Fala Chen Doesn't Like To Follow The Rules

The Chinese-American actress has set out to chart a unique path of her own from Hong Kong to hollywood, and beyond

- FABIAN LOO

I was really a rebel,” Fala Chen confesses, right at the very start of the interview. “I was always on the move; I wasn’t one of those kids who could sit still at all.” Following the standard route was something Chen could never get used to; her rule-bending ways began right when she was growing up in Chengdu, China. “I was told not to speak too loud in classrooms, not to raise too many questions,” she recalls. But being brought up in a strict Asian environment did little to dampen her verve. “I wanted to disassemble bicycles,” she jokes. “My natural instinct was always to try something that wasn’t allowed.”

And heeding her instinct to go against norms helped the 41-year-old kickstart a career in film and television. In 2005, the marketing and international business student from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia made a life-changing decision to pursue acting when she won first runner-up in the Miss Chinese International Pageant. She signed an eight-year contract with Hong Kong’s Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and quickly gained popularity through roles that had her doing everything from pole-dancing to piloting planes. As the competitive Ching Ka-Man in the dance drama Steps, Chen won the TVB Anniversary Award for Best Supporting Actress. Then, her first foray onto the silver screen for actionthriller Turning Point landed her a nomination for Best New Performer at the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards. Chen quickly became a household name and a leading actress in the Hong Kong film industry.