Advertisement
Advertisement

Sun shines on hard-working DJ

How did you start your showbiz career? Why did you choose singing? Like every newcomer, I started by winning a singing competition. I signed for Enjoy Yourselves Tonight, which gave me a chance to sing and act. Then Kam Kwok-leung came up to me with the script for Teens. I was facing a dilemma because I also wanted to work for Cathay Pacific. I love to fly and wanted to join its cabin crew.

Anyway, I accepted Kam's offer and the series became a huge success. I was on a roll then and movie roles and recording contracts followed. Of course, in those days, royalties were nothing like today. But it was still good money.

I chose singing because I love to sing. It's in my blood. My father was a musician. He played seven instruments and spoke six languages. He was like the Koo Ka-fai of Macau. When I was a child, he led me on to the stage and I sang my first song, You Are My Sunshine.

What are your hobbies and interests? I am a movie fan. I like comedies. I also like listening to music, especially jazz, and I love musicals. I've practically seen every one of them.

I love to travel. Last year, I did a world trip that covered Singapore, Prague, Norway, Paris, London, New York and Los Angeles. You see and learn so much by travelling. I appreciate different cultures and I'm interested in human behaviour.

I also love fragrances. Aromatic therapy really works, and I bring all these fragrances to the studio because they make the environment refreshing and relaxing.

Have you had any unforget table experiences? And what was the biggest change in your life? I was the 13th child in my family, but many of my siblings passed away soon after they were born or when they were children. Maybe it had to do with my mother's health.

I was a very thin child and had weak legs. I did very little exercise and my mum was worried about my health. She used to cook all kinds of soup and other stuff for me to make me stronger.

I had an accident when I was a child. It was Christmas Eve and my parents had gone to the midnight mass. I woke up in the middle of the night and started looking for my mum. I fell out the first floor window of our house. My father went crazy. My parents were very worried about me. Fortunately, I wasn't badly hurt. I only needed some stitches on my chin.

When I fell down, I did not experience any pain. It was like a hand from above cradled me; I felt like I was in the palm of someone's hand. My parents were devout Catholics and we believed God protected me. This was one of the experiences I would never forget.

The biggest change in my life came with the death of my mother. It was in 1986. She was the most important person in my life and I was lost. My mother gave me direction since my father passed away when I was very young. I acquired my philosophy from her. She was not very educated, but she taught me a lot of things, like how to differentiate between good and bad.

After she passed away, I stopped working for about six months. As a result, I lost some pretty good movie roles. But I recovered gradually and started working again.

What are your principles in life? I believe that you have to be very positive in life. All these years, I've tripped and fallen and gotten on my feet again. In this world, there is nothing that cannot be solved. If there is a will, there is always a way.

Determination is very important. I believe there is always light at the end of the tunnel. One has to make an effort to improve and take the initiative.

I am full of energy and I have these vibes. I tell people to be positive. When my younger colleagues say they cannot do something, I tell them: 'Look at me, I did it and so can you.' I cannot say I am the best DJ, but I am certainly one of the most hard-working DJs. Even with hard work, you might not necessarily succeed. But if you do not work hard, that's it, you will never succeed.

What do you look for in a woman? It sort of changes every year, as I get older. The most important thing is we have to mix well. My ideal woman should be warm, genuine and have a good sense of humour. Of course it would be better if she was pretty, but beauty is secondary; looks are not the most important thing to me.

Recently, you returned to TVB for the Enjoy Yourselves Tonight reunion. How did you feel? It was great. I was happy to see everyone. EYT is one of the programmes I miss most in my years at TVB.

I was very happy to see Lo Hoi-pang. We were in this short EYT drama Me and My Daddy years ago. I played 'Ha Tsai', an American-born Chinese who had a very traditional father, played by Lo. I really enjoyed the drama. Me and My Daddy was on for nine years and was the longest-running EYT series. It was good to see Lo again and do the drama again.

EYT was like one big family. We cared about each other and were very close. EYT was a very positive and entertaining programme.

What are your aspirations? One of my dreams was to come up with my first Cantonese album, which I did four years ago. It was a dream come true for me. I would love to do a musical. Musicals are quite popular now; a lot of established singers have done them.

Musicals are time-consuming and costly. You need between $800,000 and $1 million to do a decent show. That would be my next dream.

Do you have any advice for today's youths? They are very lucky. Our generation did not enjoy so many luxuries. Teenagers have to work to get what they want. Otherwise, they take things for granted.

My advice to them is to work hard and be diligent.

Whatever field they are in, with determination and hard work, they can solve any problems and cope with any challenges. If not, they will have no chance.

Name: Louie Castro Birthday: October 1 Birthplace: Macau Occupation: Disc jockey Louie Castro came to Hong Kong when he was 17 and signed a con tract with TVB after winning a singing competition. Castro shot to fame with the TV series Teens , produced by Kam Kwok-leung. He also made movies and recorded albums. He then went to Taiwan to further develop his career and won several nominations for acting awards.

However, after some difficult times, Castro worked for ATV for two years. After a break in the United States, he was approached by Metro Broadcast, which offered him a job as a disc jockey. He took up the challenge and has become a successful and popular DJ over the past nine years. In his 24 years in showbiz, Castro has experi enced many ups and downs and has learned valuable lessons. He believes that 'if there is a will, there is a way'.

Post