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Hong Kong queen of entertainmen -- Cecilia Cheung

cctv.com 02-07-2006 07:35

Hong Kong superstar Cecilia Cheung has made a big stride in her image as a pure princess in the recent mainland blockbuster: "The Promise". In this flick, she plays a goddess whose beauty stuns warriors into laying down their weapons. In today's "the List", we trace the career of the Hong Kong queen of entertainmen -- Cecilia Cheung.

In 1998, 18-year-old Cecilia Cheung was brought by an agent from Australia to Hong Kong to shoot a television commercial.

After the commercial was released, Cheung gained a lot of attention due to her similar looks with Brigitte Lin, a favorite of the silver screen in the 1980's.

She soon landed her first role in Stephen Chow's film "The King of Comedy", where she played an unsophisticated prostitute.

Fly Me to Polaris

Cecilia Cheung made a name for herself in the 1999 film "Fly Me to Polaris".

She played a nurse called "Autumn" who falls for her patient, a mute and blind saxophonist called "Onion".

After Onion dies in a fatal car accident, Autumn also finds her own feelings.

Onion is allowed by the angels to return to earth for five days to meet Autumn as a different person. He is forbidden to reveal his real identity.

Cheung's convincing acting in the heartbreaking story won her waves of applause. She also sang the theme song of the film which became a karaoke favorite in the following years.

The Lion Roars

Cecilia Cheung wasn't just satisfied to be stuck with playing pure sweet girls.

She deliberately avoided the stereotype, taking several sassy roles in a slew of films, the most impressive one being "The Lion Roars".

Cheung moved a further step in "Cat and Mouse" disguising herself as a man, and in "Sex and the Beauties", she was an unruled floppy punk.

She expresses her spunky and independent character, which might have been concealed in her delicate feature films before.

Lost in Time

The 2003 film "Lost in Time", shows that Cecilia Cheung is already making it as an actress.

It is a touching film that deals with loss and moving on. Cheung gives a terrific performance as a young woman who struggles to make a life for herself after her fiance dies, leaving her with a battered bus, and his young son by another woman.

This single mother role should have been challenging for then 23-year-old Cheung, but the actress herself didn't think it was so bad.

Cecilia Cheung said: "I didn't find it too difficult, because I've always played a mother's role, caring for my young brother, and other family members. I had that experience to lean on."

The single mother role won her the Best Actress Award in the 23 Hong Kong Film Awards. Cheung forcefully testifies that she is a respectable actress with sound acting skills, as much as her appealing appearance.

The Promise

In the most recent blockbuster "The Promise", Cheung plays "Qing Cheng", whose name means a woman whose beauty is admired by a whole state.

A beggar girl receives a promise from a goddess that she could get everything: high position, love et cetra at the expense her true love, unless time flies backwards.

When the girl grows up, she is admired by numerous men. The leading heroes: the duke, the general, and the warrior, duel for her. But all she wants is true love.

Cheung's nuances in "The Promise", shows her as a mature woman, a sexy goddess.

In her seven-year acting career, Cecilia Cheung has made several breakthroughs. Critics say that she will be a legendary figure in the Hong Kong cinema scene for a long time.

Editor:Wang Ping  Source:CCTV.com


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