Zhang Yaodong is not bothered by his lack of television screentime
Zhang Yaodong is not bothered by his lack of television screentime
Zhang Yaodong has no fear that his relatively low amount of screentime on the tv will make him forgettable in the minds of local audiences.
After his last production Love Blossoms II finished its run in the first half of this year, the Malaysian-born actor virtually disappeared from the small screen for a good few months. Not that he was slacking away. Instead he's been busy filming the upcoming 180-episode Ch 8 megadrama Your Hand In Mine as well as managing his roasted meat food stall business.
As he wasn't involved in any new project that aired in the past six months, friends and fans were curious if he had left showbiz to concentrate on his food business. The actor laughed and reassuringly thanked everyone for their concern and attention.
The 188-cm tall hunk shared that he prefers to take things step by step and expressed that he will be satisfied as long as the audiences remember him as an actor. "I am satisfied to hear them ask why I haven't been shooting any drama series," he laughingly quipped.
Your Hand In Mine marks the fifth time Yaodong has acted in a drama series spanning more than 100 episodes. His previous works include Holland V, Portrait of Home, and Love Blossoms I & II.
Asked if he's growing tired of starring in long-haul tv productions, the 31-year-old blithely brushed it off and said, "Not really. Maybe I used to owe them favours from my previous lifetimes. I am returning it to them in one-shot now."
Nor is he worried that the longer gaps between his productions will not keep him memorable to fickle audiences with short-attention spans.
"To me, quality matters more than quantity. Something good need not be seen so often. I wholeheartedly take part in a show and devote myself to the character. I feel that by doing so, I will be able to give audiences more surprises.
"Yes, viewers will often get to see me if I were to appear onscreen more often. But if you were to look upon it in a different light, audiences will remember this particular person as he is rarely seen and would look forward to seeing him. They would be curious about his new show and I prefer it like that."
Your Hand In Mine debuts Nov 9, Mon, 7pm on Channel 8. Visit the drama's official website for more information.