The spy game
Lau Ching Wan plays an inspector who takes on stock market manipulators when he overhears their dealings.
FROM a Vincent Van Gogh-inspired police detective who sees others’ “inner ghosts” to a deceased blind lawyer caught between fact and fiction, Lau Ching Wan has his pick of bizarre characters as Hong Kong directors cannot get enough of him.
In his latest movie Overheard, the Guangdong-born Hong Kong-based actor may yet again be cast as a police detective, but his character couldn’t be more different.
Inspector Leung may look deceptively easy to portray but Lau says the character conceals copious measures of inner turmoil that almost render him ineffective. “On the surface, the character looks simple to portray, but it is not. If you assume that it is just a simple or easy character, then you will not be able to interpret the role well,” Lau said in an e-mail interview.
Overheard is helmed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong – the award-winning director-writer duo of the blockbuster Infernal Affairs trilogy and also stars Louis Koo, Daniel Wu and Zhang Jingchu.
Conflicted cop: Lau Ching Wan stars as Inspector Leung in Overheard .
Known as Sit Ting Fung Wan in Cantonese, it tells of how Hong Kong, an international financial centre, seems to attract not only money but also market manipulators.
The story revolves around how the Hong Kong Police Force Commercial Crime Bureau conducts an operation to infiltrate the trading company, Feng Hua International, where a man nicknamed “Boss” is the chief suspect.
The team is led by Inspector Leung (Lau), who together with Yeung (Koo) and Lam (Wu), installs interception devices to monitor the company’s activities. When crucial information regarding a surging share was intercepted, a moment of greed results in the team being caught in a crossfire between the bureau and the Boss.
“I am the head of the unit, yet I am supposed to be an indecisive person and don’t have strong leadership qualities. But, I have to express it in such a way that the audience cannot see or feel my weakness. That’s a real challenge,” said Lau.
He also offers some insight into his co-stars’ characters. “Daniel Wu plays a bad guy with some redeeming qualties. However, among the three of us, the most outstanding character is Louis Koo’s because he has to act and look older than me.
“My character is considerably weak, yet I cannot show this weakness. These contradictory elements are what piqued my interest,” explained the 45-year-old actor.
Lau also declared he was very happy to work with Mak and Chong. “I have always wanted to work with them because they are extremely organised.
“The chemistry between cast members is amazing. It is hard to know what kind of relationship you can establish before filming, but once you start working together, the chemistry builds up.”
Lau explained that Overheard is a movie that is not just about the share market, but also about people’s greed. “Being greedy can make things change for the worse, so we must always be honest and humble.”
What if he were presented with the dilemma of choosing between friendship and honour, just like his character in the movie?
“It’s very difficult, but if I must choose, it will be honour. To me, friendship without honour means nothing.”
Though most of his scenes are with the guys, Lau’s most memorable scene in the movie is with his love interest Mandy Yam, played by China actress Zhang.
“We were in a house and something happened that made me want to break up with her. The script for the scene was very well written, very simple, but both our characters have to convey all the emotions via our acting. Hence, it was most memorable for me.”
Lau’s next movie to hit the screens will be Wai’s Written By (Joi Sun Ho) in which he plays a blind lawyer. Lau is now filming Chan Hing Ka and Janet Chun’s Poker King (Po Hark Wong) with co-star Koo and Cherri Ying. Next, he will also star in Johnnie To’s Death Of A Hostage (Si Piu).
> Overheard, distributed by RAM Entertain-ment, opens in local cinemas nationwide on July 30.
Ticket giveaway
IN conjunction with the release of crime thriller Overheard in Malaysia, RAM Entertainment is having a special preview of the movie and is giving away 180 tickets to readers of StarTwo.
Just cut out and present this coupon to redeem two tickets at GSC 1 Utama (New Wing), PJ, Selangor, on July 29.
Ticket redemption begins at 8pm and is on a first-come-first-served basis. The movie screens at 9pm on the same day.
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