Actor Shawn Yue Man-lok became a breakout star after his role opposite Edison Chen in “Infernal Affairs II.” With his new movie “Rebellion” coming out on October 15, he talks to June Ng about modeling scams, his bitterness toward the press, and his respect for Edison.

I’m the middle child. I lived with my aunt and my brother lived with my grandma. My parents had no time to take care of us. I only really spent time with them during my teenage years.

Of course there were plenty of problems when I moved in with my parents. I was rebellious, and I didn’t like my parents because they were never there for me. I was only naughty though, I never turned that bad.

My first job was hanging up the lights along the corridors in the Hong Kong Coliseum. Thank God I never got paid for it, otherwise I’m sure I’d still be doing it today. The foreman said he would’ve paid me $1,000 per section.

I was scouted for a modeling agency one day when I was just walking down the street. Yes, there are a lot of scams, but I decided to try it as long as I kept my wallet safe.

I was packaged as a singer. My young brain wasn’t sophisticated enough to analyze what was going on, so I simply did whatever was assigned to me.
In the past few years I’ve learned more about myself and realized that I’m not a multi-tasker. If I want to be good at one thing, I’ll have to focus on it alone, and give it all my time. That’s why I chose acting over singing.

It’s always tough for me to express myself, especially when I am with strangers. I have a phobia about people I don’t know. About the press, mostly. It has improved recently. Very slightly.

I used to get pretty mad with reporters who would write bad things about me. But that’s their job—we are all just earning a living. As a grown-up, you ought to think about everyone’s motivation.

I’ve been in the scene for seven years now and I have to say the press should get on our side better. In China and other Asian countries, the media defends and protects their stars—they don’t ruin their reputation.

Actors shouldn’t be blamed for bad box office showings, nor should they claim the glory if a film succeeds. A movie is a collective production. The crew onscreen are just the frontline staff.

Failures always come before success. It’s impossible for every movie you star in to earn money. Why should I worry too much about a few poorly performing movies?

Not everything has to have a reason. You can reason all you want at work, but follow your heart in your own time.

When you become friends with people you shouldn’t consider whether they’re rich or not—at least I don’t. It appears I’ve gotten myself a few friends in the “well off” category, and suddenly I look like a cling-on.

A big shortcoming of most Hong Kongers is that they don’t fully appreciate someone else’s effort. We have always been privileged—and when we see another city encroaching on our territory, we panic. And the sense of insecurity drives us to bitch about everything.

I hope Edison Chen turns out fine and returns to show business. Hong Kong should have more talent—we can have more than one fish in the tank. He’s talented, and it’d be a pity to see that go to waste.

You can never predict how a relationship will unfold. But I always believe you should aim to start it well, and end it well. Don’t let love end in a fight. When you feel most emotional, try to keep your mouth shut.

I’ve never had as many girlfriends as people speculate.

One’s appearance is always an advantage, but it passes. If you like your partner because of their appearance, remember one day you’ll get used to it. Communicate. Communication is far more sustainable. But truly, being handsome will get you a head start on finding someone.

If I could change one thing, I would learn an instrument. I wish I had studied English harder, too. But that’s not for going to Hollywood. The mainland market is big enough for me.