After nine years in showbiz, 26-year-old singer and actor Nicholas Tse Ting-fung has produced numerous records, mostly musical and one criminal (for obstruction of justice after his driver tried to take the rap when Tse crashed his Ferrari in 2002). He talks to Janet Leung about making music, proving himself and that car crash.

My favorite script line: “If you are bad enough, you can get everything you want.”

I was born in Hong Kong in 1980.

As a child, I hated doing the “kung hei fat choi” shit for the Chinese New Year family photo shoot. At 13, I sulked in the photos and my mom beat me up badly. But I took a stand and no one forced me to smile after that.

I once got driven out of the house with only my underpants on.

I don’t know how to express affection, especially towards my family.

People used to think I didnt need to work for money. I do need the money.

I used to dislike the whole entertainment business but I am meant to be in it. I call it destiny.

I am a bad entertainer. Eric Tsang Chi-wai and Sandra Ng Kwun-yu are good entertainers. I am not.

When I started out, the booing was so loud that I could hardly hear my own voice on stage.

What made me stay even though I was booed for three years? I signed a contract!

When people think you are not serious, you go that extra mile to prove yourself.

It was all worth it when the audience finally accepted me.

I once thought people liked me because of my popularity instead of my musical talent. But when the crowd started singing “Faked Naïve,” a song I composed for Kelly Chen Wai-lam, I was reassured about my ability.

I like getting compliments but I have a hard time giving one. It just feels weird when it comes out of my mouth.

The music industry in Hong Kong is 30 percent singing and 70 percent talking. You’ve got to make up a story and repeat it about 300 times.

I won the World Music Award in 2002. But no one in Hong Kong cared.

People don’t like to hear the truth. They like stories. There is nothing you can’t ask me. I can handle any question now.

Nicholas Tse did not study law. I don’t know what is obstructing the course of justice. I just know I crashed a car and I needed to get on a plane because of an earlier
commitment. That’s it.

The car crash made my life fuller. I learned from it, and I have never regretted it.

When one thing goes well, something else pisses me off.

I am tired of people asking what was the breakthrough moment for the new album. There is no breakthrough story; I just compose what I feel like at the moment.

I wrote a song for Karen Mok and it became a big hit, but I can’t do that for everybody - timing plays a big role as well.

I hate going on stage, singing for 30 seconds and saying “Thank you.” That’s how local shows are operated. Where’s the respect?

Without the assistance of technology, new singers today cannot sing that well. They’re so busy they don’t even have the time to finish recording a song. Thank god there is a function called “copy and paste.”

I jumped off the New Convention Centre 19 times to get the shot right. Every time I pass that building, I think, “I was there.”

I seriously injured my leg but I insisted on getting out of the hospital. What can you do when a crew of 300 people is waiting for you?

My fingers have lost their sensitivity because of the action movies. You can’t have the best of both worlds.

In martial arts, crude force is the lowest form of power.

Feel, not think. Your body tells more than your eyes. You have lost half of the battle once your intention is shown.

A woman cannot “beat” a man. She can only outwit a man.

You think you are in control when all is well; you blame feng shui when things go wrong. I hired a feng shui master when I renovated my place, however. I was supposed to sleep last night.