Andy Lau: ‘I only do one thing a day’
Hong Kong's 'Heavenly King' talks Zen, his cautious relationship with Fan Bingbing and warns about the age of the Internet as he promotes his latest film, 'Shaolin Temple'
By Teng Ling 25 January, 2011
Andy Lau -- Shaolin Temple - interviewThe "one thing a day" on Andy Lau's agenda today? Talking to us about "Shaolin Temple."
This year marks 50-year-old Andy Lau’s 30th anniversary in show business.
Aside from his “secret” marriage to Malaysian beauty queen Carol Chu, Lau has not had much fodder to offer gossip mongers. He has never made any inappropriate comments, he's never has stirred up any controversies, and has never even worn the wrong clothes.
In the span of his career, Lau has reportedly acted in over 140 movies, released over 100 albums, held more than 400 concerts and sold more than 50 million records -- achievements that make him worthy of his “heavenly king” title.
Last week, "Shaolin Temple" starring Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse and Fan Bingbing was released on screens across Shanghai. Lau, who plays a young officer in the film, reveals how Fan Bingbing went from being a stranger to his wife in the movie.
CNNGo: The "Shaolin Temple" director had said that the film is about Zen. What does Zen mean to you?
Andy Lau: Zen, to me, means to be able to leave one’s doubts and confusion behind and find a firm foothold on life.
Zen is a form of destiny, such as what the Buddhists refer to as enlightenment. Once you have achieved that state, you no longer hold any grudges, because you realize that many things just cannot be explained.
I’m a hard worker, just as many actors are. Why does everyone only say “Wow, Andy Lau works so hard,” when this is just my destiny? This is my understanding of Zen, I’ve believed in it for more than 20 years.
CNNGo: Since you're perceived as such a hard worker, what is a day in your life like?
Andy Lau: I only do one thing a day and that is to spend at least 10 hours a day at home.
I unplug the moment I get home and sleep around six to eight hours a day.
If I have a concert coming up, I’ll start preparing to go to bed around midnight. I’ll make myself a little snack and then sleep around 1 or 2 a.m. I usually wake up around 11 a.m the next morning.
Most of my days are like this. I don’t sleep very long. I’ll usually wake up after eight hours or so.
CNNGo: You star in movies, hold concerts and release new albums regularly. How do you manage everything?
Andy Lau: The production for "Shaolin Temple" and "What Women Want" wrapped up ages ago. Since then I've spent about four months rehearsing for my concert and a month staging the concerts. Now I’m back to focusing on the promotional events for "Shaolin Temple."
I feel that the girls though -- not just Fan Bing Bing, but Lee Bing Bing as well -- have an even busier schedule than I do, flying around the world to attend fashion shows in the middle of filming.
I tend to make less public appearances at such events.
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My time is spent mostly in mainland China. I won’t take on any movies while I’m preparing for a concert, or release any new albums in the middle of filming.
This year is a little more special with two of my movies being released at the same time. This has seldom occurred in the past 10 years.
I actually planned to take a three-week holiday after the promotional tours for "Shaolin Temple," since with "What Women Want" coming out a fortnight later, I’m afraid all of you will soon be sick of seeing me.
CNNGo: Why are you still working so hard after all these years?
Andy Lau: Just one word -- love.
CNNGo: So what do you do in your free time?
Andy Lau: I don’t have a habit for shopping, I’ve been this way since young. I like staying at home, but I love traveling too.
CNNGo: You’ve collaborated with Fan Bingbing in three movies so far, "Battle of Wits," "Future X-Cops" and now "Shaolin Temple." Could you talk about what it’s like working with her?
Andy Lau: I first got to know her while working on "Battle of Wits." Because I seldom work with mainland actresses, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
For example, when I work with a Hong Kong actress, whether or not I’ve met her before, if she has to play my girlfriend or wife in the film, I’ll treat her as a lover from the very first meeting.
I’ll hold her hand and drag her everywhere I go, I’ll chat with her, buy her meals and treat her very well. But with mainland actresses, I didn’t know what the situation would be like.
I didn’t have much chance to interact with Fan then and felt somewhat like a Mohist. Mohism advocates inaction, even towards love, and I felt like that extended to our off-screen relations as well.
I didn’t have much time to chat with her, and also didn’t dare to. I was afraid she’d find me annoying.
When it came to filming "Future X-Cops," we only had a few days of working together, but I started chatting with her. We had some pretty normal conversations, I asked what was her secret to staying slim and we chatted about everyday life.
This time for "Shaolin Temple," Fan had to play my wife. We also have a child together in the film and the three of us were like family on set.
The love affection we have for each other is one of the highlights of the movie. Even if you're not interested in the action or in Buddhism, watch it for the love story, I think it’s very entertaining.
CNNGo: What movies have you watched recently? Any to recommend?
Andy Lau: I think "The Social Network" is a very powerful film because it exposes the dangers of the Internet. It’s something everyone should know about, because the Internet is so deeply intertwined with our daily lives.
The Internet gradually changes everything about the way we interact and it’s a change that we can’t fight, but you should be clear about your thoughts and morals, just like in Buddhism.
Whether you can achieve it or not is another thing, but you should at least know what they are.