Jessica Hsuan Gives Honest Reflection of Her Life

Jessica Hsuan (宣萱) is excited for her role in The Queen of Castle <巨塔之后 > where she plays a strong-willed and tough doctor and many fans commented that Jessica’s role is very similar to her off-screen outspoken personality.  Offering fans a chances to get to know her, Jessica sat down for an interview and candidly reflected on her her career, life, friendship with Louis Koo (古天樂) and relationship.

Early in Jessica’s career, the actress made a strong impression when she criticized TVB’s management on air. Recalling the incident, Jessica laughed, “Wow! I didn’t know what dear was. The word ‘Brave’ was craved onto my chest and I just charged. Looking back, I think I was really brave. Luckily the company didn’t fire me, but I don’t think I was wrong. I was stating facts.”

While Jessica’s outspoken personality is widely praised, Jessica confessed that she hasn’t changed, “If you ask me, I haven’t changed. I’m act based on what is right. I won’t change. If I do, I would be too smooth and I say anything at all. I feel that when I am finally lying in the coffin, I will be really angry with myself.”

Hitting a Slump in Her Career

Jessica recalled entering the entertainment industry in 1991 by appearing in a commercial. The next year, Jessica signed a contract with TVB as an actress, “When I joined TVB, I heard that the salary was only $3,000 Hong Kong Dollars! My parents scolded me that I graduated from university with a salary of $3,000! At that time, I told myself that it wouldn’t be manageable even with $6,000 and I was expecting to fail. Later, I went for an interview and I was able to start work immediately for K-100. The pay was also fine. I signed for three years thinking that after three years, I would still be only 24 years old. If it doesn’t work out, I could still look for another job.”

Jessica’s acting career went smooth sailing and she has been in the industry for 33 years. In her long career, Jessica only questioned if she made the right decision once, “We were filming and I suddenly asked myself: ‘What am I doing?’ Feeling like a robot. One film finishes and the next one starts. At best you get one week off, but that week you’re still reading the script. It was intense and I wondered if I not act anymore. I was almost 30 then. I had zero life! I couldn’t see my friends!”

Thankfully the slump only lasted a week and Jessica regained her passion: “Actually I really like my job! Looking ahead, I think I will continue acting.”

When Jessica was in her late 30s, she found herself on bumpy grounds, “In the late 30s and early 40s, I hit my career low point. I left TVB for a while. I signed with a manager but the manager could not do much. They even asked me to change careers. I looked in the mirror and thought I wasn’t that bad. The manager said, ‘No, at your age, you’re overweight and old. You won’t make it. You should do something else!’”

Those words eventually motived Jessica to try harder, “I actually thanked them because it inspired me. I looked at myself and realized that I’m not that bad. As an actor, you can play different roles at different ages, and you don’t need to worry about which roles you take. The most important thing is to play your role well. You also have to accept that your screen time will gradually decrease, and you’re not always the lead. If you ask me, at my age today, I still have my own career, I already feel that I’ve gained a lot!’

Friendship with Louis Koo

Jessica is currently signed under her long-time friend Louis Koo’s management company. The actress revealed that she met Louis early in her career, “It was probably while we were working in My Happy Harmony <餐餐有宋家>. He was still pale and very thin! He didn’t talk a lot and I love to speak. [We are good friends because] I think he sensed that I didn’t have any ulterior motives. I wouldn’t stop being friends just because someone wasn’t popular. He was so cute and lacked confidence. I love to support the weak!”

Over the years, the two friends have witnessed each other reach new height in their careers, but Jessica doesn’t consider Louis as her “boss.” Jessica said, “I won’t flatter you just because you’re successful. He also needs someone to be honest with him. In front of me, he doesn’t act like a boss. When you have to manage so many things and meet people, you would of course appear serious, but he still has a silly side.”

Jessica admitted she admires Louis’s diligence, “Seeing how he built everything and changing from looking so pale and thing to where he is now, it inspires a lot of people because he is so hardworking. If you ask me, I would have died. I couldn’t hand it. Sometimes I ask him why he works so hard and he said, Don’t worry about me, I do it because I enjoy it.’ His answer woke me up and that sometimes we need to respect what others enjoy.”

Living in the Present

Jessica views her career, life and relationship with the same mentality, “I like the present because I feel like I reached a state of passiveness. My mind is comfortable and I don’t deliberately demand anything. For example, there are certain roles that even if you really want them, it’s still out of reach. From this, you learn to relax.”

Jessica continued, “Regarding relationships, it’s the same. For instance, whether you have a husband or boyfriend, those who are meant to leave will leave, and those who meant to come will come. I think it’s best to go with the flow. The most important thing is to prepare myself. I have learned over the years to be ready. Whether it be about relationship, life or work, I will give it my all when the time comes.”

Source: [1]

This article is written by Sammi for JayneStars.com.