DANSON TANG: “I’m not brave enough to chase a girl….too introverted and too self-shy”
The first time he went on stage, he was thrust in front tens of thousands of people; from that time onwards, perhaps he had already decided the character which many would look upon. Describing himself as introverted and shy, Danson Tang didn’t seem quite ready before a hoard of people knocked and opened his room door, and so he will always be quietly listening to music. He is the type of person, that once he is given a holiday, will stay all day at home watching DVD’s….hoping a solitary atmosphere to enjoy himself. But he loves cooking, likes to car-race, and is shy of chasing girls….these things which do not match at all are placed upon his character. It has to be said, this cute but capricious, mysterious but childish man is really captivating.
“The first thing I do when I go home is turn on the music”
Before the interview starts, Danson sits on the sofa and makes a sign to me saying “Wait a minute”, and then turns and places his Ipod on the speakers. When the music starts to come out, then he turns around, smilingly, and calls out to me. He had already changed his clothes from the bar, and looks as though he did not have a care in the world. I asked him why he had to put music on. He said he had to listen to music, otherwise there was no way he could do anything.
FANS: Do you have any of your own songs in you Ipod?
Danson: Oh, I don’t think so.
F: Then what type of music will you put in there?
D: A lot of types, there’s hip hop, English songs, songs which are slightly slow I also have.
F: When you’re at home, will you turn on the music to its maximum volume?
D: Yes. Everytime I go home, the first thing I do is turn on the music; and allow the room to be full of music. Only after that will I arrange my things, take a shower, tidy up and things like that. Sometimes when I sleep I will also listen to music, and when I get up I will continue listening.
F: Will you have different categories for you music? For example, when you are organizing things you will listen to one type, and when you shower you listen to another type?
D: Yes ah. For example, when I organize things, or just before I go out, I will listen to more rock and roll music, to allow myself to be quicker. When I am showering, I will listen to music with a more lazy rhythm.
F: Beside from listening to music to work, in your life, do you have any other requests?
D: Hungry. If I am hungry, nothing will go right. For example, when I have recording, I have to be extremely full, otherwise I will sing really badly.
Also, I cannot stand my house being disorderly. If I come home from work and see that my house is really messy, then I have to clean it up, and then make myself really tired. (Cleaning habit?) I think I have a little bit.
F: When was the first time you were recognized on the streets?
D: I was recognized after my very first series. In the beginning, I had a felt a bit wrong, I thought having strange people smiling at me was very weird. After that I got used to it, thinking that they are people who listen to my songs and watch my dramas, so even if its people I am familiar with, the feeling is okay.
“That time when my toe almost scraped on…my character really likes a self-challenge.”
I really wanted to ask about the online news about his previous reprimanding, but it was he that said that when he had had no acting experience, his eyes would start to close up. At that time, I only wanted to quietly listen to him speak, so he smilingly talked about how he got hurt during filming. He spoke very care-freely, but I knew his wound was very serious.
F: Rolling Love has already finished filming, were there any interesting things that happened during the filming?
D: It was really fun. Things that were fun were undoubtedly getting hurt, always getting hurt. I have to cook, when I cut vegetable I will cut my hand and fingers; when cooking I would get burnt, there was this one time when I burnt my eyebrow; my legs were also hurt twice, from my head to toe, there was no escaping it.
F: How did your leg get hurt?
D: Playing squash! I wasn’t wearing shoes when I was practicing, and the floorboards were slightly old and worn out. It just happened that a raided floorboard corner cut off some meat from my toe. Afterwards, I went to the doctor, and it was quite serious, almost got inflamed by a bees nest. I was shocked, if it was any more serious, I would have get my toe chopped off.
F: Did it hold up the filming?
D: No, I continued to film. At that time, the director tried to film shots which only required the upper half of the body. Because you could not see the foot, I could wrap my toe in gauze and it would not be discovered. (I could almost feel the heart break of honey [translator: …ermm..not too sure what that means]) Ahh, it’s already past, let everybody be at ease.
F: When was the first time you cooked?
D: The first time was when I was in primary school, that’s what my mum said. At that time, I had to help my mum cook, but I was not tall enough. I had to move a little block over, and stand on that to help her.
F: From all the series you have acted in, which character do you like the best?
D: Mm, actually it is this one, from Rolling Love. Because it is has been the most major character I play. Because the director didn’t want us to have subsitutes, we had to do everything ourselves. Not using substitutes to cook is quite hard. I don’t cook very often, but I was required to become a big chef in a few short months, it was quite challenging.
Also, this character especially has depth, his emotional world is abundant, but he has to conceal those feelings, very self-controlled. This type of contradiction is very hard to reflect.
F: Can you say that your character likes to have challenge itself?
D: Mm, yes you can say that.
F: You previously said that you quite like to race cars. Is this another self-challenge?
D: Actually it is not only racing cars, I like the feeling of speed.
F: Then would you like to become a racing car driver?
