Dominic Lau
E! News Asia presenter Dominic Lau is a familiar face to anyone who has been following him since his days as a VJ on Channel V. With easy-breezy charm and an infectious smile, he tells Adele Wong about his virgin interview with Kevin Spacey, living up to his title as Asia’s Ryan Seacrest and the birth of his own production company.
I’ve got a kickass mother. Growing up, she took me on holidays and we went to places in Malaysia, Thailand… and she’s a single mom too, so I suppose she had to take me with her. She is the lady of my life. She is fucking awesome.
My mom is British [from Newcastle]. My father is originally from Shanghai but moved out to Hong Kong. I’m a Hong Kong boy through and through.
From a very young age, I was very into music and performing. As a kid, I would rearrange the cushions on the sofa and get a pair of chopsticks out and put on Phil Collins or something and start pretending to play drums.
I played violin for a little bit, I don’t know why. For me, and my kind of persona, it just doesn’t fit. When I got into secondary school, I decided I wanted to take up drums. So I asked my music teacher, and he gave me one of the best teachers around, a guy called Malcolm Brashear, who was then the principal timpanist at the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
As a result, I’m [now] in a band. We’re called Uranus. All the members of the band are in the media industry.
What I consider work, a lot of other people consider having fun. I’m kinda like a professional footballer. I get to play a sport that I love and I’m good at, and I get paid to do it.