Wayne Lai and Moses Chan on Resisting Temptation

Starring in the currently airing TVB drama Death by Zero <殺手>, actors Moses Chan (陳豪) and Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) play a pair of professional assassins with very different fates. Despite being in the industry for many years, both thespians have kept up clean reputations, each having his own way to deal with temptations in the industry.

Wayne: “I Don’t Have the Prerequisite!”

While both play killers in Death by Zero, Wayne started out as a first-rate assassin who later becomes passé and is forced to cut his rates to make a living, before finally pulling himself out of the dumps. Moses on the other hand charges exorbitantly for his services as a top-rate assassin, overseeing a café in his spare time while flirting with girls, and gets by comfortably without having to scrimp and save.

Despite their flamboyant onscreen characters, both actors are domesticated and would go to great lengths to avoid any risks to their happy marriages. Asked about temptation in the industry, Wayne poked fun at himself and explained, “I don’t have the prerequisite! I don’t want to be a monk too…look at how assured my wife is. Precisely because the producer sees that I don’t have these ‘perks’ in real life, he gave me the satisfaction onscreen!”

As for Moses, he describes himself as having a westernized and open appearance but remains conservative at heart. Moses believes that not engaging in flirtatious behavior is a direct way to ward away unwanted solicitations, “I feel that Wayne and I are both righteous–if we sense anything odd, we would be [cautious]. If we see anything wrong, we would leave. At least, we won’t go to that stage–you’ll feel if something is off. If [the other party] tests you and sees you’re not responding to [signals], they would not go further.”

Hearing Moses share his tip on avoiding risque encounters, Wayne laughed and said, “I don’t even get these [offers]!” Reminded about how actor Lawrence Ng (吳啟華) was invited to visit an actress’ hotel room while filming in China, Wayne pulled a trick and added that he always felt these situations only happen onscreen. “So many years and I’ve never encountered [these situations], so I don’t get why people say our industry is complicated…. I go back home after work every day. My job is just like going to school in the past, except I don’t put on a uniform!”

Wayne calls “Death by Zero” His Toughest Drama So Far

Wayne calls Death by Zero his “toughest so far”. Since he portrays a professional killer in different phases of life – from his heyday in his youth to his destitute middle ages, he wore a fake belly at first and had to get fitter as the show went on. Despite professing to be a food lover, Wayne did not find having to drop weight while filming halfway a challenge, and successfully dropped 15 pounds.

The toughest part for Wayne was the physical intensity of filming, “My knees got swollen from the running. As a lousy killer, I had to [chase my victim] for many streets before I manage to kill anyone, so that got me panting a lot every time. The director and action choreographer had high expectations. We would complete a scene every one or two days…I’d be sweating non-stop. The filming process took eight to nine months–I had no idea if I could even survive the day’s filming!”

Moses Doesn’t Know Who Karl Ting Is

Compared to Wayne, Moses had a more comfortable time on set. “My challenge is different–I had to bulk up; Wayne had to lose weight. I have to show ripped muscles through my shirts!” Sharing the dietary “golden ratio” he follows, Moses suggests to consume “40 percent carbs, 40 percent protein and 20 percent fats” while going to the gym. As counting calories is impractical, he shared dietary advice given by co-star Louis Cheung (張繼聰) on the drama My Ages Apart <誇世代>. “We went to the gym together. After that I continued training on my own. Every time after a session, I’d eat steak and Wayne would go for vegetables.”

As both actors are established names at TVB, they were asked which actors they thought had A-list potential. Moses replied, “There are many…Vincent Wong (王浩信) and Ruco Chan (陳展鵬) are there. As for new actors, I don’t know many. TVB has many new faces–some from training classes are also given many chances, so it depends on their performance and confidence.” When asked if he knew  Karl Ting (丁子朗), Moses mistakenly mentioned Owen Cheung (張振朗), then swiftly apologized for his mistake.

Source: On.cc