[Magazine] Linda Chung & Jason Chan - Happiness Left and Right

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In the new series Missing You, the concept of tracing services is conveyed through the organization "See Ming Seh" and the cases that come along with it. Separated families reuniting may be something that could never happen, happiness is not inevitable.

Turns Out There's Fate

In the past, Linda Chung had Steven Ma, Moses Chan (and Raymond Lam) as her popular on-screen partners. It wasn't until last year, she started working with other actors and created new sparks. Following Witness Insecurity's fate with Bosco Wong, this time she collaborates with a new partner, Jason Chan in new series Missing You. The series revolves around the concept of tracing services, the two are partners working in the tracing service organization "See Ming Seh" and eventually develop a relationship.

Although this is their first collaboration, the two quickly developed chemistry since Jason grew up in England and Linda grew up in Canada, so the two are considered 'westernized'. Jason said: "Perhaps we both grew up overseas, so we have common topics and easily developed chemistry." It turns out this isn't Jason and Linda's first collaboration because shortly after their debuts, Linda already had roles with slightly more screen time, Jason laughed and said that time, he just graduated from the TVB Artistes Training Class and didn't turn down any role. He started off as an Extra standing behind Linda. Linda said: "If Jason didn't take out the photo, I wouldn't be able to remember that he was in Heavenly In-Laws. Perhaps that time, he had on a fake mustache, but now mentioning this again, I find it funny."

At first Jason concentrated more on hosting, and so he's considered inexperienced in acting. This is his first series in which he played the leading role. Facing this new partner, Linda praised he's willing to learn and listen. "In terms of a newcomer, Jason really works hard and is willing to learn. Also, he isn't afraid to ask, so he improves faster than others." Jason said he's still a newcomer, and must continue to learn. "As a newcomer, there are many things I need to absorb and be willing to listen. If you are willing to share, I am willing to listen. As the director said, I try my best to absorb and digest all of the pointers my colleagues give me because we all want the series to do well."

After filming series for several years, Linda is still seeking new breakthroughs, challenges and genres. First time coming into contact with the refreshing theme of a tracing services, Linda said: "Because there is a lot to learn in tracing services, TVB made arrangements for us to interview the HK Red Cross Tracing Service team prior to filming. There were only 2-4 people working in that department, which is the same as 'See Ming Seh' from the series. They explained to us the mechanism, operations and methods of tracing. They even told us about special cases. I remember one case was about someone who was a clone, and hoped to find his father. We couldn't believe there was such case that exist. After hearing about these real cases, I felt very emotional because it was all about separated families. Imagining this happening to myself, if I lost my brother and sister, I would want to find them no matter what it takes. If it takes me 40 years to do it, that feeling is really indescribable."

Observing on the Side

Linda was touched by all the cases from the series. She hopes the audience will be able to understand more about tracing services through this series and she's grateful for the group of senior-level guest stars that participated in each of the cases. They did all their homework and their acting made the cases even more touching. "I like this series because I can be an observer. Each day, I watch my seniors do the acting and I'm the one feeling their problem, its better than me telling my story. So, I'm really grateful of all the senior-level artists and all the other guest stars, who played the younger versions. Without their participation in this series, our cases wouldn't be successful. This time, there are a lot of seniors, such as Lau Kong, Ngok Wah, Law Lan and Law Lok Lam, etc. I learned a lot from them. I'm paired up with Jason in this series, I love our story. Listening to their stories and watching their acting skills, I have even more motivation to make this series really good."

Can't Care Too Much

About her relationship with Jason's role, Linda said: "In the series, it was my first time being a social worker. He's the See Hing (big bro) with lots of experience. Since my character is rather pessimistic, many times I think of the negative side of things. He has like a sunshine personality, he's optimistic and helped me learn to relax and slowly I started having feelings for him. Unfortunately, he already had a really good girlfriend (Lin Xiawei), so I could just keep my feelings inside."

One of the concerns is the TV ratings for this series, Linda said: "Many people say the ratings are very low during the Christmas and New Year holidays, but I feel there is a need for series to come out no matter what time of year it is. Also, we can now re-watch the episodes online, so we shouldn't care too much [about ratings]. The most important is the series can be broadcast, so everyone can get to know the concept and service."

Love Confession on the Street

Jason plays the super attentive "See Yik Him", but he isn't aware of his true feelings. He fell in love with Yu Fung (Linda) without knowing it. It wasn't until Yu Fung decided to leave Hong Kong and go to Australia to study with her brother and the separation with his girlfriend, that he realized he developed feelings for Yu Fung over time. To win Yu Fung back, there was one scene about Yik Him on the busy Mong Kok street confessing his love for Yu Fung. Jason said a lot of things were hard to control because of the busy street, so it made filming even more difficult. "I have never filmed such a large-scale scene before. The directors and crew had to help with the filming process. Before the cameras rolled, I was worried there would be too many people and interrupt filming, but when the cameras rolled, I didn't care about anything and just started looking for Linda hysterically on the streets. The situation at the time actually helped me get into character."

Advice from Seniors

In one case, the story is about Yik Him tracing for his family. As the case was directly related to his own character, Jason frankly expressed he spent a lot of time and effort into his performance for this case. He said: "I really like watching the emotional and the quarrel scenes from my senior-level colleagues. However, I also liked the case about my character. First, by that time I had already been filming for a period of time and it was easier for me to get into character. Secondly, the case was very touching and helped me put myself into the story. It was like I put my character into a higher level. Many thanks to my colleagues and seniors from this series, whom had led me into character."

Jason also wanted to especially thank TV King Wayne Lai, he said: "Although Wayne isn't in this series, I saw him during our breaks and chatted with him. He would tell me some of his acting experiences and that its rare to get encouragement and pointers from others. So, I'm really excited to be able to work with both Ah Mo (Moses Chan) and Wayne in new series Transfer of Love Firm."

Source: TVB Weekly#810 Cover Story
Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net