Arnold Kwok Believes in The Value of New Experiences

As Abercrombie & Fitch’s first Asian model, actor Arnold Kwok (郭子豪) initially caught the eye of many in his debut. A hard worker, Arnold said his family’s support has allowed him to bravely chase after his dreams, but he is eager to disprove the negative concoctions of being labelled a rich second generation.

Hates the Rich 2G Label

“I struggled with this label and I really didn’t like it. They kept saying that I didn’t need to work, which just negates all of my hard work,” Arnold said. When others said he “didn’t even need to study” due to his rich background, he felt insulted as he worked hard to earn a mechanical engineering at Imperial College London.

“I believe there are many people who are richer, and I view myself as middle class. I am very grateful that my family is not counting on me to support them–this afforded me the time and energy to devote to things I like. However, this does not mean that I am not hard working or that I just waste my time. If I really wanted to just live off my family’s money, then I wouldn’t join TVB, teach at the gym, or open a YouTube channel!” Arnold fumed.

Believes an Actor Should Constantly Learn New Skills

While he was still studying and working as a model, TVB offered him a contract. The actor prepared by taking courses at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. “I’ve taken the beginner, intermediate, and advanced level courses, production, editing, directing, and screenwriting as well. The training class that TVB provides lasts only a month, and you don’t learn much to be honest. However, there are a lot of mentors who teach us how to navigate life but they don’t teach you how to deliver your lines or the camera angles.”

Eight years since his debut, TVB is giving Arnold increasing opportunities, casting him in dramas such as Kids’ Lives Matter <星空下的仁醫>, A Love of No Words <十月初五的月光>, Barrack O’Karma 1968 <金宵大廈2>, and Story of Zom-B <食腦喪B >.

Maintaining a passion for learning, Arnold believes that opportunities are given to those who are ready. When not filming, Arnold hopes to learn something new to make his characters more authentic. “I feel that this is something that an actor should do. However, it doesn’t always result in more opportunities.” He cites that his air gun license helped in scenes for The Invisibles <隱形戰隊>, and hopes to learn horseback riding next.

A risk taker even though he is afraid, Arnold injured his hand on the set of The Invisibles while handling a gun. Even though the cut was bleeding for 10 minutes, Arnold continued filming as he feels the need to “give it my all at this stage in my career.”

Opens Production Studio With Matthew Ho

Other than acting, Arnold is also passionate about film production. He launched a YouTube channel with good friends Matthew Ho (何廣沛) and Milkson Fong (方紹聰) to showcase their studio’s videos. “As actors we don’t have much say in our opportunities, so it’s nice to be able to be proactive. It is hard work, but we’re happy because filming videos is our interest. It also gives us another outlet to act and improve our performances at TVB.”

Seeing the success of fellow YouTube channels, such as like Trial & Error and Pomato, has motivated Arnold to do better. “We’re taking it slow and steady. They’re well developed now, so we definitely can’t compare but we hope that we can learn from their success. There aren’t that many channels opened by actors, so we’re utilizing our friends by asking them to repost or collaborate. We have it easier than someone that is not famous, but the hard part is that there will be people that don’t want to watch our channel knowing who we are. Also, we’re typecast and have images to upkeep. For example, I wouldn’t dare swearing frequently in our videos.”

Ready for Marriage

In an interview four years ago, Arnold had shared that he saved $25,000 Hong Kong dollars every month and hoped to be married before 30 years old. Now already 30, he joked that he is still working hard to save up, but is ready for marriage and is just waiting for his girlfriend Amber Tang (鄧卓殷) to say yes. “I want to respect her wishes, and we need to talk about it properly. When I was younger, I had fantasized about having a grand wedding, but it is important to respect your partner’s wishes as well.”

Source: HK01