Sam Lee
Actor Sam Lee was working as an electrician when he was discovered by director Fruit Chan at age 21. Chan cast him in breakout hit “Made in Hong Kong” and the actor has been on screens ever since. He tells Andrea Lo about working at the Yau Ma Tei fruit market when he was 14, how his looks have defined his career, and the trick to seizing opportunities.
I grew up in Lam Tin. I’m the youngest, with two brothers and two sisters. My eldest sister is 11 years older. I was an accident.
I didn’t really like hanging out with my siblings, because we were into different things. I was into BMX and skateboarding.
I was badly behaved. My parents were really strict and hit me a lot. The more they did it, the more rebellious I became.
I wanted to be a firefighter. We used to get trapped in elevators a lot. When the doors opened, the first person I would see was a fireman. I thought they looked really cool.
I developed short-sightedness in primary school, so I had to let that idea go.
I dropped out of high school after two years. I didn’t have any interest in studying.
When I was 14, I wanted to be a hairdresser. That was when I started reading fashion magazines and learned how to dress.