Did you see them? Did you see them?
I didn't leh. 
Text & Photos: Joanna
Goh
Video: Fiona Lin
Kenneth Ma may be turning 39 in
February this year, but the Hong Kong actor got all gushy when he
spoke about his co-star, Charmaine Sheh. The
two Hong Kong actors are currently in Singapore to film a special
TVB telemovie series called A Time of Love,
and took time off their busy schedules for a quick interview with
the local media yesterday.
On top of describing Charmaine as “special” and “pretty” – for a
grand total of three times – at his interview, Kenneth marveled at
his colleague’s versatility too. “She has so many different sides
to her which are brought out by her different hairstyles,” he
chuckled, “She can be pretty [at times] and cute too.”
He even joked lightheartedly about “forgetting” his lines because
he was “mesmerised” by Charmaine’s eyes. On a more serious note,
however, A Time of Love marks the duo’s first
collaboration with each other in years – and it’s a pairing they
find very refreshing.
“I think there’s some chemistry between us and some sparks on set,”
Charmaine said of her new co-star and partner, during a separate
interview with xinmsn.
But that’s all there is to it for now too, she later added, when
asked if she would consider Kenneth as a potential boyfriend in the
future. “There’s no rush in this, right?!” the 39-year-old actress
joked in disbelief, “We have only started filming for two
days!”
With “only five hours of sleep
every day”, Charmaine lamented that they hardly have time to think
about anything else other than work.
“Love," she said, “Is not on my agenda now.”
Both actors also shared that they will be spending Valentine's Day
with co-stars in their respective upcoming dramas. "I
will not be spending it alone this year; I will be
filming and I don't even have time for sleep!"
Kenneth laughed.
Charmaine talks about her
poor health
The petite actress shared that she has bigger problems and worries
on her plate – she
was diagnosed with spinal disc herniation (also known as
slipped disc) in late November last year and subsequently injured
her right hand in December. On top of having to cope with the
persistent numbness and pain, she suffered from lack of sleep and
poor appetite which resulted in drastic weight loss, and weighed an
unhealthy 42.8kg at her worst (her weight stands at 44kg now).
Charmaine’s biggest concern right
now is to get back in the pink of health as production for her new
crime and action drama series, The Apostle Walker,
will begin in two weeks’ time on the 20th this month. “I really
hope for a miracle to appear – for my hand and neck to recover,”
she pleaded, with a tinge of desperation in her voice.
The actress also hopes to be able to execute action scenes
in The Apostle Walker without the help of a body
double – if possible.
“As an actor, you’d like to do these stunts yourself, and for it to
be your own performance. I really hope that I can get better and do
it,” she later explained.
Kenneth addresses his love
rumours with co-actresses
As TVB’s man of the moment, Kenneth has been plagued by a spate of
rumours where he is romantically-linked to two co-actresses
– Rebecca
Zhu from Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles and Tracy
Chu from The Hippocratic Crush II, when they were seen
carpooling home together after work.
The actor himself appeared baffled at the over-exaggerations of
said reports during his interview with xinmsn. “I find it (the
reports) funny too,” he quipped, adding that he’d knock off work
with male colleagues too. “But their photos are not published.
They’d only publish the ones of me and my female colleagues – and
speculate from there.”
In his eyes – it is simply a gentlemanly gesture to send a
colleague home especially if they film late into the night and
finish work at 2 or 3am. “If we end work at the same time and live
near each other, it is also convenient to knock off together,” he
explained.
Brushing off these reports without a fuss later, Kenneth added, “I
feel that this is an act of a gentleman and I will not stop doing
it.”
Does he feel pressured to settle down soon given the amount of
attention centered on his love life?
“I don’t have any plans,” he laughed self-deprecatingly, “I guess
it’s because I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“I’ll start planning when I have one.”
Catch A Time of Love on TVBJ on Jan 26, Sunday at 8pm.The
Singapore episode featuring Charmaine Sheh and Kenneth Ma
airs Feb 2, Sunday at 8pm. Subsequent episodes will be aired on the
following Sundays at the same timing.
