Raymond Lam, Moses Chan, and Wayne Lai Battle for Best Actor Award

In the second half of 2010, TVB will release three grand-scale productions. The series line-up includes Raymond Lam Fung’s Growing Through Life <摘星之旅>, Moses Chan Ho and Charmaine Sheh Si Man’s Can’t Buy Me Love <公主嫁到>, and Wayne Lai Yiu Cheung and Sheren Tang Shui Man’s Rosy Business 2- The Righteous Sea of Heroic Love <巾幗梟雄之義海豪情>.

Due to the release schedule of the upcoming dramas, the year-end TVB Anniversary Best Actor Award will become a battle between Raymond Lam, Moses Chan and Wayne Lai. However, Wayne already expressed that he does not have confidence in winning the award, stating that Raymond and other contenders posed as fierce competition.

In 2009, the series, E.U. <學警狙擊>, Rosy Business <巾幗梟雄> and Beyond the Realm of Conscience <宮心計> became the talk of Hong Kong audiences during their broadcast. Wayne Lai and Michael Tse Tin Wah’s popularity peaked dramatically as a result, while winning the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Awards respectively. In contrast, TVB’s 2010 series have not sparked the same level of excited discussion yet. Although Raymond Lam’s The Mysteries of Love<談情說案> garnered impressive ratings of 38 points (about 2.42 million viewers) and peaked at 42 points (approximately 2.68 million viewers), netizens have accused it of plagiarizing Japanese series, Detective Galileoand Mr.Brain.
The upcoming series to be released in the remainder of 2010 should capture more of the audience’s sentiment. On August 9th, TVB will release Growing Through Love. This series features Raymond Lam, Damian Lau Chung Yan, Cecilia YipTung, and Bosco Wong Chung Chak. In September, Can’t Buy Me Love will air, featuring Moses Chan and Charmaine Sheh. In October, Rosy Business 2 will be released, featuring Wayne Lai and Sheren Tang.

Raymond Lam: Wayne Lai is a Strong Actor

The battle for the 2010 TVB Anniversary will be between Raymond Lam, Moses Chan, and Wayne Lai.  TVB has been heavily promoting Raymond this year, allowing him to take prominent projects in film, music, and television. Raymond will hold a concert in the end of July. His movie, Jade Pearl <翡翠明珠>, co-starring with Charlene Choi, will be released this summer. At TVB’s Jade Solid Gold (JSG) awards earlier this year, Raymond received the Most Popular Male Singer in Asia Pacific Award. Allegedly, there is a high chance that TVB may give Raymond the Best Actor Award this year, resulting in a double awards achievement.

In a telephone interview with Appledaily, Raymond said “I basically put in my best effort in each of my series. Of course I have confidence in my performance. Recently, I have been busy rehearsing for my upcoming July concert, so I will not dwell on something so far into the future.  Since Growing Through Life has not been released yet, the audience’s reaction is still unknown. A series’ reception is based on the timing of multiple factors. Since there will be numerous notable series to be released in the second half of 2010, many things are still unknown. For example, Wayne Lai is an actor who possesses enormous talent. Of course, receiving an award is a good thing, since it is a reward. For me, it would be a bonus, but I will not be disappointed if I do not win the award.”

Wayne Lai Not Confident in Winning Award

However, Wayne Lai should not be ignored in the race for Best Actor either. Rosy Business 2 is highly anticipated by audiences. Wayne is also a highly talented actor, thus he may win the Best Actor Award again this year.

Speaking to Appledaily, Wayne said, “My confidence in winning the award is not very high this year. The competitors are too strong., such as Damien Lau, Raymond Lam, Steven Ma Chun Wai, and Ken Cheng Tak Si. The reception for Ghost Writer <蒲松齡> and When Lanes Merge <情越雙白線> were both great.”

Although Rosy Business 2 was originally Producer Lim Tim Sing’s last series prior to retirement, he has agreed to extend his TVB contract for one more year.

Source: Appledaily

Jayne: If “Growing Through Life” achieves ratings in the 30s, I guarantee that Raymond Lam will win this year’s TVB Best Actor Award! I agree with the Appledaily journalist’s analysis, that TVB is building the momentum for Raymond to win the award this year.  Raymond’s popularity is higher than ever and building on the wave of his concert (July), movies (August), the airing of “Growing Through Life” in September is perfect.

