Becoming Henry Prince Mak

Taking on new challenges, the Chinese movie star lets us meander through the alleys of his life, feelings, passion, and dreams

- DEBASHREE DUTTA

AS I WORK MORE INTENTLY TO FIX AN audio glitch, Henry Prince Mak is tucked away in his Shanghai hotel room (amid bric-a-brac and his guitar), attempting to adjust the resolution of his screen. God! For some bizarre reason, he can't hear me, although I can. This Zoom error has been bothering us for a while. "Let's do this anyway," he says, and I'm like, "Yeah, let's give it a shot; we'll figure something out if complications arise." It turns out that turning off my video allows him to hear me well. That works, as long as the conversation can go through.

Henry is alert, inquisitive, and driven by the desire to connect and respond; hence, my first impression of him is that he’s likable. I see the former JJCC (Jackie Chan Joint Cultures) K-pop idol who is now a rising star in China. But I also see a fundamentally normal guy paying close attention to my questions, exchanging responses candidly, and smiling in between.