Once Upon a Time with Philip Ng
December 29, 2014
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(Photo Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment)
“The camaraderie built around doing something difficult is something you can’t have with doing something easy. ”
— Philip Ng
Tell us a bit about yourself and your story.
I was born in Hong Kong (HK), I grew up in the United States in the suburbs outside of Chicago in the United States. My parents worked really hard when we moved over. I didn't have a lot when I was a kid but we didn't need a lot to be happy so it was cool.
At an early age, I did martial arts with my father and uncle and later moving on to learning from other people as well. I was just like any other normal kid, except I guess I trained kung fu a little more than what a regular kid might've.
I always had a dream to come here. After I got my master's degree in education, I worked a bit and told my parents that I really wanted to go back to HK and give it a try. It was a crazy dream that I thought about. My parents were cool about it so I packed my bags and came to HK. When I first came to HK, I didn't know anything about the industry.
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(Photo Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment)
How did you enter the entertainment industry once you moved to HK?
In college, I took my dad's old recorder and filmed myself doing a bunch of martial arts, used my limited knowledge of editing and made a 7-minute tape (yes, VHS!). I had this box of tapes in my suitcase and then I went to HK.
I joined the artists Christian fellowship in Hong Kong where my uncle did some Christian singing on the side. There, I met an actor / singer, Joe Tay, who ultimately changed the course of my career. He actively helped me out and gave my tape to one of his best friends, Chin Ka-Lok, HK actor and action director.
At the time, Ka-Lok was working on a movie called Star Runner which starred Vanness Wu and Andy On. He needed someone who can help out on the traditional kung fu - Wing Chun and Hung Kar kung fu. Ka-Lok hired me as an assistant choreographer which was my first big gig.
We all became best friends because of this movie. It was Vanness' first time as a lead role in an action movie and Andy won the best newcomer award for this movie - it was a first for all of us.
After your first big break, what happened next?
After that, I continued to learn the ropes of being an action director, action / martial arts choreographer, and also a stuntman. My goal was to become an actor as well so I was talking to Ka-Lok and he told me to learn the behind-the-scenes work first and when there's a chance for on-screen you'll be more in tuned to what you are doing. So every time they worked on editing, I would go in as well and learn how to edit.
Like learning anything, there's a systematic way of doing things. As long as you understand the goals of what you are trying to do and the basic steps to achieve those goals, then you can take this basic alphabet and make it a language. I later signed on to a management company and they taught me the ropes of the industry.
What challenges have you faced since going to HK?
The big challenges would be the same for anyone coming into this industry. You really need to have perseverance - it's not like other jobs.
Especially in the beginning, you need to have very thick skin and work your way up. For the longest time, the majority of the HK press was not very kind because of my position in the industry. Before I signed to my current company and boss, Wong Jing, who's a very well-established veteran in this industry - it was a little bit more difficult. After signing, with him I had a lot more opportunities and I see the change in perception about me. Being in the position I am in now, I feel like I have paid my dues. I did it through hard work. I'm proud to be where I am.
What has been the most memorable experience of your career so far?
My most memorable would probably be the whole process of filming and releasing my first leading role in a big movie, Once Upon a Time in Shanghai. This is a big deal for me as I was carrying the movie, and it had my best friend in it, Andy On, playing a supporting role. The action director, Yuen Woo-Ping (The Matrix, Kill Bill, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) is someone I look up to and admire immensely. My boss and producer of this movie, Wong Jing, went above and beyond to get this project off the ground and we made a movie that I'm very proud of.
All movies are group projects, it's not a one-person thing. Just like a high school group project, not everyone will agree or be happy with the end result but with this movie, from top to down, we're all very proud of it. Every member of the crew put in 110%. So far this has been the biggest highlight of my career.
Tell us about the story of Once Upon a Time in Shanghai and the role / character you play in the movie.
I'm playing a Chinese folk hero named Ma Wing Jing, which has been played in the old Shaw brothers days by Chen Kuan Tai, Takeshi Kaneshiro and the most recent reincarnation was played by me. The original actor who played Ma Wing Jing, Chen Kuan Tai, is also in the movie. Sammo Hung's in the movie, one of my all time favourite martial arts idols.
Ma Wing Jing, despite being a legendary and historical character that existed, nobody really knew how he looked like or how he really was like. So at the same time, I was able to be more free in interpreting his character.
Several actors were in talks to play the supporting role; a character where at first we don't like eachother and then we become friends. They selected my best friend, Andy On to play this role which was awesome because we've been talking for years about things we would do together. Up to that point, I have worked a lot with Andy, choreographed movements for him to fight other people, but haven't fought with him on screen.
The director Wong Ching-Po is superb. I haven't worked with anyone who had his handle on capturing movement.
What did it feel like to play Ma Wing Jing?
This is a big deal for me. There have been so many promises made to me on different projects. There were a couple of big projects that I was almost involved in but ended up getting cut short. You build this mentality, and you curve your own enthusiasm until the last possible minute, so that you don't get disappointed. I remember the night before the first day of shooting, I said to myself tonight I go to sleep and I'm Philip Ng, tomorrow when I wake up I'm Ma Wing Jing. It was a movie moment in real life for me.