Moses and Wayne have already won in recent years. I think TVB wants to promote other artists this year, someone more youthful and exciting. For Raymond fans, do you think success of winning the TVB Best Actor Award would be too early??

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Responses

  1. I agree with you Jayne. This article is spot on. Raymond’s momentum is very good this year with his series, movies and concert.

    However getting the Best Actor is parallel with the ratings and reception for the series itself too. I also reckon Raymond’s percentage of winning will shoot higher if “Growing Through Life” can garner respectable ratings. But personally I don’t think the series fits HK audience taste and it is said to be a copycat of The Drive of Life 😛 So now it’s not much the matter of Raymond’s acting but the matter of luck with series too.

    In short my analysis is unless Raymond in “Growing” create a “Laughing Gor” or “Chai Gau” phenomenon, OR “Growing” miraculously triumphs in ratings, Raymond will face quite a challenge for the award from Wayne and Moses.

  2. I must add that Growing Through Life possesses a mainland China TV series feel. In that sense even if this series failed to gain high ratings in HK, Raymond won’t lose out since I have a feeling TVB is trying to step into the mainland step by step whilst slowly introducing Raymond’s acting and songs there. Can be a good move considering the huge mainland market, but hard to break into 🙂

  3. I want Steven Ma to win. I have not watch PLS, but, his performance in ‘A Watchdog’s Tale’ is very good. He has been giving consistently good performances in recent years and I think he deserve to win.

  4. Raymond is an overrated actor cum singer..Not that I don’t like him, I just can’t stand TVB for over “promoting” him when he is still pretty new compare to other singers in the era and as for his acting skill, I never find him in any challenging role like being a beggar or a villain. Raymond always gives audiences a nice good boy image which eventually lead some of fans to turn to Kenneth Ma or Bosco because both of them have been in dirty roles before.

  5. Dodo, I completely agree. I feel as though Raymond’s acting has lost momentum after A Step Into the Past, Golden Faith. His acting style isn’t very experimental, he’s always in ‘safe’ roles that eventually I get bored of his presence. It feels too goody-goody to me, kind of how Linda Chung’s roles feel to me.

  6. I guess TVB has to give back more challenging roles to Raymond. Even though he has not played a true villain role after ASITP, his still have some flawed characters to play like Oscar in Golden Faith, Kau Chung in Twins of Brothers, Alfred in Heart of Greed.

  7. I think raymond has always played flawed characters very well. Like Kidd mentioned, Alfred who two timed in HOG, Kau Chung who turned evil in TOB, wheelchair bound in The Four, a selfish but loyal to love doctor in Face to Fate etc.

  8. Yes his character has always been flawed or personality challenged. Raymond in TOB is good turn evil turn good again. In The Four he’s a handicapped warrior. In Heart of Greed he’s good turns two timing turns good again turns orphan turns dead. In Drive of Life he’s not exactly goody-goody too.

    Didn’t Raymond just finished filming a drama with Bobby where he’s some sort of a demon? If Growing didn’t get high ratings, perhaps that demon thing can help Raymond 😀

    Although his character in MOL receives complains of being copied it can’t be denied that girls of all ages has been smittened by the prince charming good looks and persona of professor Kingsley.

  9. “Although his character in MOL receives complains of being copied it can’t be denied that girls of all ages has been smittened by the prince charming good looks and persona of professor Kingsley.”

    No, you are are wrong there. My sister is a Raymond fan and she said Kingsley is boring. Raymond might have gain some new fans with his Kingsley roles from girls who are into this kind of guys and some existing Raymond fans might swoon over Kingsley. But girls of all ages are been smitten by him? I doubt it.

    Please note that these kind of mystery/investigation series always get high ratings. Look at ‘Forensic Heroes’ and ‘D.I.E’. So, MOL high rating is not sole because FungYi or Raymond’s Prince Charming Kingsley.

  10. ^ Nope Masaharu is talking the truth. Lotsa people I know have their entire family from the grandma to their mum and the daughters squeal when Ray is onscreen. I also got a male friend complaint that his gf always praise Ray in MOL is smart looking with his outfits. So Ray’s ‘prince charming’ charm does attract lots of audience and so is FungYi charm.

