She Was Tasteful & Never Vulgar When She Stripped On Screen: Shu Qi’s Ex-Manager On What Made The Actress So Special

While Shu Qi had no lack of movie offers after that, Manfred said his priority was to change her image and move her away from Cat III films.

Many people see her turn in Viva Erotica, the critically-lauded 1996 movie about the soft porn industry which also starred Leslie Cheung, as the film that brought her mainstream recognition.

Manfred disagrees. Her character in Viva Erotica was a soft porn actress and Shu Qi still had to go nude in it. Manfred also said Shu Qi only got cast because the director, Derek Yee, could not find other actresses who wanted the role.

Manfred said what was so special about Shu Qi was how she always came across tasteful and never vulgar when she stripped on screen.

“It’s her personality that makes people love her, it had nothing to do with me,” said Manfred. He brought up Leslie Cheung as an example. The pop icon had invited Shu Qi to star in his ‘We Are All Alone’ music video and be a guest as his concert because he was so taken with her. In fact, he called her a “sex goddess”.

Manfred said the two movies that successfully helped turn Shu Qi into a serious actress were City of Glass (1998), which she starred opposite Leon Lai, and Gorgeous, the 1999 Jackie Chan and Tony Leung film.

He said he is very grateful to directors Mabel Cheung and Vincent Kok for casting Shu Qi and he credits the success of City of Glass for paving the way for her smooth career in Hong Kong.

Manfred also said Shu Qi’s rumoured relationship with Leon Lai raised her profile even more.

According to Manfred, Shu Qi also doesn’t like to socialise. She once said to him, “Why must I entertain the boss just because I’m in his commercial?” Hence, he learnt how to say no from her.

At that time, there were a lot of rumours about actresses who would have dinner parties with rich businessmen. Manfred said someone had invited Shu Qi to one such party in Beijing. He immediately turned that person down.

“If you want her to be in a commercial for your product, she will definitely have a meal with the investors out of courtesy. If not, she will never go for a dinner party,” Manfred said.

There has been talk that Shu Qi fell out with Manfred over money, which led to the end of their working relationship.

To this, Manfred said: “We parted on good terms. I once joked with her, why don’t you tell people how much commission I took from you, everyone will be shocked.”