Lee Ka Ding: “TVB Spoiled Kevin Cheng! He Lacks an Actor’s Ethics!”

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The dam has let loose, followed by an outpouring of recent public criticism towards TV King, Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎). TVB actors, Sin Ho Ying (冼灝英) and Lee Ka Ding (李家鼎), have been most critical towards Kevin’s work attitude on set TVB drama, Gloves Come Off <拳王>. Ding Yeh continued to criticize Kevin as being spoiled by TVB, lacking a professional spirit and an actor’s ethics!

Lee Ka Ding Scolds Kevin Cheng

Sin Ho Ying criticized Kevin Cheng as possessing a poor character and being self-centered. Lee Ka Ding blasted Kevin in acting like a “mute,” lacking respect and an actor’s ethics in a televised interview on Green Room <今日 VIP> with Gregory Lee (李永豪), Ding Yeh said, “You are fighting! The other person is not blocking you, while you yell at him! That conduct is terrible! Do not pretend that you are a big shot; I hate that!” Although Ding Yeh did not explicitly state who he was referring to, it was speculated that he meant Kevin Cheng.

Speaking with Sudden Weekly, Ding Yeh said, “He (Kevin Cheng) is like that. TVB has spoiled him! He never had good relations with other people. He’s self-centered; we are all used to that. He lacks professional spirit, without an actor’s ethics!”

Ding Yeh continued, ”Even if you are dumb, that’s okay; you can learn! But you cannot be lazy while claiming you are too busy! Do not blame that you had no opportunity! Even if you have the opportunity, you do not cherish it!” Asked if Ding Yeh will advise him, Ding Yeh said, “I will not advise people like him! Anyway, ‘It looks like a dragon boat above the water, but people in the ocean can truly see it for what it is!’”

TVB actor, Wong Chak Fung (黃澤鋒) vouched that Ding Yeh did not fabricate any lies. Wong Chak Fung said to Sudden Weekly, “Ding Yeh got right to the point. He is a veteran and will not fabricate such things. He is just pointing it out as it is! During the filming of Gloves Come Off, I worked mostly with Kenny Wong (黃德斌) and Florence Kwok (郭少芸); they did not make me unhappy in any way.”

Asked about his position towards Kevin Cheng, Wong Chak Fung said, “He is hot-blooded. It takes a lot of hard effort to be a boxing student. After we got scolded by the Muay Thai Boxing Association, it’s fine now.”

Wong added that he hoped that Kevin will be considerate towards his more “lowly-ranked” costars. Wong said, “In a TV drama, the male and female lead stars gain the most recognition. The other actors are only in supporting roles, who are in fact helping the leads. I hope that he will be more considerate and respectful towards other people. Ding Yeh acts as the judge and will scold because he cannot stand it. There are ups and downs in life. I hope he will be mindful!”

Kevin Cheng’s Weak Boxing Skills Ridiculed

Sin Sifu and Ding Yeh’s frustrations apparently also stemmed from Kevin’s lack of effort in his boxing scenes, which have been heavily cursed by the Muay Thai Boxing Association for their inaccuracies.

Although Kevin’s boxing blows were ridiculed as lacking force, it was known that the 42-year-old was injured on set while filming Gloves Come Off. In May 2011, Kevin posted a photo of a bloody arm injury on his Weibo blog, claiming he was in the hospital for treatment. However, fans did not believe that the injury was real and wondered whether Kevin was playing a prank on them.

Meanwhile, Kevin’s Muay Thai boxing skills continued to come under fire. A TVB insider revealed, “During the filming of Gloves Come Off, he (Kevin Cheng) was always black-faced. A Muay Thai boxer asked him if he knew how to box. With little-knowledge, he pretended that he knew what he was doing. Although he lifted weights, that did not mean that he knew how to box. They are different things! Anyone was a better fighter than him! He did not even know how to block the blows!”

Kevin Cursed Angrily at Boxing Opponent?

Kevin was criticized as being in the worst physical shape among the cast. Rumors surfaced that Kevin was frustrated by the strenuous physical requirements in the drama, even cursing angrily at a boxing trainer during filming!

Allegedly, during a boxing scene for Gloves Come Off, Kevin punched until his fists hurt. Thus, he cursed angrily at his boxing opponent. An insider said, “The trainer was afraid to injure the male lead. He reminded the Muay Thai boxer to wear boxing gloves. After hitting someone, he even cursed angrily! The opponent could not stand him, saying: ‘What, I was already hit by you; now you want to yell at me!’ Raymond Wong (黃浩然) had to be the peace-maker, stepping in to say, ‘He is not [expletive] you! He is only cursing himself!’”

However, Raymond Wong denied to Sudden Weekly that he had acted as peace-maker on the set of Gloves Come Off. He said, “Nothing like this happened!”

“Rubber King” Instead of “Boxing King”

Some netizens also blasted Kevin Cheng’s acting skills in Gloves Come Off, claiming they were stiff and “rubber-like.” One netizen commented, “He (Kevin Cheng) always has a chok face. Every expression is about the same. He is completely overated! I do not think how difficult it can be to act as ‘Law Ba’; he is still miles away from Gallen Lo (羅嘉良) and Wayne Lai’s (黎耀祥) acting!”


Creds: Sudden Weekly/Jstars