    No doubt Ray will be very good in GTL but GTL has big problem with the uninteresting plot. Masahru is right again that Ray has Uninvited Date where he plays the cunning demon. Now that will be his coming breakthru challenging role that everyone is waiting for so long!

    Thank u Jayne for translating.

  11. haha, but i thought ‘An Uninvited Date’ was fixed to be the drama for raymond to win the Best Actor Award? because i read from reports that his devil character in ‘An Uninvited Date’ has a lot to be portrayed, thus increasing his chances to win the Best Actor next year.

    haha or we can all hope raymond wins the Best Actor Award two years in a row! 😀

    anyway i just wanna say, i love his acting 😀

  12. ^ That seems more likely. I also read that the character in An Uninvited Date has a lot of room for fantastic acting and is extraordinary. This devil role is more of Best Actor type such as Roger Kwok as Ah Wong. He won 2 times in 3 years! It depends on when UD will air. If its next year I think TVB will give to him next year when there no more competition from Wayne Lai. This year can give to Steven Ma since he’s been a long time in TVB.

  13. TVB promoting Raymond is because of his commercial value. Whether one agrees or not, Raymond brings it in and the track record shows. The ratings for the recent shows are comparable but the hits in TVB.com for MOL is far ahead. MOL airs during the world cup is part of the strategy and it proved to work and confirms his commercial value.

    Actually most actors are great but the one who gets the awards often is their luck of portraying a certain character/script/storyline and of course the skill in which the actor brings the character out. I find it odd with all the speculation even before a series is aired. How can someone tell who will get the movie king for a certain character even before we have seen it.

    Actually I love Raymond in MOL not because of the prince charming thing but that his character is of an introvert which is one of the hardest to portray. Even Dodo Cheng once said the hardest character to portray is the “good person”. The best I find is his character in Face to Fate. The struggle inside him between his devil and his angel.

    Raymond may not need an award to prove himself, his results are showing and I love the way he is enjoying what he does and is doing so well at it. I admire his ability to be in series, movies and singing and excel well. His articulation in multilingual and charisma in public. Certainly not easy and for someone who does not need all that money he can only do it with passion. I congratulate him!

    I am a talent acquisition manager and from all my years of experience he is quite an extraordinary talent.

  14. ^ I agree Ray really have high commercial values. It will be higher when his movies with Charlene and Miriam finish showing. TVB won’t let him go to film the two movies if they’re not confident that he can sell the movies. If the movies tops box office chart Ray will get more offers and get higher asking price for movies and strengtened his commercial values.

    Ray has a complete package. Not only he’s prince charming handsome but his acting and singing is also excellent that’s why his concert can add 2 more days and he’s also smart person. I agree he can focus on his acting and singing passion because unlike others who need to think about gaining money he don’t need to worry about money. He climbs to the top now with his hard work. 10 years ago he’s just a supporting actor in TVB now he’s at the excellent top.

  15. yea agree that TVB is promoting Ray but he has to have some skill too .

  16. Take some challenge role Ray . I’m bored of his good boy image , his MOL is boring.

  17. ^ That’s why everyone can’t wait for his devil demon role in An Uninvited Date my dear. That devil will take Ray faraway from his good boy prince charming image 😀

  18. Don’t you think it is a bit too early to say? After all some series not broadcast yet. And sometimes TVB do get it right but mostly let’s face it, it is a popularity award, no more and no less.

  19. I agree with you Vivien. I hope that Steven Ma will get the award this year but considering his relationship with TVB, I don’t think he will. I think it’s still a bit early for Raymond not that I don’t like his acting. I think he is a great actor, singer, and does not hurt that he is damn good-looking too, but there is something lacking. I can’t pin point. But like what Jayne was saying, this is a busy and profitable year for Raymond, so indeed TVB is paving the road for him. Now, they just need one more boost, which is his unreleased serie to be well accepted, but considering how he is well loved, that shouldn’t be a problem. But selfishly, I want him to get the award next year for UD with Tavia (FungYi), so hopefully, UD will be aired next year.