D: Maybe yes, Rolling Love has scenes where I need to drive, and the car I drive is a convertible, so I cannot have a substitute, so it is actually me driving the car.
F: Who is your idol?
D: I guess it’s Andy Lau, I watching his movies, and also admire him a lot. Ever since primary school, I would watch his movies as I grew up, and I really think that he can act as anything. When I was young, he was 20-something, and could act as a 40 year old. Now, he really is 40, but can still act as a 20 year old. For someone to be famous for that long, and everyone still likes him, it really is something that is unbelievable, and is not something everyone can do.
F: Which series of his do you like the best?
D: “ Gambling King”, Chen Xiao Dao ah, they’re all very early ones. The most recent one I like is “Tou Ming Zhuang”
F: What feeling do you get when you watch them?
D: Feeling, I want to go act! Haha
“I dare not chase girls….too introverted”
You really wouldn’t dare to think that after he goes home, he does not talk much, only quietly listening to music, and watching movies. After the complete interview, he turn on the computer to look at the photos he has just taken, smiling as he looks at them. When he realises that he is loud, he looks at me in an embarrassed way. At that time, he was already preparing to go to bed, and changed into slippers, and when he saw me looking at his slippers he looked a little uncomfortable. Therefore, he called the make up artist to come into the room, and when he passed me, he very politely said “Good night”. [translator: awww soo cute XD]
F: If there are no ads to do, what will you do to pass the time?
D: Watch DVD’s. I can often just spend a whole day like this. Or maybe play games, go on the computer.
F: typical male lifestyle?
D: Ha? Yes (smiles) If friends are over, then maybe we would go out to play basketball and stuff like that.
F: What type of DVD’s do you watch?
D: Action, Romance, Family also watch, I will watch everything, I’ve seen quite a lot.
F: What have you watched recently?
D: “Tokyo Tower”, it is about the story of a son and his mother.
F: Referring to relationships, what do you wish for?
D: Wishes for relationships…requirements would be….love? Hey! There’s someone knocking on the door? (Is not! Whatever) Do you think I am avoiding the question? There really is someone knocking! Actually, I hope for someone who is family-orientated. Ever since I was young, I grew up with my mum, I hope I can find someone I can love, who also loves me and my family, and become one family.
F: If I gave you an opportunity to go back to in time, where would you go?
D: Middle school. That time was free of worries and anxiety. Every day I would go to school to play basketball, and also secretly look at girls. Probably didn’t have to worry about anything, everyday was a happy day.
F: Do you still secretly look at girls? Surely there would lots of girls who go after you?
D: No ah. Maybe there will be girl students who will express their feelings, but none of whom I like.
F: Then it is just as well you secretly look at those who don’t go after you.
D: Yes, haha. Looking at your own school’s and other schools pretty girls, boys will still secretly look at. Actually it is a natural thing for young males.
F: Have you ever pursued a girl?
D: Yes, but I am not so daring, I won’t pursue them. Being an actor, I am too shy and introverted. If I meet a girl that I like, I will become silly and wooden. I am often very cool towards the girl I like, so cool that in the end she will go out with someone else. This has made me lose a lot of opportunities. (pouts)
F: Surely you are not waiting for someone to pursue you?
D: I am the type of person who will silently stay by their side, and help her with things. If she can feel my affection, then I will be very happy.
“He put me on a stage in front of tens of thousands of people…and made my first time…a shock to the soul.”
When we gave the photographer some trial angles, he excitedly said that holding the trademark made him look like a criminal. I told him his number was 9527.
“Are we taking head shots?”
“16”
“Ah? 16, let me try first.”
So when he did his trial shots, he really did do 16 different face expressions, and then even remarkably, like a child on a mission, made everyone smile.
F: When did you do your first entertainment-related job?
D: I was 17 when I filmed an advertisement. Oh, no, I was 18.
F: How did you come by the opportunity?
D: I was walking along the street, and then an advertisement company came to ask me if I wanted to try for a shoot. The first time I shot it, I didn’t think that it would go through. It was my first ever advertisement.
F: What kind of feeling did you have at that time?
D: It felt very fresh. Wah, I am shooting an advertisement, but after shooting it, the whole day my heart was thinking : Why is it so tiring? It was because it was from 6 am till 8 pm, and I didn’t stop jumping or dancing. In the past, I would look at advertisements and think, such a short advertisement would definitely be really easy to shoot, the result was that it really wasn’t what I anticipated.
F: After filming, do you yourself have any exercises for acting?
D: Actually, before I started to act, I had never attended any type of acting class before, and had never accepted any training. After that, I would just listen to a lot of the previous generation of actor’s advice, and they would teach me how to act, and I would listen to their experiences. Myself, if I had accepted a certain character, then I would go to the DVD store, and choose quite a few DVD’s with similar characters. Then I would see how they acted, and then would teach myself how I should go about doing that character.
F: From the people who have guided, who has had the biggest influence?
D: My boss from my previous company was probably the biggest influence.
