bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

I’m from Germany. My dad is German and my mom is Hong Kong Chinese.
I was born in Düsseldorf, which I usually don’t say—the Germans think it’s so boring and very chi-chi. I was raised in Munich.
I grew up speaking Cantonese and German. I learned English when I was around 7.
I started acting when I was around 6 years old. When I was 18, I moved to New York to go to the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute to study. Then I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology.
My mother is my idol. She began her acting career when she was 16. She married my dad, learned German and continued acting in Germany, which I find really impressive.
She always took me on set when I was a little girl. I loved the energy. It’s like a family that you have for a few months.
When I was done [studying], my grandparents were quite sick. My Chinese family all wanted me to move back here.
I approached TVB. I wanted to see what it was like to do a TV drama.
I was always scared of doing one. With “Friends,” for example, people always saw the actors as their characters.
A lot of the great actors who I love, like Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, all came from TVB.
My mom used to work there too. She didn’t think I could handle it. She said I should just stay doing movies.
They all said it was tough work, so I wanted to see how tough it is.
I always play the foreigner. In Germany, they think I look really Chinese. I’m like, “Well, the Chinese don’t think that I look very Chinese.”
I play the bad one—[my characters are all] evil and conniving. I play the same kind of person in Germany too.
I have my mom read the lines and record it, then I learn it. My Cantonese has improved a lot.
I’ve done movies before, but not a lot of people watched them. They saw me as more of a model. I never considered myself one—I’m not tall enough.
I haven’t had negative criticism, except from my mom. But it’s good—she wakes me up. It’s positive in a way.
My mom told me not to take the part [in “Line Walker”], because I’m playing a drug lord and addict. But as an actress, I thought it was a challenge.
I didn’t have enough time to lose weight—that was my plan. They only told me two weeks before. I was like, “How am I going to look like a drug addict?”
I’m grateful for [the feedback], because a lot of women have come up to me and said, “You should do more!”
Women are quite critical towards other women, so I’m happy.
TV, film and modeling—I like them all. It’s all kind of the same—it’s art.
The worst job I’ve ever had was working at Oktoberfest [in Munich] when I was 18.
It was my brilliant idea. I had just graduated from high school and had nothing to do, and I just wanted to see what it was like. It was the worst two and a half weeks ever.
I was a hostess for two hours, then the owner said, “We don’t want something to happen to you, so we’ll move you back to the office.”
There were so many fights, I just couldn’t stand it. But I did it all the way to the end.
I find it hard to date in Hong Kong. It’s hard to meet people. Maybe it’s because of what I do. I’m very careful.
Of course I think about [marriage and children]. But I think it’s more important to find the right partner—otherwise I don’t really want kids.
I usually go for people who are not in the industry. But it’s hard for them to understand the work schedule. If you work for TVB, you’re on crazy hours and have very little sleep. And not everybody likes the paparazzi.
There was one time when I was having lunch with a girlfriend. I was fumbling with my ear. Two weeks later, [the tabloids printed] that I was really disgusting—spoiling my friend’s appetite.
If I could give my younger self advice, I would say “Don’t be so hard on yourself.” I’m a very critical person. I always think there’s room for improvement.
It’s a very German way of thinking—and the Chinese are like that too.
I like Hong Kong too much to leave for good. I will definitely always have a place here.
If I could start over, I would still choose to be in entertainment.
The reason why I love the job I’m doing is because I can do it for as long as I am able. I want to continue until I’m very, very old.


Best of the Best: Quotes from the Most Prominent People in Hong Kong

Designer Comma Leung is Crowdfunding to Make Wallets for the Blind

What Do I Need to Know to Survive in Hong Kong?

HK Mag Staff Pick Their Favorite Eats for the Last Time

HK Magazine Archive

Ankie Beilke

Ankie Beilke. Photo: aligstudios.com

Magazines

Actress and model Ankie Beilke rose to fame thanks to her role in the TVB drama “Line Walker.” The daughter of actress and film producer Ankie Lau Heung-ping, she was born and raised in Germany, and has been based in Hong Kong for eight years. She tells Andrea Lo about her close relationship with her mother, why she doesn’t see herself as a model, and that time she worked at Oktoberfest.
