Growing Up: Sammul Chan

credit to:ling gan

From in 2005 to this year, Chan Pak Kiu has grown up and has matured. In the same way, Sammul Chan, who’s been in show business since 1998 until now, has gone through 11 years of a baptism of fire, and he’s grown to maturity. After all these years, we have always been accompanying him growing up, in the same way, he also has been witnessing our growth.

A Double Character

Sammul’s image has always been good. In internet forums, everyone also uses words like “the handsome boy”, “the good boy”, and other refined wordings to describe him. In the real life, is he also like that? “In my daily life, I’m not as quiet as everyone thinks. Many people think that I’m a silent and gentle person, but actually I’m not like that, because I’m someone who has a double character, as I can sometimes be lively and active, but other times I can be very quiet. Um…I dislike ball games, because when I was still in school I hurt myself in the eye when playing basketball, so I’m a bit afraid by that. Instead, I find water sports enjoyable. I often go surfing and work out in the gym. I also love Thai boxing. I used to go hiking with my friends, which one of my life’s most wonderful times. I went with a bunch of friends to Xi Gong for three days and two nights, and after we’re exhausted from walking, we found a place to camp and take a bath. Too bad I can’t do that anymore these days. Talking of being quiet, I sometimes can be very still, sitting and relaxing in my house not saying anything, just looking at my fish tank."

China and Hong Kong

Everyone would agree that in a year, there must be a period of time where we don’t hear any news about Sammul. Actually, he’s often away for work, and he even could be away for a couple of months. “I would spend a third of a year outside HK, like today got to spend about two or three weeks in Canada, while actually I also has to film in the mainland China. These years, I’ve been used to traveling. Of course in the beginning it was hard, because every time I travel I have to delegate a lot of things to others. I have two cats and a fish tank in my house. The first time I went to China for filming, when I got home from being away for two months, the water in my fish tank was stagnant and there were so many waterweeds growing everywhere. My fish tank was simply in a terrible mess. Although my family would come by and help out taking care of my house, it is still different if it’s me myself who take care of everything. But, I’ve used to it, so have my family.” What is the difference of the working pattern in China and HK? “The working pattern in filming in HK is very tight. We can have two groups working in a day; we shoot outdoors, then indoors afterwards. We have so many things to take care of, and maybe because there are always not enough people to take care of every actor, so that’s why living a life like this really can make someone be under a great mental pressure. But working in China, we have people who take care of things; there are always people who are in charge of the three meals a day and the daily necessities. There are even people who are specialized in makeup and at the same time, taking the actors to the filming site, so the actors can concentrate on remembering the script and throwing themselves into their roles. The procedure there is really conducive for the actors to their work absorption."

Compromising

Viewers think that actors are different from ordinary people. They could not eat, drink, nor sleep in order to deal with their heavy jobs, but Sammul thinks this isn’t a big deal. “Human being is the most proud animal. When you’re struggling to live, there are many things that can be compromised, or when you know that there will be many waves coming, you thus bravely face it. This is a good practice I think. When asked, is it hard? Actually, it’s not that hard. Because there are people out there who have three different jobs, and only get two to three hours of sleep, but their earnings are much less than ours, so it depends on your attitude in adjusting to see this problem. I will always see the bright side like I can work every day and meet my friends so everything will become more relaxing. I’m a weird person. Almost every time whenever I work in HK I can get fat easily. Because the mental pressure is too big, thus I eat often, but at the same time, I don’t have the time to work out, so slowly but surely, I become fat. When I’m too tired, I depend on some supplements, taking one to two of them to maintain my health. “Is it the working rhythm in HK or the job that’s tiring? “The working rhythm in HK is indeed tiring, it seems like it’s forcing you to go ahead. I’m already used to remembering the script. No matter how tired I am, I always read my script at least once before I go to bed so I’ll have an impression of it, and on the next day when I’m doing my makeup I also got to read the script again, sometimes in the car too. After filming in the morning, I have to remember the night’s script, and whenever I have some free time, I’ll read it. This is the rhythm and sometimes it is indeed slightly tiring."

Different Pressures

Many artistes say that filming in China is like going on a vacation that relaxing; it seems like there is no pressure, not like in HK where everything is to be done hurriedly. Is it true? “The pressure in China and HK is different, because the series that we’re filming will be marketed to the greater China, the actors come from different countries, and I have to learn how to get along with them. While in HK, we always meet each other every time, so we’re used to each other’s acting, it’s not a big deal. But when it comes to working with actors who come from different places, we have to get used to everyone’s habits, as living in this world is the biggest artwork ever, and filming outside of HK will always influence my acting. I can still speak Cantonese in my first mainland series, but in my next series I’ll have to use Mandarin, because everyone’s demanding it. Even until now, whenever I have to speak Mandarin, people want me to pronounce every word correctly. So the pressure doesn’t solely come from the acting, it also comes from the different surroundings."

It Gets Harder and Harder

Sammul has played the role Chan Pak Kiu for three times now. Does he feel that it’s easy to play the role again since it’s the third time? “This is just a continuation of the previous role, but it’s doesn’t mean that I can easily master the role, because my role grows along with the episodes. For me, episode 1 is where the viewers accept this role, and they still can feel the freshness and the youthful energy there, no burdens at all. We’ve made progress since we first appeared, because the role is real, and there’s a difference in the development of the actors’ acting skills, as the pressure adds up in every episode, because the viewers have expectations of not wanting to repeat the things in the past, you have to be the same person, but at the same time adding some new elements, which is the greatest challenge. As an actor, one has to warm up first, and he also has to make a mentality adjustment. My craziest time was I’ve once filmed three series at a time, and played three different roles. That was very crazy, because the three characters were very different from each other, so I would have to throw myself into a role and then draw myself back from it incessantly every day, but still it was a good experience for me. Being an actor is like that, we have to be like a chameleon, adapting ourselves according to the surroundings."

Matured and Grown

Sammul has been in show business for 11 years now. He doesn’t change much physically, only looked more mature now, but he must have an enormous change in the way he thinks. “There have been some changes since I entered the showbiz. When I first joined in, I was still a small naïve kid. The entertainment circle is full of excitement and change, as today and tomorrow can have a huge difference. I’m more matured and more cautious now. I used to not knowing of how to handle some things, so I just impulsively went ahead, whenever I fell, I still had the opportunity to stand again, but now since I have more experiences, I know that everyone could not always forgive you when you make these mistakes, so I have to talk the talk and walk the walk. Some people say that I’m boring, but actually I’m not, I don’t want to stir up rumors, because it can make an impact on me and on others. When I was studying radio broadcasting, my supervisor taught me some moral ethics and conduct, which I still remember until now. Actors are actually a part of the media, they have a responsibility towards the public, they shouldn’t set a bad example for the youth, and they have to control themselves well."