Entertainment

Actress Zheng Shuang says what she thinks, whether you like it or not


Zheng Shuang is a Chinese show-business anomaly.

Unlike her stage-managed peers, the 29-year-old Chinese actress and live-streamer tends to speak her mind freely and openly on any subject – whether it is her dislike of her co-hosts or her past plastic surgery.

Zheng doesn’t even have an agent, as she recently revealed on the web show Rock and Roast. “I am my own agent, assistant and promoter. I don’t want to employ an agent any more. It’s too expensive,” she said.

In an email interview with the Post, Zheng says truth-telling is a sign of self-confidence. “I have deep conviction in myself. I have shown the worst part of myself in public. No one can [dig up dirt on me] any more. I am not smart. But I can treat people with real heart. I am not afraid of getting hurt,” she says.

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However, being as frank as Zheng often is comes at a cost. For example, during a commercial live-stream in August, Zheng became annoyed by her co-hosts’ relentless sales pitch. On air, she said: “I don’t accept such [sales tactics] … I want my fans to be rational consumers … I just want to [sell] products I find useful. I don’t want to make use of my fans to [promote] sales.”

The live-stream ended abruptly and earlier than scheduled. The next day, some entertainment outlets questioned Zheng’s emotional state, and the episode became one of the top-trending topics on Twitter-style microblog Weibo.

When asked about this incident, Zheng says she initially thought it would be fun to do a live-streaming sale, but later felt she was being manipulated.

“In the grown-up world, anything that gets linked with money becomes complicated,” she says.

The native of Shenyang, a city in northeast China, who has 11 million fans on her Weibo account, became an overnight sensation in China after appearing in the 2009 romance TV series Meteor Shower) and its sequel in 2010.

In 2012, she was nominated for best new performer at the 31st Hong Kong Film Awards for her big screen debut in Mural.

In 2016, she was named one of the four most popular Chinese actresses born in the 1990s by Southern Metropolis Entertainment magazine (the other three were Zhou Dongyu, Guan Xiaotong and Yang Zi).

When talking about her recent role in the upcoming 50-part TV series A Chinese Ghost Story , which is based on Tony Ching Siu-tung’s 1987 movie of the same name, Zheng is typically unguarded.

“It’s a bit of a regret as the plot in our version is vastly different from the original,” she says. “Our version is basically another story. I also think the hairstyle [of my character in the TV series] is a bit rigid … and it’s quite stressful to play the role [as many stars have played her before].”

Zheng is often criticised for her acting and, though the actress says she accepts it, she also doesn’t really care.

“I love making people laugh. When I see them laugh, I feel very happy. I have turned performing into a tool to make a living, which enables me to live the life I want. It’s no small feat. I can do that which makes me very happy.”





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