Li Nanxing: If you want to be a good actor, try acting in Taiwan first

Photos: Teo Sijia
Video: Foong Mien Shi

Local actress Constance Song feels that “it’s fate” that she officially became the first artiste to be signed on to local actor-director Li Nanxing’s talent management agency LNX Global, which he founded back in 2004 with his manager and good friend Chen Tai Li.

“We have a lot of chemistry. When we film shows together, we realise that our thought processes and goals are both in line with each other’s,” said Constance in an interview with Toggle at the Mary Chia skin care brand MU’s promotional event last Wednesday.

The actress also told us that she hopes to break into the overseas market. “Actors should always take on various different challenges. As long as the opportunity knocks [on my door], I am more than willing to go for it.”

Nanxing said that he still has a lasting good impression of Constance since he last worked with her 15 years ago. To date, he still feels that she is a versatile actress with a lot of potential.

When asked about why he waited for so many years to sign her, he admitted, “Actually, we wanted to sign [Constance] on to our agency for a long time, but her existing contract hadn’t expired yet.”

After her MediaCorp contract expired in 2012, Constance considered placing all of her focus on her Japanese-Spanish restaurant bar named Bam!. In fact, she revealed that she is already working on expanding her restaurant chain overseas.

Nanxing denies being interested in investing in her restaurant business though. He said, “I don’t think I will do well in the business and investment line. It’s a lot of hard work and I’d rather do what I’m good at.”

The 50-year-old actor, who has been in showbiz for 28 years now, also shared about his Taiwan debut playing the stubborn and mysterious character Xiu Jun Hong in the drama Justice Heroes, which has shown in Taiwan for over three years and garnered impressive show ratings.

He admitted that he was “not used” to the different working styles: “In that sort of environment, you will become more impatient because everything is done ‘last minute’. Even the script was sent to me last minute and I had to digest it very quickly and perform very soon after.”

Nanxing continued to explain that he was “always very stressed and nervous” because “it’s a lot of thinking on the spot of what to do next and how the next scene is going to flow. It’s so fast-paced, there’s no room for ‘NG’s (no good takes). If the scene wasn’t good, that’s just how it’ll show – there would be no time for reshoots.”

Comparing what it’s like to be an actor in Singapore versus one in Taiwan, he said, “Filming there is like being on a battlefield… An actor’s life is completely in the spectator’s hands… You could be dropped from a show if the audience ratings from your episode aren’t good… It’s much more relaxed in Singapore.”

“If you want to learn how to be a good actor, you should definitely try acting in Taiwan. We already complain about filming for three days and three nights straight in Singapore, but over in Taiwan, they can film for months on end,” he added.

However, Nanxing said that he has remained positive and open-minded about everything because he’s still a “newcomer” in the Taiwanese market, saying that he’s “there to learn”. He also shared that his “Ah Ge” title here has inevitably given him some pressure to perform well, but starting afresh overseas has lifted the pressure a little.

He shared that he plans to crank things up in November by returning to Taiwan to continue shooting more shows, but the details will only be confirmed later on in the year.

The Dream Makers 2 premieres December 4, every Monday to Friday at 9 pm on Channel 8. Watch full episodes of The Dream Makers on Toggle.

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This article is translated by Melanie Ho.