Edwin Siu is the elegant Prince Siu. Back then, he was the music newcomer king. Then in the [o雪o雪o雪] TV Ad, he became a laughing stock and since then, he was banished to Beijing.
Said the wrong things, took the wrong paths, this is normal in human life. Fortunately, there is a Take 2 in life. It was Edwin's rebirth when he came back to HK to shoot TVB series. In his recent performance in
Forensic Heroes III (FH3), his role has been well-received. He openly acted out the drunk craze, his exaggerations was comedic and he was able to put down his identity as a prince. Edwin won back his audience fate, and finally brushed off the negative news he had before.
It was rumored he was defeated by Moses Chan in the pursuit for Aimee Chan. His love opponent is the industry's well known "good deal". Edwin laughed out loud, and said rumors are harmless. In fact, he already has a good friend, Gigi Ho.
"I dated 8 times." He paused and started counting: "1, 2, 3,4...I had more before I entered the industry, about 6 or 7 times." As a Prince, he is bound to have many relationships.
Gigi Ho
In FH3, Edwin crashes into the men restroom and sees Aimee in her bra. That scene broadcast last week and got a peak rating of 32 points. This also gets Prince Siu recognition from the audience that he can indeed do comedies.
"I came in with messed up hair, currently I don't care about my image when I'm acting. In the past, I would be so caught up by how my hair is blow dried or if this or that isn't pretty enough. Actually I done a lot more [in the scene], but a lot of it was cut out. There was one part I was hugging the urinal as I shouted: 'This is the men restroom! The producer said it does not make sense for forensic professionals to be this nasty. Unzipping the zipper is also something I added myself."
Edwin isn't as great as he was before, when speaking of the rumor that he was pursing Aimee Chan, he smiled and admitted he lost to Moses Chan and that that there is a sense of entertainment.
"That time, it was mainly because reporters followed Aimee. She and I were in North Point shooting a scene together, just eating eggettes and the reports were written as if 'acting turned real'. Aimee and I knew what was going on, but there isn't any awkwardness when we see each other."
The main storyline involves Moses, Aimee and a third party. This makes the story even more exciting. Edwin understands how the entertainment news operates, but in fact he already has a partner. His partner is
Scoop's host Gigi Ho.
"She is a good friend, I don't know like to tell the world that I found a good friend to chat about my deep feelings with. I will cherish this, but relationships is like a 3 month old fetus, very sensitive. I don't want to say too much that could affect the development of the relationship."
It was said their contact is very secretive, the two also went on a trip to Macau with Edwin's mother.
"It is actually just a trip with my mother, but Gigi was also working in Macau as a host for a function, so we had dinner together. It is nothing special, nothing like meeting the parents. She's really amazing, she knows a lot of people. She helped me book the hotel room for half the price."
Edwin is 34 years old, so dating is very normal. He clarified Sharon Chan isn't a matchmaker, he got closer with Gigi at Zhu Kai Ting's wedding last September. Is there a chance to develop further? He firmly answered: "There is a chance!"
Model Girlfriend
When asked how many times he dated, Edwin threw out a large number: "8 times." He said since high school, he didn't have to really pursue girls at all because he just naturally had girlfriends.
"When I was about to enter the industry, I had a very helpful girlfriend. That time I was a model, and she was too. We were under the same company, later I participated in the new talent singing contest, she helped me pick out the clothing and brought my family to come see me. Soon after, I signed with Jackson Lee, chose the songs and signed the contract, she still attentively took great care of me. However, when I officially became a singer, she started drifting away from me, like she just completed her mission. She said she can predict a lot of jealousy and sneaking around. She didn't want to go through that and hoped to find a boyfriend outside of the industry. Suddenly, she decided break up with me, I assured her that my heart won't change, but that didn't help. Later, I went looking for her and we got back together for a short while. Eventually she said the same thing to me. We dated for two years, so I was really hurt, but I had no time to cry because I was really busy as a singer. The next day, I worked from day to night because this relationship just somehow ended, which made me especially heartbroken."
Thought I was Gay
"When I was developing my career in Beijing, I met a girl from Singapore. We were together for 3 years. She is an actress, by the surname of Fu. We were shooting
The Golf Beauty together. My Mandarin isn't good, so she would often teach me. She didn't keep her distance at all, and even came to my room to teach me. Actually, she thought I was gay. It was only later when she learned the truth. During the time we were shooting the series, I was really happy. It was considered love in a different place. We were shooting in Hangzhou, a beautiful place called West Lake. We went to many different places together. When the shoot ended, we were both busy with our own work, but considered continuing the relationship. Later, we decided that love is everything, so we rented a place and lived together. That time, my relationship with my company was unclear, I often didn't have any jobs. She was very supportive. When I was feeling down, wondering why I am stuck here? She comforted me. We would often go traveling, going to many different places. She was the most important person in my life."
After three years of cooking together, living together and having a group of common friends, Edwin says it felt like they were married. In 2008, he decided to come back to Hong Kong and sign with TVB. This led to their break up.
"She didn't want to go to HK, in fact she didn't want me to be in this industry. I considered this, but ultimately, my mother wanted to be back in HK. I also wanted to give it a try. I was reluctant though, she was in Beijing, I was in HK. I once tried hard to maintain the relationship, whenever I didn't have work, I would fly over to Beijing to see her. She came to see me too, but she really needed someone to be by her side. It's quite a pity actually."
How is his ex-girlfriend doing now? Edwin does not dare to ask, he just knows she's back in Singapore and retired from being an actress. She opened a hair salon and is living her life well.
