Wayne Lai As a Manly Eunuch in “The Confidant”

Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) together with Michelle Yim (米雪), Christine Ng (伍咏薇), and Eddie Kwan (关礼杰) were in Hangzhou, China to attend the opening ceremony of a recent festival. At the media conference, Wayne revealed exciting details of his eunuch character in TVB drama, The Confidant <监>.

The Confidant centered on the life of eunuch, Li Lianying, and how he rose to power to become the favorite advisor of Empress Dowager Cixi, portrayed by Michelle Yim. Li Lianying was one of the most powerful imperial eunuch in the Qing Dynasty. Wayne revealed that his version of Li Lianying will be a stark contrast to what the viewers had seen in earlier movies and television drama renditions.

Wayne spoke of his interpretation of Li Lianying, “He is not effeminate and does not speak in high pitch. He can be quite manly and is also a gentleman.”

Wayne Lai: An Eunuch is Not Different From a Man

Wayne wished that viewers will have a different perspective of eunuchs after watching The Confidant. Due to the harsh environment in the Imperial palace, they were required to adapt to survive and protect themselves.  Wayne said that he wanted the viewers to see the vulnerable side of the eunuchs. In the series, he humanized the character and displayed an emotional side of being an eunuch. “Li Lianying entered the palace when he was a  young child. He was in a wholly new environment. He had no friends and did not know that he was going to be the biggest villian in China’s history!”

The Palace is Also a Workplace

Wayne referred to the imperial palace as a workplace, similiar to a large organization, which possessed top leaders and many colleagues. “The eunuch has a specific job to do. He needs to know how to work with his colleagues and how to speak to his boss. He also needs to learn to cope when he first joins the palace.”  

A Romantic Eunuch

Besides injecting his eunuch with more “masculine” qualities, Wayne also hoped to feature a softer and more romantic side of Li Lianying. Viewers can expect to see a relationship development between him and palace maid, Nancy Wu (胡定欣). Wayne said, “The eunuch and the palace maid are like colleagues who are dating. They meet each other every day, and they have close working relationships. It’s natural that they develop feelings for each other.” 

The Confidant is a highly anticipated series with dynamic plot and strong cast, featuring Michelle Yim, Maggie Shiu (邵美琪), Raymond Wong (黄浩然) and Edwin Siu (蕭正楠). Viewers will be excited to see how Wayne plays the most powerful imperial eunuch in the Qing Dynasty. In addition, early speculation that Wayne Lai may get a Best Actor nomination in this year’s TVB Anniversary Awards has already started!

Source: QQ.com

This article is written by Stella for JayneStars.com.

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Responses

  1. Michelle Yim does not look pretty in the above photo. I think her face is a bit too small to carry the big “head piece”.

    This drama series should be good to watch with strong history background. The top lead artistes, such as Wayne Lai, Michelle Yim, Maggie Siu, Nancy Wu, Raymond Wong, and probably Power Chan, are excellent artistes with good solid acting.

  2. Wayne Lai will definitely get nominated, but I don’t think he will win. Kenneth Ma and Raymond Lam (for “Highs and Lows”) have bigger chances of winning. And maybe even Michael Miu if his role in HAL becomes a big hit, but Michael obviously does not care about winning TV King. 😉

    I can’t wait for this drama! I hope it airs soon.

    1. I am sure Wayne Lai will get nominated with his good acting, and the character, Li Lin Yin, seems to fit into his look and age.

      Michelle Yim will be nominated for Best Actress; Maggie Siu and Nancy Wu will probably be nominated for Best Support Actress as well.

    2. Although Wayne expressed that he was satisfiedd with his 2 times TV king award and it was alright for him not getting the TV King title again, but Wayne…if u r good and do well…u DESERVE the recognition! I feel if the artiste performe exceptionally well, the award should go to the deserving individual. 🙂

  3. Li Lianying was that despicable woman’s head honcho and he is not above murdering. I do not see any good manly qualities. Was he her lover too? That I do not know and I don’t think so. I think a lot of series has shown the difficulties being an eunuch. This is not the first.

  4. So is it confirmed that The Confidant will air this year? I’m constantly behind with the news when it comes to TVB’s scheduling.

    I’m looking forward to this drama (mostly because of its strong cast), although I have my reservations about what TVB scriptwriters will do with the historical subject material.

  5. I think this drama series will have a severe competition with “War & Beauty 2”. I wish Sheren Tang would act the Empress’ role, instead of Michelle Yim. Michelle is a good actress, but I think Sheren will be a better one for the role of Empress because of her face (bigger face and eyes to carry the big “head piece”), stronger voice, and personality. Michelle Yim’s voice is too soft for the Empress.

    1. The storyline of this drama series should be better than the one in “War & Beauty 2” because of the history background. I don’t think those TVB’s scriptwriters could change the history too much.

  6. Wayne is at a level where he is sure to be nominated if he has a series broadcasted in the year. The ratings will probably be the main decider in who takes home the awards. Recent history has shown that this is indeed the case. Last year we had GJ vs LOO, before that it was NR vs CBML, RB vs BTROC, and before that was infighting between the cast of MR and HOG.

    I do believe the Confidant will be able to grab this year’s highest ratings if it does actually air this year. If that is indeed the case Wayne and Michelle are a shoe in for this year’s top awards.

    1. OMG! It’s so exciting…it’s like a race towards an award…such a pressure to the artistes. no matter what, I love wayne’s acting and have always enjoy his performance, what more this time as an eunuch. I am really looking forward. Plus his collaboration with Michelle Yim who is also a great actress. I am sure there is gonna be a great chemistry!

    1. Poor Nancy Wu. She will be 31 years old this coming September, and Wayne Lai is 48 years old. Nancy can be Wayne’s daughter.

      1. Well, this is ancient series and Nancy plays a maid, so age gap is acceptable. Plus, Nancy works well w/ Wayne. I’m worried about Natalie in “detective Columbo” though.

      2. Wayne Lai is a very lucky guy, always paired up with young actress! I think he even suggested to have Angelababy as his partner in “Detective Columbo”

      3. I dont think age would be an issue. They paired up pleasantly in Forensic Heroes 3. Initially I cannot be convinced that this couple would work but after watching the FH 3, I think they can be compatible too. Make up does make magic! Nancy can be matured & Wayne can look young! 🙂

  7. the plot is very convincing and i love the casts! looking forward to this!

  8. This one looks really promising! There are a couple good series produce each year, it seems like when they focus on a couple of series such as the script, the acting and the setting on the couple of series and let the rest go down in the toilet.

  9. “The Palace is Also a Workplace

    Wayne referred to the imperial palace as a workplace, similiar to a large organization, which possessed top leaders and many colleagues. “The eunuch has a specific job to do. He needs to know how to work with his colleagues and how to speak to his boss. He also needs to learn to cope when he first joins the palace.” ”

    Except when you don’t perform your manager doesn’t flog you to death.

  10. Michelle Yim looked a bit like Tse Suet Sum in the above photo.

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