Will Kenneth Ma Finally Win TV King?
The TVB Anniversary Awards will be held on January 12, 2020 and the contenders for the TV Kingface a stiff battle. The top three favorite nominees this year include Kenneth Ma (馬國明) for Big White Duel (白色強人), Joel Chan (陳山聰) for Barrack O’Karma (今宵大廈) and Philip Keung (姜皓文) for The Defected (鐵探). While this is the first time that Joel and Philip are nominated for the coveted title, this is Kenneth’s 12th nomination.
Kenneth Ma
This year, Kenneth’s character in Big White Duel was well received for his captivating relationship with Natalie Tong (唐詩詠) and Ali Lee (李嘉馨). This role even helped Kenneth win the Best Actor Award in Singapore in November and is definitely a good boost to his confidence.
Waiting to win TV King in his 12th nomination, Kenneth’s acting has seen steady improvements with each drama. The 45-year-old actor joined TVB after completing its 14th annual acting class and was initially a supporting artiste. It wasn’t until Kenneth’s performance in A Fistful of Stance <鐵馬尋橋> in 2010 that helped him become a household name and propelled him to leading status.
In 2017, Kenneth was favored to win TVB King for his role in The Exorcist’s Meter <降魔的>, however the title ultimately ended up in Vincent Wong’s (王浩信) hand for Legal Mavericks <踩過界>. Hoping to break his curse as second-best, Kenneth may finally get his breakthrough.
Joel Chan
Although Joel has been in the entertainment industry for 26 years, it wasn’t until his starring role in Barrack O’Karma that shot him to the peak of his popularity. In the drama, Joel and co-star Selena Lee (李施樺) play star-crossed lovers spanning across decades. Showcasing his emotional acting, Joel challenged himself by portraying two characters from two different time periods, and has a good chance of winning TVB King.
Joel’s road to stardom has not always been easy. Joining TVB in 2000, Joel started as a supporting actor before rising to second lead actor in 2009. However, in 2011, Joe hit a snag when he was branded as a gold digger for getting involved with wealthy heiress Florinda Ho (何超雲) while married to his ex-wife Ponny Yeung (楊渡萍). Criticized for prioritizing his relationship over his career, Joel eventually ended losing both his career and relationship when he broke up with Florinda after their two years of courtship.
Joel slowly rebuilt his career after his role in Noblesse Oblige <宦海奇官> and eventually won Best Supporting Male Actor for The Unholy Alliance (同盟) in 2017.
Philip Keung
As a seasoned actor, Philip has been in the entertainment industry for 33 years and recently made the jump from film to television. In The Defected, many viewers praised Philip his effortless acting skills and his ability to convincingly show depth in his emotions.
The 53-year-old actor started his career with ATV and often played extras before gaining prominence in supporting roles. In 2017, Philip won his first award, Best Supporting Male Actor, for his performance in the movie Shock Wave <拆弹专家>. In recent years, Philip has been headlining films and appeared in last year’s critically-acclaimed Tracey (翠絲)
Source: HK01
This article is written by Sammi for JayneStars.com.
Kenneth should’ve won in 2012 for The Hippocratic Crush. He was good in the Big White Duel, but I loved Philip in The Defected.
Knowing TVB, they’ll probably give it to Joel.
@hazel Kenneth really did deserve it for On Call, I could imagine TVB giving him this one almost as a pity award tho
@hazel i think out of the 3, Joel has the lowest chance of winning. Not saying his acting is bad. He did a great job in Barrack O’Karma and all dramas he was in previously.
But, if TVB were to give the award to someone who is a signed TVB artist, then Kenneth has a better chance than Joel
I didn’t see Big White Duel, so I can’t fairly say much, but I think Kenneth will likely win. He’s been set to get the prize since the JW cheating. Which is a shame since it taints a deserving career and body of work.
I would like Philip to win. Joel did well, but not at that level.
For the actresses, I hope for Selena, but that’s probably unlikely.
Really like Eric Li for Best Supporting in Man who Kills Trouble. But again, I am picking all the losers.
@potatochip The losers actually deserve to be the winners. haha lol…Not just Eric Li but his sidekick assistant in that series was also very good and looked more handsome than when he was younger. Rough looking roles suit them both well there.
@wm2017 @potatochip agree that Eric Li & sidekick Stephen Wong are very good actors. Both of them have been in TVB for a long time
Not sure if Philip will win considering he’s not a signed TVB artiste despite being deserving. Might also be too soon for Joel as this is one of his first leading roles too.
I personally would like Kenneth to win but I would say Philip is most deserving out of the nominees.
Not mentioned here but Vincent acted quite well in his series and I think surprisingly Pakho did quite well in Wonder Women too
@ledge Pakho’s performance is surprisingly good! I remember watching him in previous dramas, like Line Walker & Another Era, but his acting was ok. So, I definitely see improvement.
Vincent is always good, but he won TVB KING in 2017. I doubt he will get it because the dramas he were in this year arent superb. Maybe he will get TVB KING again for Legal Mavericks 2
@ledge I agree with you! Want Kenneth to win but Philip probably gave a better and deeper performance. Loved Pakho in Wonder Women! He definitely improved and his Oppa was so warm and lively… hope he can get Most Favorite Male Character.
@ledge kenneth will win TV king this year and too soon for joel to win TV king. Philip did well but maybe chances maybe slim as non TVB artist
Yes indeed was surprised with Pakho in wonder woman. His role as oppa is well loved & memorable. he might stand a chance to win favourite character
Philip is the most deserving, skilled and seasoned actor in this list. He was excellent in The Defected. We all know if Kenneth or Joel wins is because they are signed TVB artists.
It feels like acting skills and votes are only a small aspect of their chances of winning TV King. Usually, ones that do win are people whose contracts are almost done or whether they have the years (10+ years acting as basic standard) and good relationship with TVB. Consequently, winning has become (or already was) an achievement for their resume if they were to work elsewhere. It’s not truly given based only on their acting skills. Not saying all TV Kings had bad acting skills, but the winner is measured among so many other things than just acting skills lol
I do hope Kenneth will win the tv king this time.
Based on performance, Philip should win.
Joel was great and I loved the Ah Siu character but he definitely still has room for improvement. Next to Selena you can see a difference.
Knowing TVB they will probably give it to Kenneth though. Kenneth was great in the Exorcist’s Meter but his performance in Big White Duel is competent but nothing to shout about.