In just a few months, he’s gone from “unknown” actor to getting mobbed outside his house in Beijing. Former Ch 8 star LAWRENCE WONG is now super-hot stuff in China, thanks to his breakout role in Story of Yanxi Palace. Here he tells us about his rise to fame and gives us the inside scoop behind the hit Chinese drama.
According to Google, Lawrence Wong isn’t the most famous Lawrence Wong in Singapore. That honour would have to go our National Development Minister. But being the most famous Lawrence Wong in Singapore isn’t what the Beijing-based Singaporean actor is gunning for. He has his sights set on much bigger things.
You might have seen him in this little show called Story Of Yanxi Palace, which you should probably drop everything to watch right now, if you aren’t already a fan. It’s an understatement to say that the Qing Dynasty period drama has taken Asia by storm. Thanks to its super addictive story about palace politics and scheming concubines, steered by the most badass heroine since the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (she should be called The Girl With the Jade Hairpin), and the most heartbreaking love story since Romeo and Juliet, the drama, which moves at breakneck speed and doesn’t belabour any plotline, has shattered viewership records in China. As of Aug 23, Yanxi has racked up a cumulative 11.2 billion views online and a whopping 530 million viewers on iQiyi, China’s biggest streaming platform. The drama, which ended its 70-ep run last week, is also massively popular in Hongkong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam, and is now airing on cable here. In the drama, Lawrence, whose Chinese name is Wang Guan Yi, plays Hai Lan Cha, a kindhearted imperial guard, who is the best friend and comic foil to the drama’s resident heartthrob, Fu Heng (played by the impossibly swoon-worthy Xu Kai). Lawrence’s character, who’s surrounded by some of the vilest, craftiest women ever written for TV but remains untainted by all the double-crossing and betrayal, is immensely likeable. And it has propelled the actor, who says he was an “unknown” in China before the drama aired, to major fame.
This story is from the September 6, 2018 edition of 8 Days.
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This story is from the September 6, 2018 edition of 8 Days.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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