  20. Yeah, Wayne and Steven are good actors but if you watch them carefully, they have the same expression and way of portraying their character in every series. For example, Steven has one way of showing his emotions when he is in an argument. He grits his teeth, spreads his arms apart, looks like he tears up and looks around to speak his line. Basically the same for just about every series I’ve watched. For Wayne, the way he delivers his lines is also not diverse. Chai Kau’s emotions and expressions were not much different from his character in Safeguards and in past series. No doubt they are excellent at portraying their roles but from one series to the next, I don’t think their expressions differ and they don’t captivate the audience, at least for me. Raymond switches up the way he delivers his lines and his expressions from series to series. For me, that’s more important than acting well but showing the same demeanor every series since I watch a lot of series, it gets tiring. I think it’s just a matter of what people prefer. I really think Raymond is one of the rare actors that is versatile and actually puts forth effort in changing things up. Gallen Lo is the best in doing that in my opinion. I don’t know who should win this year but I’m just putting my argument out there.

  21. I seriously doubt Raymond will win this year seeing as how Moses and Wayne will both be participating in highly anticipated “sequels.” Mysteries of Love failed to average high ratings for TVB and Growing Through Life doesn’t look like it will help Raymond that much. I don’t think that it will average high ratings. Seeing as how Rosy Business and Beyond the Realm of Conscience were the highest rated series of last year I have no reason to believe their sequels won’t do the same. I believe Rosy Business 2 is currently the most anticipated series of the year and I believe Wayne will win again. If Rosy Business 2 or Can’t Buy Me Love have significantly high ratings I don’t see how TVB could ignore that fact and give the best actor award to an actor in a series that pulled mediocre ratings.

  22. having said all that and arguing here and there, aiyaaaa….i just want to say that Gallen Lo is the best out there! just get him back to TVB to film a mega blockbuster drama alongside few other top TVB actors..
    My dream team in a drama with a brillant storyline = Gallen Lo + Bobby Au Yeung + Louis Koo + Moses Chan + Raymond Lam ….That would give us the greatest “kick” in life as long as the plot is good too

  23. I don’t have high hopes for tvb’s grand productions… I have found that many of their past grand productions have been a bore… drive of life, the gem of life. TVB should promote a greater diversity of actors and actresses… I’d like to see some new faces rather than the same faces for series after series!

  24. “Don’t you think it is a bit too early to say? After all some series not broadcast yet. And sometimes TVB do get it right but mostly let’s face it, it is a popularity award, no more and no less.”

    TVB does this every year as a publicity not only for the awards but also for the involved artistes and series. Tavia Yeung benefited last year from the early attention(before filming starts) given to her “scheming lady” which continues until the awards. This award is partly based on popularity too. TVB isn’t the Oscars who will give an award to an unpopular actor with an unknown movie 😉

  25. Masaharu, this award is 100% popularity, but TVB does get it right because the public gets it right, sometimes.

    Jay, every actor has a bit of sameness in their portrayals. However it is how they connect with the audience. I won’t argue about Ray’s acting but to say he is better than Wayne is to me laughable even if Ray is a competent actor. What I like about Steven is his honesty in hos portrayal. There is something rather raw and touching in the way he portrays a character, much like Felix Wong who isn’t the greatest actor but has that every day man quality that you can connect with and like. Even when Steven was at his worse, during early in his career, there was this quality. My problem with him is his diction.

    As for Wayne, he may sound the same, cry the same, but he has this intensity when in drama or in comedy this casualness, that connects with the audience and he does portray his character well. Never scene per scene, always a collective sort of portrayal. I remember Jayne said that his Chai Gau never stopped having this intense hungry look in his eyes, and she is spot on. That is why Wayne Lai is such a great character actor; his eyes speaks volumes, his body language suits the role. He is great in both comedy and drama, both as a gentle person and an angry person. And in Off Pedder, he proved that he can be an intellectual too but BUT I must say he may not make a good emperor or a professional.

    Versatility isn’t just about body language but a combination of many things but first and foremost understanding and then portraying that character as interpreted. I agree some tend to stick to the same body language but to say just because he cries with his hands open and smiles with his hands folded as proof of his non-versatility is too simplistic. Some actors can have the same expression, same tone, same everything and yet the characters differ somehow. Marco Ngai is one prime example, he isn’t a great actor but a competent one.