The responsibility of the Elder Son
Edwin did not hesitate to say that of the many girlfriends he loved, there were several that misunderstood he was gay.
"Looking back at my old pictures, I did indeed have big red lips, really did look kind of gay. Later, I tried to get tanned as much as possible, so I can change this image. I also tried to lower my voice."
His nickname is Prince Siu, but in fact he didn't come from a wealthy family. He definitely can't compare to Juno [Mak]. His father works at the Correctional Services, but because he didn't like to suck up to his manager, he remained in a low position. In high school, Edwin learned that his father had cancer in the nose and throat, turns out that he was ill for several years already and has been hiding from the fact from his children.
"I am the oldest son, I have a younger sister and a mother. I started to feel the sense of responsibility. If I didn't have to look after my whole family, I had to take care of myself. While studying computers, I worked part-time in sales, real estate, sushi making and many other jobs. Later, I became a model, but it wasn't because I had dreams to become a superstar. A 4 hour booking is HK$500. I earned a lot more than an average young person."
Battle for Newcomer Award
Edwin's singing mentor was Elisa Chan. Jackson Lee started Music Nation under Richard Li's PCCW. Introduced as Miss Chan Chan's student, Edwin was recognized and due to this, back then he was the Newcomer King. Several millions were invested to promote him.
"I was really scared too. I was just a normal guy that suddenly saw posters everywhere I went. Those days felt like a dream, didn't feel real at all. At that same time period, my company also gave me the opportunity to release two music albums."
His assistant covered all his hairstyles and makeup, he did not have to come in contact with the public at all because his company would answer all questions by the media.
"I was in the company's car more than I was at home. The car comes pick you up at 9am and then drops you back home at 1am. That same routine went on for 6 months."
His 'dream' included an MV directed by Stephen Chow, of course this is all because of the relations Jackson Lee had.
"One night, I saw Sing Yeh [Stephen Chow] in the office. We were in a meeting together, he strictly asked me: 'How do you think you will portray this role?' I was like muted and didn't know how to answer."
Another part of his 'dream' was when Anita Mui specifically praised that he's the best Newcomer. That year, the newcomer award battle was intense. The top 3 were Juno, Shawn Yue and Edwin.
"I went in as a fighter, there was a lot of news too, some were really crossing the line, but it was all purely for promotions."
The downfall of his career
The peaking point was the TVB Newcomer Award that landed on Edwin's hands. He made a high-spirited boastful statement: "Evil Cannot Defeat Good", which caused attacks from all sides. Edwin was heavily criticized by the public [because everyone thought he was too proud and was talking about Juno].
"That one statement almost K.O me. Later, I had a lot of negative news. To some extent, the news were all related to that one statement I made. I don't regret saying it because I know deep down I wasn't directing it towards anyone. I was just talking to my boss (Jackson Lee). You know he's that type of person too. Prior to the event, I heard I won't win, and will only get the silver award. But I couldn't believe it was opposite of what I thought, so when I got on stage, I went crazy."
After the incident, the more Edwin tried to explain, the worse it got. The most wrong move he made was participating in the [o雪o雪o雪] TV commercial.
"People laughed at me, saying I looked stupid. Sandra [Ng] called me vulgar on TV, I saw it too. The commercial had this kind of demand, my company agreed too. I didn't have a say in this. Not long after the commercial ended its broadcast, I remained in HK to calm down. In these several months, I was really unhappy, hid myself at home. Later, my company made arrangements for me to go to Mainland."
The enlightenment of his Father suffering from cancer
When Edwin was shooting a series up north, his father had already been fighting his cancer for over 10 years, and has already reached the final phase. Edwin was feeling even more down and worried he would affect his father's emotions.
"It was very difficult for him, I was really afraid he would see me on the news. The reports had a lot of ugly words, calling me a magnet that goes around playing with girls. I was in Beijing, but I felt like I haven't completed my tasks in HK before leaving. I was afraid people would think I couldn't handle it, that my company didn't want me. My feelings were not the priority, the most important was my family. I was really afraid my relatives would be asking: 'Where did your son go?' And [my parents] won't know how to answer."
His father's cancerous cells spread to his liver, then throughout his whole body and eventually he was hospitalized indefinitely. Edwin went to see him and what touched him most was he remained strong: "I know he was really in pain. He used less morphine than others, but I never heard him complain at all."
When Edwin's father died, he was not by his side, but in Chengdu working.
"He was seriously ill during this time, I was with him in the hospital 24 hours a day. It was weird, the doctor said his heart was still beating, but when I really couldn't stay any longer and rushed back to Mainland for work, my father passed away. I really think it was because he didn't want to let his children see him at his weakest."
Grateful of Producer Miu Siu Ching
His father's strength, gave him a lot of enlightenment. Edwin said: "All the setbacks in my career, is it considered anything? So, I really wanted to go back to HK and start over. This was my greatest driving force."
Edwin has been back in HK for 4 years, he said the first year he spent most of his time waiting. Once he waited 6 months and still no jobs, but later, the waiting paid off.
"My screen time increased more and more for each series. The producers tried using me in one series after another. I am especially grateful of Miu Siu Ching. I have been continuously shooting 4 of her series including the Emperor in
Beyond the Realm of Conscience, Dai Fu Ma in
Can't Buy Me Love and the current
Forensics Heroes III. If it wasn't her, I wouldn't have had a series at all. Recently I have been shooting Lee Tim Shing's
Ladder to Heaven. I really want to thank him for taking the risk in casting me as the big villain in this series."