F: Why?
D: Because he was a really daring person, and would often tell me to do some things that were really scary. For example…
Say, in the past, I was really scared of giving birth, scared of going on stage, scared of singing to people, but he would put me up on a dance stage, in front of tens of thousands of people, to sing. I had never had any acting experience, and the first time I was put on a stage to face so many people, it was ‘shock-to-the-soul’ experience. Having that kind of first time, after that I pretty much wasn’t scared of it anymore. My boss allowed me to do thing I had never done before, and needed me to learn it by myself, so his impact on me is quite significant.
F: What feeling did you have when he put you on stage?
D: He wasn’t scared that I would forget the lyrics, and would stay with me. I am really thankful to him for trusting in me so much, so I sacrificed everything and went out, and sang the song until it finished. Actually, the strength he needed to put me on stage, was much more than the strength I needed to face that many people, and he was scared that I would make him lose face.
F: If we were suddenly to say, Danson, we have to film a crying scene.
D: I would first make crazy eyes, and then request for the room to be quiet, and let me gather up my feelings.
F: What kind of situations would you think of?
D: I often would think about my family. For example, my father, who has died. One of my elder sisters, who has died. It is my family who would allow me to easily become emotional.
“I like the job of an artiste, I will slowly enjoy this kind of experience.”
He thinks for a while, and decides that there is no other kind of job in his mind, looks at me, and says “I like the job of an artiste. Going from the photo shoot to the sofa, he takes the initiative to hold onto the recording device, and asks me “Has this started yet? Can I?” I smiled as I nodded, and he says “Then let me hold it, this way you can hear me more clearly.”
F: Being an actor is very tiring, like today, it’s so late and you still have to do an interview and photo shoot.。
D: To me, I don’t deem this as work, but it is for me to enjoy this kind of work as much as possible. I put this as my interests, like playing basketball, I don’t play basketball for the sake of playing basketball, but it is because I love to play this kind of sport. I see the job of being an actor as an experience to enjoy, in this age, a lot of people will not be able to enjoy this experience, I think I am very lucky.
F: You probably have to accept a lot of interviews everyday, why is it not tiresome?
D: To me, even if the questions that are asked are asked so often that they become the same, the person who comes to interview me is different, the place is different, so it is still like telling different people the information that they want. Although sometimes the questions are the same for the whole day, and in the end when I talk it comes to a dead end, but I will still finish off the interview.
F: Comparing your old self and your present self, which one do you like best?
D: My present self.
F: If there is no such thing as an actor, what kind of job would you do?
D: If I wasn’t an actor, I would probably just have graduated from university. I actually haven’t thought about it that much. Before I had never thought about being an actor, but now, after I have become one, and slowly starting to understand the job, I suddenly feel like I should be doing this job, and can’t think of any other job which would allow me to be so immersed.
F: What words would you like to say to your fans?
D: I am really thankful for continually supporting me, because the distance between us is really long, and it isn’t often that I can see them. But in front of every stage, there are a lot of faces who like me, and I feel like it is a rare thing, and also very moved, and will put this in my brain to remember. Today is my first Guang Zhou signing, even though I will come back often later on, the first time is definitely the most memorable time. I hope everyone will remember this day with me, and hope that later on we can see each other more and more.
INTERVIEWER’S THOUGHTS
Interview and Photoshoot
Three hours of photo shoots has allowed me suffient time to deduce the meaning of his earlier signal. Every time he returned to sit opposite me, he would say, in a serious manner, “Let me hold the recording pen, it will be more clearer this way.” He naturally expressed his grace and consideration, and made me time and time again remind myself that I was a reporter, and in order to not lean towards becoming one of his fans I had to assume a peaceful state of mind.
After the photoshoot, during our last time facing each other, it was 1 am in the morning, at that time I suddenly felt slightly dizzy, and become a “人气王 (Person-Breath-King ??). He could have turn slightly capricious, and tell everyone that he was tired. He could have refused to continue with the photo shoot and interview, but he didn’t. In fact, time and time again, he would help me hold the recording device, and ask me if I was thirsty….I think I will never forget him intently listening to my questions, and his manner of thinking about each question.
When speaking about his family, his talking speed slowed down. He is clearly someone who thinks about other people, and doesn’t want things that happen to him have an impact on people on set. So he quickly changes the topic, and afterwards immediately gives me a definite expression in his eyes, asking me to continue interviewing. I can understand the kind of longing and sorrow, and go far as to avoid that type of questions.
After work, I immediately call up one of Danson’s fans, and talk about how good he is, but the person on the phone was silent, and said that she knew that Danson would be like that, and up till the end when I said I would probably become one of his fans, she said she knew that in the beginning.
I want to tell everybody who has seen Danson before, don’t just remember singly remember that he is handsome, he is a very brave person, he changed himself, he persevered to do the thing he loves most, isn’t afraid of tiredness or difficulty, he has a story, and we must all quietly listen to it.
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