    As for Ray, just because he whispers his line when playing an intellectual or smile when he is nice or angry when he is not doesn’t make him a great actor. It depends really but luckily for Ray he is a good actor, better than most and very popular and deservingly so. He is interesting.

    Gallen Lo was such a terribly awful actor when he started but something in him changed and made him a good, better, and then great actor but again you can also say he utters the line same and such.

    I can name you many established actors an actresses who everybody says is great and all but to me they’re not. I won’t name them except for one; Maggie Cheung Man Yuk. I never thought she was a good actress, not then, definitely not now.

    The one series which I can’t remember the name was one series with power house acting talent, the veteran Deric Wan + the charismatic veteran as well Gallen Lo + a young but great Raymond Lam with also the young Myolie Wu who was as great.

    That was like the dream team.

  26. “Raymond is an overrated actor cum singer..Not that I don’t like him, I just can’t stand TVB for over “promoting” him when he is still pretty new compare to other singers in the era and as for his acting skill, I never find him in any challenging role like being a beggar or a villain. Raymond always gives audiences a nice good boy image which eventually lead some of fans to turn to Kenneth Ma or Bosco because both of them have been in dirty roles before.”

    Not really. Raymond is in whole another level of popularity than Kenneth Ma or Bosco and from majority public view Raymond has the best acting skills, best looks, best talents and has the most audience fate, and loyal fans won’t easily jump ship here and there.

    Kenneth Ma and Bosco has their own group of loyal fans, but their reputation and skills still need more work to gain acceptance from the public; especially Bosco since he has accepted to venture into another field beyond his capabilities >_< and has to learn to stabilize in both . I hope he can improve more and more in the future.

  27. How about the Best Actress? Nobody cares about it?

  28. Funn Lim, a very solid argument you have put there. However, I never said Raymond is a better actor than Wayne. I praise his wide variety of gestures and expressions that he portrays from series to series.

    I believe that what we judge as good acting is undoubtedly subjective. Some may prefer great acting no matter what character the actor is portraying and that is what most prefer. Others may ask for a wider range of movements and deliveries from that same actor. And since TVB uses the same actors in many series and many actors and actresses star in multiple series a single year, adding to the fact that as many series as I watch a year (nerd alert), I would prefer the latter over the former, most of the time. I like more variety from the actors when the same actors are in several series each year. I believe a good script can carry bad acting but even great acting cannot carry a bad script. So that’s why for me personally, I am more impressed with the Raymonds than the Waynes of the world in this particular category.

    No one can say Wayne is a bad acting or is not superior to Raymond. But it’s a matter of what suits you more. And Raymond does not just speak softly just to have a different tone from his past series. Versatility is about body language and delivery. What else is there to judge by? Screen presence is also important in terms of not only captivating the audience but making it feel like that character is real. That is largely driven by versatility of delivery and expression.

    I agree that if one only watch one series of Wayne, Rosy Business, one would most certainly conclude that he is a great actor. But the fact of the matter is that TVB is so much different from the rest of the cinematic world, it just doesn’t work that way.

  29. “Versatility isn’t just about body language but a combination of many things but first and foremost understanding and then portraying that character as interpreted”

    Funn: Agree. Versatility defined an actor’s ability to bring nuances, idiosyncrasies and little quirks so that each character though similar in genre is a distinctive individual. Like Steven’s erudite scholar Cho Ji (WTLB) is very different from an equally erudite Po Chung Ling, his grass root character Ong Boy (AJCL) is very different from his Chee Yat Bo (Cupid Stupid) It is his meticulous attention to details and nuances that differentiate his characters for those of us who are appreciative of and tuned in to his acting.

    “What I like about Steven is his honesty in his portrayal. There is something rather raw and touching in the way he portrays a character, much like Felix Wong who isn’t the greatest actor but has that every day man quality that you can connect with and like. Even when Steven was at his worse, during early in his career, there was this quality.”

    Besides Steven’s honest outpouring of himself and heart into his characters, there is also the naturalness and believability in how he brought life to them. Again, take his On Boy for e.g, without a colourful or forceful personality like Chai Gou; or a quirky/contrived personality like Dak Dak Dei or Ah Wong; or a high drama like HOG or MR, to grab the eyes of the audience, left on his own device, Steven had to depend on his honest and natural portrayal to grab the attention, if not hearts of his audience.

