Action film heroine, aromatherapist, television serial actor, amateur ink painter - Wai Ying-hung has been all these and more since she made her screen debut in Chang Cheh's martial arts epic The Brave Archer in 1976. But for the past year, she could also stake a claim as an expert in yet another line of work: as an award presenter.
For that's what she's been doing in the past 12 months, opening envelopes and handing out statuettes of all shapes and sizes in ceremonies around the region, from the Golden Horse awards in Taipei to TVB's very own year-end love-in at the broadcaster's Clear Water Bay studios. She was also present at last month's Asian Film Awards, handing Sammo Hung Kam-bo the best supporting actor prize for his turn in Ip Man 2.
'There's been quite a few of these requests, and if I can make it I usually say yes - I'll try to be at them all if I have the time,' says Wai. And she does: the day after her meeting with the South China Morning Post, she was in Guangzhou to preside over the announcement of nominations for this year's Chinese Film Media Awards.
But perhaps more importantly, the star will be present tonight at the Hong Kong Film Awards, at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre's Grand Theatre, handing out a gong on the very stage where she took a best-actress statuette home last year for her performance as an alcoholic mother in At the End of Daybreak.
Wai says she's going to these events to show her gratitude to those who have helped propel her back to centre stage. Her acting chops have rarely been questioned - after all, Wai, now 51, was a winner at the inaugural edition of the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1982, when she was crowned best actress for her performance in the action-comedy My Young Auntie - but she has spent the past decade playing supporting roles in films and television serials. While her turn in At the End of Daybreak, a gritty drama helmed by Malaysian director Ho Yu Hang, is a revelation in itself, she has really been back in the spotlight thanks to her success at the Golden Horses, the Changchun and Vladivostok film festivals, not to mention at the Hong Kong awards.
A year later, Wai says that winning awards hasn't changed things that much for her. 'It's not like my pay has ballooned - I've since starred in quite a few off-mainstream films and I've only acted in two blockbusters,' she says, referring to her parts in Wilson Yip Wai-shun's A Chinese Ghost Story (in which she plays the main antagonist, the Tree Demon) and Peter Chan Ho-sun's Wuxia.
Still, she admits her awards have allowed her an easier ride in convincing filmmakers of her versatility. 'Before Daybreak, for example, I don't think [Yip] would have thought about me as the Tree Demon. But now, with that performance and the award, they are much more confident about casting me in the film.'
