not leading material. I know she consider can act but not say until so good like any role that audience won’t forget. She also lack of “audience fate” but I prefer to see her than Kate who really irritates me LOL

  14. she is a better actress than that Linda, just that she is not given much opportunity maybe due to her age. Just like Elena Kong. TVB very unfair.

  15. I think she can act.. problem is she’s not as easy in the eyes and older then the other. She just need a good role to shine.

  16. Well, I was disappointed to see Kristal is getting push to do more supporting roles..I gotta say I quite dislike her when she was at ATV but then after seeing her performance at at TVB, she can really act. I mean Kevin, Michael Tze, Moses, Roger Kwok, Wayne Lai, all of them are not young anymore and to pair them with young actress/idols is gross!! They need actresses about their age and able to act along their side. Kristal Tin is one of them (Elena Kong included).

  17. kristal looks too mature to play leading characters at her current age. maybe when she hit her 40s, she will be like louisa so and can pair up with older actors similar to chun pui, damian lau, etc. (if there are any veteran actors left by that time). i think she is a decent actress but not as charming as joey meng and not as appealing as alice chan. i think she’s already done pretty well at tvb considering how little she has to offer.

    1. I agree. She is never that pretty to begin with and her looks is the mature type even if she is supposedly still young. However, I love her warehoused series Phoenix Rising, but I love the plot and interesting storyline than her acting. Louisa was the star of the show even if she portrayed an evil character. She should feel lucky she is a bit well received after transitioning from ATV. But that hubby of hers is equally lucky to have been a relatively known and then all of a sudden making $$ in films. How did that happen anyway? hahah LOL…wow…

  18. I like Kristal. Whether she’s a good actress is another discussion altogether, but I’d suggest that she’s probably better than an average lead actress right now.

    I like Elena Kong. The biggest reason why I would prefer to watch a “Kristal show” over an “Elena show” is because, in my honest opinion, she gets more screentime and bigger roles. But this doesn’t really say much about how good her role is, because some of them royally suck.
    The biggest problem with Elena Kong (IMO) is that she gets small roles in grand productions, and generally my interest in the leads approach zero.

    Honestly, if you ask me, this goes for a number of other actresses too.

  19. one thing for sure is that she acts a whole heck of alot better than linda chung….

  20. I honestly think this article is pointless, Kristal just does not come across as that kind of person to me. She seems to pretty much get on with most people in the industry and genuinely has passion for acting. She’s not a bad actress imo, she’s very good when it comes to emotional scenes and she’s not ugly. That’s how I personally feel.

    1. Kristal is prolly a straightforward kind of person. She may have just voice out her dissatisfaction but do not have the intention to blow the issue out of proportion. However, some of the media spies in TVB may have added spice to the story.

  21. Even when she was in ATV in her 20s I thought she was a 30ish yr old woman. She’s got quite an aged look in my opinion. And not really a lead star face, especially in comparison to all the other pretty Fadans.

  22. Whatever the case for former ATV actresses – Kristal, Elena, Alice, Joey – they are still better off than poor Lee Yee Man. She started off in pretty girl roles with TVB (Your Class or Mine), then degenerated to the desperate, ugly pursuer supporting roles (Slow Boat Home).

  23. A lot of times I noticed a lot of people dont think they’re mediocre. I guess Kristal Tin feels she should be promoted for the lead roles now since most of the talents have left TVB for China. She may not feel she is not up to the mark. Furthermore she feels she should be given more priority since she’s more senior compare to Linda Chung. I fully agree that she doesnt have that outstanding face nor her acting were that good. Linda Chung always give people that kind of weak, girl’s next door (sweet look). She may have been given the opportunity to act in some villian character, but then again she didnt really carried off the character that well.

  24. wow, what a diva… she thinks she’s better than she actually is. there were episodes where chilam didn’t even appear in with TITS2 and he didn’t complain. and naturally tvb is going to promote someone that can draw in more viewers – which linda can.

  25. I actually thought TVB is quite good to her. Most of her roles though not really lead but are quite meaty.
    Linda is young & biological daughter of TVB, so it’s obvious, she’ll be given more opportunities.

  26. I like Kristal Tin. She certainly has range and can carry leading roles. I prefer watching her over the mediocre TVB actresses nowadays.

  27. I think Krystal is a decent actress. But just because you can act doesn’t mean you’re leading material. For example, Tavia is a fine actress, but I think she’s suited for (and shines more) in supporting roles.

  28. We watch tv. We need to see charismatic and pleasant-looking artists. Call it shallow but unless you are acting in a movie with 1hr plus screen time, I wld rather see someone who leads with some pretty/charismatic face. Plus point wld b the acting skills too. Otherwise, we hv to bear with daily 45mins x 20epis.
    Kristal can act but she just doesn’t hv that X factor to carry a show. If she’s the only female lead , I will definitely not watch it for sure. Linda, in comparison, has a whiny voice but hey, she does hv the looks and acting skills are not that bad. At least, I won’t whince at her acting. Priscillia on the other hand, has the charisma but avg acting skills. But yet, I wouldn’t mind watching her shows. Fadans like Fala, myolie and kate are not perfect either. Fala can’t act but she’s pretty enough. Myolie can act but I find her voice not that charming and kate.. if she don’t talk, she does look pretty. Put all of them together, they r the leading ladiez for a reason. Kristal just need to face the facts.

  29. Kristal’s acting may or may not be good, but being promised this amount of screening time and then suddenly some is taken away for another actress, how do you think Kristal would feel? Besides, since she has had successive supporting roles, let her have a lead role for once.

    Well, working in HK entertainment industries isn’t that easy, so I believe Kristal is just fighting for her place in the circle.

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