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Edmund Lee


48 HOURS: Do you often get recognised on the streets of Taiwan?
CHEN SHIANG-CHYI: Sometimes I am recognised and sometimes I am not — especially when I'm without make-up. [Laughs] There are times that I may be quite unrecognisable.
I'm asking this because when I talked to Lee Kang-sheng, your co-star on the many Tsai Ming-liang projects over the years, he said those films had been watched by few people in Taiwan.
Tsai's films belong to a subculture made up of a smaller group of audiences. On my flight to Hong Kong, an airline staff member told me he has watched all the films I made since [Edward Yang's] A Confucian Confusion (1994). It may take someone who's into this type of movie to know me.
The sense of loneliness is prevalent in your new film Exit, which opens on February 19. Do you think you share some of your character's feelings?
I guess it's not just me. People today are especially confronted with isolation and loneliness. It's the general condition for a lot of people; it's a part of me, but it's not the entirety of me.
Well, there's the rumour that you don't have a mobile phone.
Oh yes, that's true. And I don't have a Facebook account, either. I tried MSN Messenger a long time ago, but once it started running and all sorts of notification alarms were set off, I thought it's too much and turned it all off. That was enough. Noises off. I needed that [silence].
From what I know, you don't have a manager either.
Right, I've never had one. I received a lot of offers after I made my first film with Edward Yang, but I went to study in the United States instead. I thought my life might turn in another direction — though I loved acting, I didn't know if I would still be given another chance when I returned to Taiwan. I eventually started working with Tsai only because he came to find me. I didn't get myself a manager because I didn't want anyone to lose money — I would turn down every offer. [ Laughs] I'm extremely picky.
You were named best actress at last year's Golden Horse Awards for your part in Exit. Do you agree that you might just be waiting for a top-billing role to be properly recognised?
I don't think of it that way. I'm the creative type who doesn't think of a role as being bigger or smaller. I care more about working with a good team and a quality script. For quite some time before Exit, I hadn't encountered a film that allows me to play a character per se. I have worked with Tsai Ming-liang for a long time, and the characters in his films are not so much characters than they are functional parts in a larger structure.
They're just fragments.
Yes. When you watch his films, you see the overall blueprint and not the characters' stories. My part in Exit, by comparison, is a substantial character. I'm truly grateful. In Taiwan, it's not easy to find a good role like this for actresses my age.
Flashback: Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang honoured in Venice
Given your stature in Taiwanese art-house cinema, do you find it a pity that you haven't been more prolific?
No, I don't. What is the rationale of making more films? If it's just for quantity, and not for quality, then it's contrary to my belief about acting. I'm very lucky in terms of the directors that I've been able to work with.
Will you consider becoming a director?
Tsai has long been asking me to direct, even offering to be my producer. I'm just like an assistant director on the set. I would help him work on the script, go on location scouting and discuss the editing. I go on and on with my silly opinions. My second major at school was directing, but somehow I'm really not interested to do it. I would be a nervous wreck as a director, but as an actress, I always enjoy myself.
 


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The winner of the best actress prize at the 2014 Golden Horse Awards in Taipei reflects on a career of quiet achievement


The winner of the best actress prize at the 2014 Golden Horse Awards in Taipei reflects on a career of quiet achievement.


Taiwanese actress Chen Shiang-chyi relishes a rare meaty role

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The winner of the best actress prize at the 2014 Golden Horse Awards in Taipei reflects on a career of quiet achievement

The winner of the best actress prize at the 2014 Golden Horse Awards in Taipei reflects on a career of quiet achievement