Actress Monica Mok Siu-kei says going nude for the love scenes in Ocean Flame was not as difficult as she thought it would be.
It was the first time Mok (right) stripped in front of the camera and while it was nerve-racking to do so before a crew of more than 50 men, she learned to relax.
'Everyone was very professional, no one would stare at me. Like the director told me, everyone would be curious but [a woman's body] is nothing new, it wasn't like I was from outer space. If I could let go, people would respect me more as an actress, they would understand I did it for art.'
In the hard-hitting drama Mok plays waitress Lichuan, who falls for a violent pimp called Wang Yao, played by mainland actor Liao Fan.
The film, directed by Liu Fendou and produced by veteran actor Simon Yam Tat-wah, required Mok to appear nude in many scenes. 'I am a professional actress, if that needed to be done, I'd do it,' said the 25-year-old.
'Most of the scenes were done in a natural way and the focus was not on the nude part or the intercourse, it was more about the mental dilemma between a man and a woman. After I had completed my first nude scene, there was no battle doing it again.'
But Mok's parents might have mixed feelings about her role.