    It is precisely the verisimilitude and effortless performances of his every day man characters that viewers tend to overlook the extreme difficulty of portraying such ‘bland’ characters. But then, we are talking about fine and nuanced acting not roles or scripts, are we not?

    “they have the same expression and way of portraying their character in every series.”

    Jay: Whatever you said about Steven and Wayne, I can also handpick sameness aplenty for Raymond Lam, and other actors like Moses and even Gallen, even Roger Kwok, but you get my point. For me, Steven has a great repertoire of facial expressions; just check out his Fok Tao in Better Halves and Ah Gong in AWT evinced as much. Unluckily Steven has no much control in the roles given him.

    I may be one of the few here who is not overly wowed by Raymond’s looks or performances. The only performance that made me noticed him was his role in ASITP. He had fire in his eyes then and raw talent. But his later performances in HOG, MR, DOL, and MOL didn’t do it for me. In fact, I forwarded all his scenes Linda and Yoyo in HOG. Talk about sameness, his roles in the said series all merged into sameness, for me.

    But yeah, appreciation of an actor’s acting is all very subjective, so to each his/her own.

  30. Why I want Steven to win.

    Steven = Ah Gong.

    Steven’s portrayal of Ah Gong is so natural that I can’t imagine other actors in his role. It’s like he became Ah Gong instead of acting as Ah Gong. I think his portray of Ah Gong is better than his portray of Onn Boy. Too bad most voters will forget about Ah Gong (if Ah Gong ever make it to the Best actor list. Most probably Pu Song Ling will make it).

    Actually, I have the same preference for actor type as Jay. I also like actors who can portray different mannerism and gestures etc when playing different character. That’s why I have problem with Paul Chun and Felix Wong because I felt they speak the same way and move the same wat in all roles. But, I don’t have this problem with Wayne. I have seen many different roles played by Wayne and they all feel different.

  31. Ah Gong has quirkiness for Steven to add color to his character; On Boy has few if any. Steven did the best he could given On Boy’s characterization and screen time. For me, Steven became On Boy too. But yeah, I too prefer Ah Gong over On Boy.

  32. ^ Ray may not be a better actor than Wayne Lai since his experience is like what? Not even half of Wayne’s experience. Give Ray a break. He’s the best out of the younger generation his age. The others need to learn to act more. Jay is right that Ray is versatile and add his own brilliant touch to each his roles.

    You said it that everyone will view every artiste differently. So my view is Steven’s acting has been the same all these years. He speak the same way, cry the same way, smile the same way and move the same way in his series. I found his acting in AWT not great as most his fans claim but I only see average acting. I don’t see that personal touch that you see.

  33. Since I’m in the minority here as it seems, in thinking that Raymond is versatile, I’ll concede the argument.

    I too don’t feel the connection that Steven seems to provide to other folks. Sure he can get into his character but what I’m saying is that, from one character to the next, you can tell that Raymond’s characters are distinct and individualized. Steven on the other hand doesn’t convince me that the list of characters he has portrayed are different because each person (theoretically) should perform their actions differently, whether minimally visible or on a greater scale. Steven gives me the vibe that his characters all act the same. This leads me to the conclusion that Steven is this way in real life, his movements and delivery; leading to my conclusion that he isn’t versatile.

    But sure, if you ask me to pick an actor for ONE PARTICULARLY series, I would undoubtedly choose Wayne over Raymond in many cases (depending on the role). But I’m saying that I would like more variety in said deliveries and expressions because of the amount of TVB series there are every year and how many series artistes star in every year. I get tired of the same artistes doing the same thing, no matter how great they are. If I watch only 3-4 series a year, I’m willing to bet my views would change. But it’s not the case since I assume those that would take the time to post their arguments on the internet watch almost every series.

    Thanks for reading.

  34. Jay why concede? No one is saying Ray is awful, just general consensus is Wayne is better and it is not about experience. Wayne has been great since the beginning. The fact is when I look at Wayne Lai I just don’t see 1 performance. I see his entire body of work. Those who just knew him would see Rosy Business as the standard. Those who know him better see JTTW as the standard. Those who know him even more better see it way back when he just started, his earliest was that series about people from Guandong and he was already exceedingly good there.

