"This lighting is great." After taking a short break between shooting, Bruce Hung picked up the phone and carefully photographed the shadow of his hand playing with the wall. It seems like this little thing could make him enjoy the rest of the day and the concept of time seems to have stopped. He is about to cross the 30th mark, but his delicate face and deep dimples are exactly the same as when he debuted in the film Café. Waiting. Love, in which his role was a college student who is fearless and has an invincible soul.
However, when we talk about his most obvious change in recent years, it is by no means just changing his name from Bruce to Bruce Hung. The fascinating contrast of his inner contradictions is becoming more and more obvious. Under his boy next door appearance he has a mature and calm personality. On the day of meeting with him, Bruce Hung was participating in Hunger Thirty. Therefore, when the photographer pressed the shutter of the last photo, the event time was just finishing. We had hoped that he would be able to eat whilst doing interviews, so that he would be able to relieve his hunger. However, he was unmoved by the food on the table throughout the whole process and he faced the interview very intently.
The Dark Side Behind The Sun
His professional attitude comes from its origins. His first film was listed as a leading actor. He is well aware of the principle of caution and fear, and has maintained a humble curiosity from beginning to end. "I feel very lucky. My first film had good feedback and can be recognised and loved by most audiences."
Bruce Hung, who was the captain of the basketball team in college, has a natural lifestyle. Before the filming his debut film, his agency arranged an acting course for him, "I was like, "Wow! I'm going to be an actor." I even dyed my hair and eyebrows blond! Of course, I was asked to dye it back again soon (laughs).”
Due to his first role wearing bikini tops and going completed naked, Bruce Hung had no burdens at all. On the contrary, he was more open minded than anyone else. However, after being famous on the first film, Bruce Hung's acting career was struggling. He was even facing the bottom and, after nearly a year of nothing to film, he began to feel anxious about losing hope. He was also afraid that he couldn’t match his expectations.
Bruce Hung came from a single-parent family and he was forced to grow up earlier than his peers. This may indirectly have created his personality within which warm and cold coexist. For instance, when he is at a low point, he is just like an empty battery. He has even used alcohol to relieve his sorrow at the time.
His agent, who has worked with him since his debut, also recalled that year. During that period, he didn't share his thoughts with his colleagues. Almost all posts on social media were black and white photos. "I suspected that I was not qualified to be an actor." Bruce Hung said.
Focus On The Present
Participating in More Than Blue was an important turning point for him. He gave a profound performance in the film. Although there are not many scenes for his role, it still affects the protagonist in the play. "I didn't think about that much (the number of scenes) at the time. I just felt that it was very pleasant to be back in front of the camera. After the end of the scene, I became more certain of my identity as an actor, as if I had recovered something."
Later, he went to Hengdian to film the costume drama Young Blood, which opened up new horizons for him. He discussed the script with a group of actors of the same age day and night. At that moment, he felt his vein running with warm blood again. Furthermore, he felt the actor’s sense of responsibility for the very first time. "All your performances on the screen will eventually be seen by the world. Therefore, there must be someone in this world who will gain something from your performance."
Putting aside the haze of this struggling period, Bruce Hung is willing to share more his inner thoughts with people around him. "This is an exit." he said, there are many fascinating senior actors in the industry and they helped me a lot, such as Chen-Tung KO and Giddens Ko. "We often exercise and chat together. They often cheer me on. Their experience persuades me that, by comparison, my troubles seem to be trivial.”
The Possibility Of Being An Actor
Bruce Hung attributed such self-transformation to the growth of age. He took the purpose of this issue of TAIKER Magazine "Carpe Diem United" as an example. He thinks that as an actor, every shot must have countless rehearsals and scenes behind it. "But you can't predict which shot will be kept. Even so, I still have to strive for the best of these countless repetitions. "
His friends often make fun of him: The biggest difference between "Bruce" and “Bruce Hung" is that he is getting more and more sentimental under his calm exterior. For him, this joke also kind of proves that he has moved on. From the bloody and cult-flavoured zombie film Get The Hell Out to the supernatural mystery film Kidnapped Soul which will be released this year, it seems to him who has performed mostly light comedies in the past, that he has entered a brand new realm.
People may think that he consciously chooses different types of scripts, but in fact, he has never had too many prerequisites and choices for acting. "Because in the end, what an actor pursues is not necessarily such a powerful role, story, or a big production, but actors continue to make breakthroughs and challenge themselves.”
After starring in Mother To Be, which discussed a lot of women’s issues, Bruce Hung joined Best Interest for his next chapter. “In this series many stories are turned over and over again, which is very thought provoking. When lawyers face their clients, sometimes they only know the side they see in front of them, but human nature is full of layers. The stories between the plaintiff and the defendant are often not as simple as it seems on the surface.”
The Texture In Life
As he said, everyone has a different face, and I asked him what is the biggest difference from Bruce to Bruce Hung? He said, "I just don't want to dye my hair anymore (laugh)." The superficial things are not too important to him now. "When I feel less confused about my role as an actor, I have become more and more aware that I must live my life well.” He said that as an actor, if you want to experience life it is not necessary to read a script to experience someone’s life. “I appreciate time more now. Sometimes I do nothing and just calm down. This is necessary for me at this stage."
In addition, his fans’ feedback has always been the driving force for him to move forward. Recently, a fan left him a message on social media: “You bring the light to us like the sun.” For his reply, Bruce Hung said “I’m just a mirror. It’s you who brought the light to me. It sounds a little sensational, but I really think so."
Saying that Bruce Hung is like the sun, he thinks he is just a mirror, but the light he emits is actually more like moonlight - the kind of calm warmth that you can look straight at for a long time.
EDITOR/ Leon Gou
FASHION/ Fred Feng
PHOTOGRAPHY/ Admas Chang
MUA/ Karen Chang
HAIR/ Jovi Chang
VIDEO/ Howard Chin
DESIGN/ Shuian Hsu
PRODUCER/ Dylan Tang
PROJECT COORDINATOR/ Andi Peng
