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Kevin Kwong

Law Kar

It could have been the false moustache glued on his upper lip that stopped Law Kar-ying from smiling during the interview. The veteran opera artist, who is best known for his farcical movie roles today, looked cool and serious.

  Even when the actor joked, which he did occasionally at his own expense, Law managed to keep his face straight. Indeed, the ability to laugh at himself has made the 50-year-old a cinema darling today.

  But will being popular on stage, television as well as the silver screen win him a Best Supporting Actor title at this year's Hong Kong Film Awards?   Law has been nominated for his role as a driving examiner opposite Josephine Siao Fong-fong in Summer Snow. The award ceremony will be held on April 28.

  'Though I'm not surprised to be nominated, it will be a surprise if I win,' Law says.

  'I have already picked up a Golden Horse Award in Taiwan [for the role] but I was competing with a different set of nominees and my performance was judged by an overseas audience with a different taste.'   In Hong Kong, the balding actor is again up for the same award with more or less the same nominees as last year: Chan Siu-chun, Chin Kar-lok, Eric Kot Man-fai and Wong Chi-wah. Chan won the Best Supporting Actor award last year.

  'That's why I'm not too confident this time around,' Law adds.

  But whether he wins or not, the size of his following in the territory is enough to turn his counterparts green with envy. Despite a stage career in Cantonese opera that spans three decades, it was a cameo role that brought him stardom.

  Law caught the eyes of the public two years ago in his screen debut in Crime Story directed by Wong Chi-keung.

  The movie, which also starred action king Jackie Chan, is based on the kidnapping of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, Wong Tak-fai, who was held for a US$60 million ransom a decade ago.

  He landed the role as Wong - a small part in the film but one that, surprisingly, opened doors for the opera leading man.

  'It really started with my hair, or rather, the lack of it. The director of Crime Story was looking for a look-alike [of Wong Tak-fai] who had a receding hairline,' Law said.

  'Since I have little hair, I was chosen. This shows people the usefulness of something rather useless!'   It was Summer Snow, the third movie he appeared in, that made Law want to become more involved in the film industry.

  Since then, he has appeared in numerous productions, often taking on farcical roles because of his unique, exaggerated opera style. The actor admits he has yet to adjust to the different methods of acting.

  'On stage, I'm an opera artist and in film I'm a comedian. I become two very different people.

  'Sometimes, my roles in films are so farcical that I feel it is not good for my overall image,' he says.

  'In He's A Woman And She's A Man, I played a gay man . . . it was so stereotypical that I didn't enjoy it. But only by taking on very different roles can I show the audience I've broken away from being an operatic actor.

  'I wanted to start anew as a movie actor. Acting in Cantonese operas is very traditional and full of restrictions. On stage, for instance, the technique places more emphasis on an actor's expressions than actions.

  'Our eyes are very expressive and our body language is extremely exaggerated.

  'Also, acting on screen or television comes more from the heart and is more relevant to daily life. Operatic acting has nothing to do with real life.'   Law, the partner of entertainer and National People's Congress delegate Lisa Wang Ming-chuen, however, has not abandoned his opera career and insists he enjoys working on stage as well as on film sets; each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

  'In Cantonese operas, you perform the whole show in one go whereas for television series and movies, you have to remember your lines and work from frame to frame.'   Law is currently filming on location for Bund II, a TVB costume drama. But he is also working on a script for the Cantonese opera adaption of Shakespeare's Macbeth, scheduled to be staged in November.

  And he has just accepted another movie role (the TVB contract actor has no manager) and shooting begins later this month.

  Law says frankly that he is not only keeping himself busy but also capitalising on his popularity.

  'You never know when people will stop paying to see your movies,' he says.



The rule of Law