    Not to say Ray is not good. He is actually much better than many many anybody can name but just in my opinion not the same standard as Wayne and it has nothing to do with experience. Because many actors has been acting solidly for 10 years and they still suck.

    I agree on the argument in support of Steven Ma. The ordinariness, that Felix Wong factor, not many has it now. Remember Felix Wong? From his debut until now, he has never been in a secondary role, he was never a great actor, would fit well into same gesture, same acting but his ordinariness just makes him very charming, very likeable, that viewers’ face factor. I think Steven Ma has it, BUT not the same level as Felix.

    By the way I just saw Ray gyrating to some music in his music video. Gave me a scare for a moment, now that he seems to enjoy touching himself in his raunchy music videos.

  35. Funn, LOL raunchy HK music videos have been the trend for some time. The style has been decidedly Hollywood hip hop for some time.

    I watched some recent Bollywood videos and I quite enjoy their upbeat music. The Bollywood videos are always very seductive, without actual kissing nor close contact between the stars, yet there are waveloads of sexuality conveyed. I prefer that there is something left to the imagination rather than outright raunchiness found in Hollywood music videos.

  36. Bollywood? Jayne, I have seen the actor standing behind the actress on a tree branch swinging front and back fully clothed. They may not kiss (since it wasn’t allowed but now they do kiss but not too french kiss) but they do EVERYTHING but kiss. Gone are the days of pulling of saris during thunderstorms in the rain rolling on the wet grass!

    But yes I agree about the music although how from one scene in say Mumbai can be in switzerland next dancing to some music is out of my scope of explanation.

    Jayne, do watch the classic Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (A little something happened to my heart). Shah Rukh Khan is king to me!

  37. Hope Steven can win the award this year for ghost writer,cause he did a great job and deserves it more than Raymond.

  38. Hmm I think Ray will win the best actor award.
    I think he did a great job in MOL and & .<3 . his
    prince charming character.

    looking forward to his devil character
    <<>>

  39. It’s so weird how no one mentions Bobby or Bowie~ Like, didn’t they have dramas also?
    Steven deserves an award.

  40. Hikari, Bobby’s new series has not been aired when the article was released. Now that Bobby series has high ratings, he will be named as ‘dark horse’ candidate, because he is not contracted to TVB.

    As for Bowie, his series ‘Pearl’ did not garner high ratings, nor momentum for his popularity.

    Both are good actors.

  41. If Raymond wins the best actor award i will seriously become an anti Raymond fan! I loved Raymond at first he was hardworking but now that tvb is over promoting him not because hes good at acting but because he has some family “connection” to win the award im starting to hate him! Steven Ma deserves the award more hes actually hardworking! This years awards anniversary isnt very exciting but if Raymond wins i will cry, i think he should wait for a years to win the award!

  42. didnt wayne win last year? i dont think is the practice of tvb to allow same artist win twice back to back? but wayne wl be in the top five spot of best actors – this i am kinda sure. bobby, bowie, moses, wayne, raymond and i think steven and kenneth too do have the chance to be in the top five list. It doesnt matter whether raymond wins this year or 2-5 years’ time pple wl stil talk he’s got family ‘connection’ therefore he wins. he deserves recognition for his hard work (juggles betwn drama series, movies, singing, concert, recordings and the results is commendable)and not necessarily thru best actor award but it wll be a bonus if he does!

  43. Sad but I don’t think Ray will win because his new series GTL only get 27 points ratings and is hated by HK audience. TVB is just using Ray to promote the anniversary awards.

    I think the award is predictable. Steven Ma might be Best Actor from GW. Kenneth Ma will win Best Character from the ratings and praises of AFOS. Fala will win Best Female Character since she got praises from GW. Charmaine will win Best Actress again. Raymond Wong will win Most Improved Male. Natalie or Selena for Female Improved. CHo Lam, Louis, Johnson for Best Hosts. AFOS or CBML for Best Series.

  44. Honestly, I like all the guys – Ray, Wayne, Felix and Steven – that you mentioned, but I’m more fan of Ray and Felix.

