Lawrence Ng Talks “The Hippocratic Crush 2” at Shanghai TV Festival
Yesterday, the Chinese press caught up with Hong Kong television stars Lawrence Ng (吳啟華) and Mandy Wong (黃智雯) at the 19th Shanghai TV Festival, where they were promoting their upcoming TVB medical drama, The Hippocratic Crush 2 <On Call 36小時II>.
The series, which is the direct sequel to 2012’s The Hippocratic Crush, sees the return of regular cast members Kenneth Ma (馬國明), Tavia Yeung (楊怡), Him Law (羅仲謙), Benjamin Yuen (袁偉豪),Gigi Wong (黃淑儀), and Mandy Wong. Lawrence, Louisa So (蘇玉華), Eliza Sam (岑麗香), and 2012 Miss Hong Kong second runner-up Tracy Chu (朱千雪) are new additions to the series.
Lawrence Reveals Plot Details
Lawrence portrays Dr. Lokman, a consultant physician who suffers from a chronic illness. “I have seen the first season,” said Lawrence. “The second season is a continuation of the brilliance that was established in the first, with the inclusion of new cast members, including Louisa So and I. Rookie actors are also added to the cast, such as Miss Hong Kong Tracy Chu.”
The returning TVB star also spilled, “Lead actor Kenneth Ma will be one of our patients, as well as Tavia Yeung. The first season talked about [Tavia’s] illness, and in this series, it is about our team of doctors working together to heal her.”
Best known for his iconic role as Dr. Paul Ching from the highly acclaimed Healing Hands <妙手仁心> trilogy, was Lawrence afraid that viewers would compare his new role as Lokman to Paul Ching, thus making it more difficult for Lawrence to find a new breakthrough in his acting?
“They’re different roles. [The Hippocratic Crush 2] was greatly supported by the Hospital Authority. We had real-life doctors consulting us during the shoot, so all the scenes are genuine.”
What was Lawrence’s most memorable shooting experience for the drama? “There was a yacht scene. Both the director and I were not very satisfied with the scene’s script, so I took the liberty to rewrite the entire sequence, which is why that scene was particularly memorable to me. Another scene I remember very well was of me apologizing to my [teenage] daughter. I improvised a lot of my dialogue. When I was shooting the scene I wasn’t expecting that to happen, but I was completely engrossed, so I added in some of my own confessions.”
Returns to TVB for Eric Tsang
It has been eight years since Lawrence last starred in a TVB drama. His last drama series with the Hong Kong network, At Home With Love <樓住有情人>, was marred with mixed critical reception and below-average viewership ratings. The 49-year-old star admitted that if it were not for Eric Tsang (曾志偉), he never would have returned.
“I was disappointed with TVB. In my last few years there, I did nothing but small, low-budget, mediocre productions.”
Eight years later, Lawrence met TVB executive Virginia Lok (樂易玲), at a birthday party hosted by Eric Tsang. “We had a great chat, and after a few talks, I decided to come back. It was fate. For the past eight years, there was no middle man between TVB and I. If Eric didn’t pull his strings, I would not have come back.”
Future Plans
Lawrence disclosed that he has signed on to shoot two other TVB dramas after The Hippocratic Crush 2. “I will be shooting a drama produced by Eric [Aerobic Girls] in July. After that, I will be filming another TVB drama in January of next year.”
Lawrence also shared that he intends to continue his acting career in the mainland China, revealing that he is in negotiations to sign with a mainland Chinese management company.
Was Lawrence enticed by the higher salaries offered by mainland Chinese production teams? Lawrence said, “The difference isn’t much. While it’s true that TVB’s pay is low, working for TVB allows you greater publicity, and in the end, you would be able to win more endorsement offers and other commercial deals. Ultimately, the salary outcome would not make much of a difference.”
The Hippocratic Crush 2 is slated to air at the end of the year during TVB’s anniversary slot.
Source: QQ.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
So excited for THC2 because of Louisa So!
Ahhh but who will die?
“Lawrence portrays Dr. Lokman, a consultant physician who suffers from a chronic illness. ”
Now we have THREE candidates to kill off. My bet is Lawrence. I don’t see him in part 3.
You know, the part about Lawrence playing a doctor who suffers from a chronic illness sounds too eerily familiar to the plot in Healing Hands 3…I seriously hope that they don’t turn THC into another HH wannabe!
Haha…yup, knowing TVB, they are definitely going to try to “milk” the THC ‘franchise’ until it is dry…who knows though…they might end up changing the entire cast for part 3 (if there is one, that is)…
agree
really looking forward to this! Lawrence and louisa <3
super anticipating this series! hope kenneth can get his most deserving tv king award with this!
ugh. so not looking forward to the new characters. and personally, i think Lawrence is one of the most boring tv actors ever. even his brother, who was a supporting actor in the 80s/90s was more appealing.
Shut up! Lawrence Ng is one of the hottest. You think who can compete him? Kenneth Ma or Raymond Lam or Bosco Wong can’t reach half of his hotness. Kenneth Ma looks like an old hag next to Lawrence Ng above.
so true. i can’t believe this person said he is boring. He is one of those actor who actually appealed to me after many years.
I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like The Hippocratic Crush 2 would not be as good as the first one. Judging from all the sequels that came out this year and previous years, I don’t know if this sequel would follow the same path. Take Ghetto Justice for instance, Kevin was really popular when it first came out, but for the second installment he did not get the same noise as he did for the first one. I’m afraid Kenneth might follow the same path. But I could be wrong, for example Healing Hands 2 did pretty well and so did the Armed Reaction sequels and Forensic Heroes sequels.
Goodness where’s the fun with everyone being so sick??? Chronic illness??? Boy!!!