JIM CHIM SHUI-MAN was made for his role in the Edward Lam Dance Theatre production The Great Entertainer.
A veteran stage actor, Chim is a great entertainer. He's also the associate artistic director of Theatre Ensemble, one of Hong Kong's better-known theatre companies, and principal of the group's arts educational arm, the PIP School.
He's also a mainstay at the Hong Kong Arts Festival and last year starred in a large production for director Meng Jinghui in Beijing. Then there's his leap into film, with several eye-catching turns in You Shoot, I Shoot and Driving Miss Wealthy.
For someone who unabashedly says he makes films - even silly ones - to 'raise my public profile', Chim seems able to put up with anything in his conquest for crossover success. There's a limit, however, for this well-connected and media-savvy theatre activist. He doesn't like what he calls the 'inhuman absurdities' of mainstream television entertainment.
Chim says he still shivers at the humiliation he suffered in his one appearance on TVB. 'When they approached me to do something for one of their variety shows, they talked really fine,' he says, referring to the preparations for last year's show for the Tung Wah charity. Chim had film audiences talking about his cameos, and the station - always on the lookout for the next crowd-puller - offered him a four-minute segment, a stand-up act also featuring several philanthropic socialites.
'I laid down my conditions,' he says. 'There must be a script, and everything must be rehearsed. So it was - until the morning of the show when [the people at TVB] told me that the Tung Wah patrons didn't want to appear on stage, after all, and that, no, there'll only be two minutes rather than four.' Chim hints that the programmers wanted overacting and gags rather than the lengthy spiel he did. 'Then, 30 seconds into my part, the crew is already signalling me to wind up.'
Chim's voice still betrays a mixture of disdain and disbelief, nearly a year after the incident. 'From that I learned what television is like - there must be something happening, whatever that is. No one cares about the content. Just make some noise and it'll do.'
