Tseng Jing-hua was 21 when he first stepped right into a homosexual bar. However he wasn’t there for time. “I solely went as a result of I wished to analysis in regards to the homosexual way of life and group for my position in Your Title Engraved Herein,” he explains in an interview over Zoom. Sitting in his supervisor’s workplace in Taipei, casually wearing an off-white t-shirt and a white cap worn backwards, the Taiwanese actor, 25, spoke about how he ready for his breakout position within the highest-grossing LGBTQ+ movement image in Taiwan’s historical past, at present accessible on Netflix.
Set within the Eighties, after Taiwan was liberated from the oppressive regime of martial legislation, the movie follows the connection between Tseng’s character, Birdy, and his classmate A-han (performed by Edward Chen Hao-sen), which develops from platonic friendship to bittersweet romance. Tseng admits that he struggled to narrate to his character. Rising up within the rural township of Dongshan in Yilan, he spent most of his childhood serving to out at his dad and mom’ breakfast eatery, uncovered to little else exterior of his periphery. However he was decided to painting his character realistically and felt it was needed to know what made him tick. He shares, “I had no clue find out how to play this position. For somebody who had grown up within the countryside, it was fairly unimaginable. It was solely my second movie, and there have been many experiences and feelings that I had not encountered and couldn’t have understood at that time. The folks I met on the bars defied the stereotypes I had in my thoughts. They had been heat and welcoming, and chatting with them was so easy.”
Tseng brings the identical earnestness to his newest work, Oh No! Right here Comes Hassle on iQIYI, which he describes as “a light-hearted comedy that highlights the follies of human nature”. He performs highschool scholar Pu Yi-yong who positive factors supernatural powers after surviving a near-fatal automotive accident and is ready to talk with spirits by means of calligraphy. He embarks on a fantastical crime-solving journey with a rookie policewoman performed by Vivian Sung. To painting Pu’s calligraphy abilities convincingly, Tseng studied with a grasp calligrapher for nearly half a yr. “I wanted to not solely write talismans precisely, but additionally fantastically,” he says.
As Tseng elaborates on the lengths he goes to with a purpose to immerse himself in his roles, it begs the query if he considers himself a way actor. “Nobody can absolutely change into their characters, besides perhaps Heath Ledger, when he performed The Joker in The Darkish Knight,” he says, firmly rejecting this notion. “However I do put together for my roles by studying the script time and again to familiarise myself with the characters. I additionally really feel that it’s essential to maintain part of the true me whereas performing. In spite of everything, when a director chooses you for the position, it means they see components of the character in you, even in the event you can’t see it your self.”
It has been 4 years since he made his performing debut as one of many leads within the supernatural flick Detention. Tseng, who had initially wished to pursue a swimming profession, modified his main to movie when his highschool educational outcomes didn’t meet the standards. Music was the opposite choice — he performed the saxophone and was inspired by his father and music instructor to take it additional. However he by no means thought-about music severely as a profession although he loved being a part of the highschool band. As a substitute, the self-professed movie buff selected to do his bachelor’s diploma in Movie & Tv at I-Shou College in Kaohsiung.
Whereas studying about ins and outs of movie manufacturing, Tseng participated in a scholar drama manufacturing which led to him auditioning for one of many lead roles in Detention, a psychological horror movie based mostly on the favored online game of identical identify developed by Taiwanese recreation developer Purple Candle Video games. He says, “The sport was all the trend again then. My associates had been very excited once they heard in regards to the audition. Whereas I knew my probabilities had been slim, I assumed I’d give it a go.” To his shock, he bought the position. When he met director John Hsu, he requested him: “Why did you select somebody like me who’s younger, naive, with no performing expertise?” Hsu replied that these had been precisely the qualities he was in search of in an actor for his debut movie. The director’s eye for expertise proved to be on the cash — Tseng acquired a Greatest New Performer nomination on the 2019 Golden Horse Awards.
He definitely has a knack for selecting plum roles though he claims he doesn’t have his profession plan all mapped out. “I imagine in engaged on the current, and protecting myself glad at this time,” he says. “I don’t overthink about what is going to occur tomorrow. Slightly, I give my greatest to my present jobs and revel in my private time to the fullest,” he says. He’s at present engaged on two tasks, considered one of which is a comedy centred on kinship, slated for launch in August. Private time is a luxurious for the time being. “After working for greater than 12 hours at a stretch, all I need to do is bathe and sleep,” he says with amusing. When he does have pockets of free time, he prefers to spend it together with his outdated mates. “I nonetheless hang around with my highschool associates. We meet up, chat about life, and generally, I cook dinner danbing (egg pancakes). For my subsequent break, I hope to journey someplace I’ve by no means been earlier than, and expertise totally different cultures.” Singapore is certainly on that listing. “I hope to go to Singapore as a vacationer — and never for work,” he says. “I would like to discover Marina Bay Sands, and take a look at some pandan cake.”
Photographed by Reuben Foong
Styled by Navin Pillay
Translator: Shi Min
Photographer’s assistant: Ku Po Lun
Grooming: Chiu Chi-Wei
Hair: Jae Chen utilizing Kevin.Murphy
Particular because of The Home on Sathorn
This text was initially printed in Harper’s Bazaar Singapore.
Supply: Her World
