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SCMP Reporter

THE Japanese-Chinese singing star Takeshi Kaneshiro is now nearer to achieving his goal of being a successful and proficient actor after completing another film with the controversial director, Wong Kar-wai.

  Fallen Angels is the second time the Taiwan-born singer has starred in one of Wong's movies. His first was the award-winning Chungking Express.

  With more experience behind him, Kaneshiro says he found working on Fallen Angels much less fraught.

  'I found it easier to catch what the director really wants and what he is trying to express,' said Kaneshiro.

  'I am more familiar with the style of the director now, so I can try to give him what he needs.'   The 22-year-old is much taken with Wong's work, despite the fact that some find his films weird and pretentious.

  'I am fascinated by his arty style. I think we're [well] matched.

  'I learnt a lot from Wong Kar-wai when I was working with him. He is the kind of director who can give you a lot of space to explore your imagination.

  'After that you realise you can act in many different ways,' he said.

  Kaneshiro said he was not worried by Wong's unpredictability and constantly changing approach to his work.

  In fact, he said the director had taught him to be more receptive to new ideas.

  'I am very happy to have the chance to star in his movies. Even though sometimes we had to work overnight, I was still very excited and impatient to see what the next shot would be,' he said.

  Kaneshiro said Wong may sometimes be harsh in his working methods.

  But he soon realised it was because the director was trying to make the best film possible.

  He praised the director for getting to know each actor and getting the best out of them.

  Kaneshiro has worked with other directors with differing styles, but he found he got on particularly well with Wong.

  In Fallen Angels, the singer plays a wanderer who cannot speak. He then meets up with the movie's other 'angels', played by Leon Lai Ming, Michelle Reis, Charlie Young Choi-nei and Karen Mok Man-wai.

  'If there is a chance, I would like to try other difficult and challenging roles in films, such as playing a murderer,' said Kaneshiro.

  'I am not worried that these roles might damage my image as a singer. The more difficult the role, the more challenging it is.

  'You should not mind whether it would damage your image when you are an actor.'   The rising star is now working on a new movie with director Chu Yuen-ping and has already lined up two or three new projects.

  Although his increasing film workload has meant he has less time to concentrate on his singing, he is still trying his best to juggle both careers.

  His new Mandarin album will soon be released in Taiwan.

   Kaneshiro will then be busy with promotion work. Not only does the singer-actor have to balance his time between making records and starring in films, he also tries to keep in touch with his fans in both Hong Kong and Taiwan.

  Kaneshiro was first spotted by talent scouts when he was 15 and cast in a Taiwanese commercial.

  The teen idol was then invited to cut his debut album in 1992 after being signed up by a record company.

  The handsome star soon won the hearts of many Taiwanese girls.

  With the increase in Taiwanese youngsters living in Hong Kong a few years ago, records by Kaneshiro and other singers such as Jimmy Lin and Nicky Wu Chi-lung were imported into the territory.

  It did not take long for Hong Kong girls to fall under his spell.

  Although he started in Hong Kong as a singer, he was soon cast with 'big sisters' - Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, Anita Mui Yim-fong and Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng - in The Heroic Trio in 1993. Since then he has made almost 10 films in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

  'Actually, I had also tried acting in a TV series in Taiwan before my first album was released.

  'If I get the chance, I would want to try again as it is very different acting in a movie and a TV series,' he said.

  Remembering when he first came to Hong Kong, Kaneshiro said the most difficult thing he had accomplished was learning Cantonese. 'There is no system in learning Cantonese, I just learnt it by talking with and listening to other people, it is very hard,' he said.

  But his determination saw him through and he was proficient enough to release a Cantonese album last year.

  Although he is not sure when he will get round to recording his next Cantonese album, with his busy film schedule, Hong Kong can still expect to see a lot more of Kaneshiro in future.

The Entertainment pages are edited by Winnie Chung. Tel: 2565-2216 Fax: 2562 2485 



Singer, actor . . . juggler