Fred Cheng Portrays Autistic Role in “Trade Wars”

TVB’s upcoming series Trade Wars <商戰> not only boasts a star-studded cast, it also generated noise over its refreshing pairings and characters. Stars Fred Cheng (鄭俊弘) and Edwin Siu (蕭正楠) both displayed utter professionalism as they went the extra mile to prepare for their challenging roles.

Fred and Edwin recently filmed a scene for the drama along with veterans Maggie Shiu (邵美琪) and Wayne Lai (黎耀祥). Playing an autistic young man with great musical talent, Fred spent personal time researching about his character’s condition in order to give a realistic performance. Because autism sufferers often have difficulty with expressing inner emotions, Fred is required to perform self-injurious acts to depict his character’s frustrations. “In the drama, I often have to bang my head on the wall in order to express my feelings. I got a bruise the other day from doing so during filming.” Luckily, the bruise did not blemish his good looks. Maggie, who portrays his mother in the series, praised Fred for his handsomeness and quipped that she would not mind having such a good-looking son in real life.

Edwin is equally committed to his role in Trade Wars, and has gone through a rigorous routine to transform his body prior to filming. Portraying an avid boxer, he reportedly lost 30 pounds in order to tone up and look convincing on-screen. Sticking to a strict diet to maintain control on his weight, Edwin is extremely careful about what he eats, even while the camera rolls. Asked to munch on beef jerky and potato chips during a scene, he only feigned taking small bites and spit out the food as soon as the scene was completed out of fear of the extra calories. He also keeps a close eye on his water intake, drinking very little to avoid appearing bloated.

Source: Oriental Daily

This article is written by Katrine  for JayneStars.com.