    That you to, I think Funn? For voicing exactly what I love about Felix – although, I personally believe he’s actually outstanding in villain roles like in The Silver Tycoon. He’s transformation from hard-working, honest boy to ruthless villain was magnificent and surely, one of the reasons for why I’m looking forward to his new serie with Michael Miu.

    When it comes to Steven, I find him extremely likeable, but not terrible interesting. I suppose, I would like to see Steven in different roles since he too seems type-casted. I’m aware that he doesn’t get to choose his series since he is TVB-contracted. But likewise, when people complain about Ray getting on goody-boy roles, he doesn’t get a say either with maybe the exception if his schedule is full because of his other job as a singer. I love Ray, have since I saw him in A Taste Of Love but I do have to agree that his acting is getting stale. He doesn’t seem to continue improving when there are definitely still room for improvement. I loved him in DOL, and I thought he was reasonable good in MR and I also like him in GTL. But then there was his acting in MOL which aside from hardcore FungYi fans and perhaps swooning little girls, I can’t imagine anyone liking. His character was dull and so was his performance. I fear that this is what happens when actors pursue other interests instead of honing their acting skills.

    Lastly, I have equally also always liked Wayne and I am very happy for him that he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves. But like with Steven, he just doesn’t appeal to me anymore than I’ll enjoy him in a show and forget about him afterwards. It’s no slight to either Wayne or Steven, it’s just that people’s taste is different. But I always distinguish between people I just like and good acting. I might not care about someone, but I can concede that their acting is good.

    Will Ray win the TV King Award? I doubt it. Actually, this discussion have made me reconsider my earlier stance – I thought Ray deserved the award for DOL as I genuinely thought he was great in there (and I hated both Moses and Ha Yu’s overacting in HOG). But I’ve reconsidered, I think Ray still needs to prove himself so I do think the award would be too early for him. Then again, we all know there has been many undeserving winners in the past. But as a Ray fan, I would rather he win when he truly deserves it, when he has the audience on his side rather than a couple of TV executives. Furthermore though, Ray won’t win this year no matter how much TVB have been gearing towards it: GTL, despite the fact that I like show, is getting extremely low ratings. It just doesn’t fall in the HK taste. Ray won’t win for MOL. Since he doesn’t seem to have any more shows this year, it’s extremely unlikely that he’ll win imo.

    Who will win? That’s a good question, but I don’t believe it will be Wayne again. I simply don’t believe the behind-the-scenes executives will allow it because they’ll want to push another artist. It could very much end up being Moses, imo, especially if CBML gets high ratings.

  45. ^Sorry, I forgot to include Steven Ma. Honestly, I don’t think his chances are that good. He doesn’t have the behind-the-scene support, GW didn’t really get much hype, neither did as far as I know, his performance, so I have a hard time seeing how he could win. I guess, IF for some reasons, TVB decide not to give the award to Moses, that would better Steven’s chances since like I mentioned earlier, I don’t believe either Ray or Wayne has a high chance.

  46. Moses is only good in comedy role. He has perfect comic timing, but, he’s no very good in displaying emotions (which is needed for dramatic series).

  47. Kidd,

    You shld watch Ultimate Crime Fighter bf u say Moses is good in comedy only. His emotion display was excellent after Gigi’s character death.

  48. Jenny, Kidd is right. Moses is made for comedy, for drama, don’t be fooled by tears or contorted facial expressions. Look at body language, look at his eyes. Moses to me is still lacking in the drama dept and since he always portray lady killers, I find this aspect laughable frankly. And he is not leading man material.

    Neither is Joe Ma.

    And Advo, I agree with your choices but Ray as TV King? Popularity yes but substance, much too soon. If any based on substance it should have been for Survivors Law. Recent offerings are not good enough.

    If I have my way, Wayne Lai should win every year. The likes of Wayne and some capable actors winning the rigged popularity award almost makes it seem credible.

    I remember one year it was such a difficult choice, all 5 actors were as good. Do you all remember? Bobby for Take My Word For It I think that’s the series, Bowie for Vigilante Force, Roger Kwok for something and 2 more I can’t remember. Who won? Bowie? All of them deserved it but I was rooting for Bobby because he was excellent in that role where he went back to beyond just underdog roles. So many years ago since Tavia then had her breakthrough role in that series with Bowie.

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