TVB Anniversary series, Overachievers <名門暗戰> debuted last week and has received fairly good reception. Featuring the return of the main cast members from The Confidant <大太監>, the artistes already have chemistry working together. Susanna Kwan (關菊英), Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Maggie Shiu (邵美琪), Raymond Wong (黃浩然), Nancy Wu (胡定欣), and Edwin Siu (蕭正楠) spoke about their experiences and challenges while filming Overachievers. Susanna Kwan Remains Strong Under Pressure Susanna is not new to filming family feudal dramas, as she was previously part of the highly acclaimed Heart of Greed <溏心風暴> franchise. Playing the second wife of a Hong Kong tycoon for a second time, Susanna explained that her role as Li Chau Ping is not actually evil. In order to ensure that her children maintain high status within the family, Chau Ping must act strong all the time even when she is on the verge of buckling under pressure. Susanna admitted that filming the intense family scenes required a lot of her effort. She prepared well for the scenes by studying the script carefully to avoid outtakes. “If there are too many [outtakes], my stamina can’t handle them.” Wayne Lai and Maggie Shiu Portray Lovers Wayne Lai discussed the differences he had with his character Cheung Yuen. “He will not employ underhand tactics in business dealings, but he is courageous and loves challenges. He has a very exaggerated personality. That’s why he suffers a large setback in the middle of the series. I’m personally not as exaggerated as Cheung Yuen. But the producer incorporated my sense of pride into the character and allowed me to bring him to life.” Wayne and Maggie Shiu’s characters were previously lovers and separated during their younger days. Encountering each other after years of separation, Maggie and Wayne realize that the romantic feelings still remain. Wayne disclosed that there was a natural chemistry between the two. Wayne said, “Maggie is a very persuasive actress. It’s easy to be moved when acting emotional scenes with her.” Maggie added that filming romantic scenes with Wayne were very comfortable. Raymond Wong’s Character is Driven by Greed Portraying a rebellious and villainous character for the first time, Raymond Wong discussed the gradual changes his character, Hugo, goes through. “He was good friends with Wayne and they were business partners. Wayne abides his morals, but I think more about making profits. Because of our differences, we become enemies. He’s not evil on the outside – in the 30 episodes, you can see him change and slowly become a manipulative person. It’s because in his childhood, an unfortunate even occurred that left a scar. “Villainous roles have a lot of room for development. Producer Marco Law (羅永賢) and I have worked together before. We know each other well and I’ve gone to him a lot of times to ask about the script. I wanted to understand what he wanted from this character so that the role can be portrayed in its best form.” However, the intensity of his character caused Raymond to suffer from insomnia during the filming of Overachievers. Nancy Wu’s Man is Blinded by Love Portrayed by Nancy, Man is a strong career woman who becomes blinded by her love for Hugo. Even though she knows that Hugo is flirtatious and deceitful, Man continues to chase after him. After being hurt by Hugo, Man receives emotional support from Power, who plays Wayne’s uncle. “My love relationship with Raymond’s character is full of deceit and hurt, while my relationship with Power is much happier and healthier,” Nancy said. Edwin Siu Lost 30 Pounds for Role Playing a highly skilled but very lazy boxer in Overachievers, Edwin spoke about the rigorous routine he had to take up in order to attain his muscular body for the role. “Two months before the series started, I went to the gym to get in shape and lost 30 pounds. I also found a boxing expert to train me in Thai boxing. I trained two to three times a week.” Edwin admitted that his body was in his fittest form during filming, but he felt “weak inside” and had no energy due to his small and plain meals. Wanting his muscles to appear more defined on screen, he was afraid to even drink water. Due to the intense experience, Edwin is not interested in portraying similar physically-demanding roles in the future. Creds: TVB Weekly
