A little while ago while promoting CTV series “Borrow Your Love”, the leads Dylan Kuo (Ye Chen), Cherry Hsia (Xi Le) and Shi Yi Nan (Zi Wen) appeared on the talk show “SS Xiao Yan Night”. Topic of the show – obsessions! Actors might seem to be extremely busy but whenever they have any spare time, these three have quite interesting obsessions…
Dylan Kuo is obsessed with… fitness / working out
My dream is to weigh 90kg, and enter a body building contest.
When asked out of the three who is the most immersed in their obsession, both Cherry and Shi Yi Nan pointed at Dylan. Cherry exposed that during the first time she was rehearsing with Dylan, he was doing push ups! Even when she bumped into him on the street and she asked where he was going – he was going to the gym! Shi Yi Nan also added Dylan would use everything on the set as weights, lifting desks, chairs, furniture…
Dylan confessed he has been a fitness freak for over ten years, and he is a qualified personal trainer. But he loved the ‘muscular’ type since he was a child, with posters of Arnold Schwarzenegger on his walls. Why? Because he was tall and skinny during his childhood, and he hates people calling him skinny!
(OK you’ve got to admit though, if he’s wearing a jacket because of his height you can never tell he’s actually very built!)
So does Dylan have the coveted ‘V-abs’? He gave a shy smile and replied – ‘Of course’. He even explained in detail the training required! In short – body fat ratio has to be less than 10%… through mostly cardio (and not weights) training! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, carbs and protein with a low GI are very important… (eg. wholegrain bread, poached eggs, chicken breast, steamed vegetables…)
Filming a TV series usually means the actors are working long hours and being away from home. Besides lifting everything in sight, how does Dylan keep fit? He has a set of weights at the back of his car which can go everywhere with him. So what if he’s filming in Mainland China where he might be away for six months? He revealed a time when he was filming with good friend Peter Ho (also a fitness freak!). They wanted to work out so much but the closest gym was like seven hours away so what did they do? They rented a room next door just for all their gym equipment. Even when the neighbours were complaining about the noise they didn’t care. Whenever they finished work they will be there working out. o_O
Gosh I’ve been digging around for his interviews lately and he has always been the ‘quiet’ one. But when he’s talking about his favourite topic – his face just lights up! Can’t help shaking my head and laugh. Seems like people keep telling him girls don’t like guys who are fitness freaks and this is what he has to say to defend himself – “If you go to the beach with your boyfriend, and he has abs… you will be so happy!”
Hrm… can’t say I’m convinced by that? LOL. But really, I wrote this post just to give me an excuse to post this photo Dylan uploaded last week on his weibo. Hmmmmm….
Shi Yi Nan is obsessed with… making desserts
My dream is to open my own dessert shop.
Being a fitness freak is mostly a healthy activity but for Shi Yi Nan… it’s the complete opposite! The host (Xiao Yan) comments that out of all the ones she had tried, he makes the best macaroons. Most recently, the night before the filming wrapped for “Borrow Your Love” he even stayed up all night to make strawberry and lemon towers for all the cast and crew. He chooses the best ingredients so the strawberry… was very strawberry, while the lemon was…well very lemon!
This cake was one he made for Xiao Yan for her birthday!
So what are the effects of his obsession? First, there’s the cost – he doesn’t even want to think about how much he had spent these past years. Plus it can be dangerous, as the oven is at 180 / 200 degrees, sometimes he concentrates so hard he might forget using gloves. One time he left a hot tray on the bench and when he turned around, he accidentally knocked the tray over burning his thigh… lucky it wasn’t his ‘important area’! LOL.
Like Dylan who had studied in the area he’s passionate about, Shi Yi Nan also has qualifications in baking! During the exam, the other students asked him to choose the topic and he picked the hardest one to make so everyone must’ve hated him. They had to make a Swiss roll and in the end he was the only person in the room to pass the exam!
Cherry Hsia is obsessed with… gaming
Even though there might not be qualifications in her area, Cherry has been a serious gamer since she was little. Her dad worked in the electronics industry so her interest began at a young age. Cherry admits she stays home a lot and even when she goes out, it’s usually to the seaside or go bike riding, so clubbing is not for her!
She first started on the Nintendo (red / white console!) and now with mobile phones she’s constantly playing games, including online ones. Last year when Diablo III was released many places in Taiwan went out of stock so what did Cherry do? She asked a friend in the US to buy for her and send her the account.
So how long does it take for her to finish a game? In 2011 when PS Vita was first released she bought a game which only took her three days to complete. At the time, she was filming from 6am but she still played the game from about midnight to about 4am, forced herself to sleep for two hours and went to work again.
Even on set she always has her games with her, Dylan originally thought she was texting… but eventually discovered she was playing games. When the director yells ‘action’, she would quickly give the console to her assistant, and once the director yells ‘cut’, she would want the console back to continue playing…
Cherry emphasised that she does not use any guides even when she’s stuck on a level. So does she spend a lot of money on games? No? She can play different games for TV, computer, hand held, mobile… so if she buys say, five games, she can play them for a long time.
Does gaming affect her job? Cherry knows how to control herself in that aspect. What does the other cast members think? Dylan says he can understand her obsession because he’s also a gamer! When filming in Mainland China, he will bring a gaming console with him… even if he has to take a massive adaptor as well. Plus he will buy a lot of accessories like guns and bluetooth kits, so he can talk to other players online!
During a promotion for “Borrow Your Love”, all the cast had to dress up as a character whom they want to ‘borrow’ a day of their lives. For Cherry, she wanted to be sniper because her favourite type of game is shooting, and her favourite game is… Resident Evil?! Yep… shooting until the heads explode… she also likes Silent Hill so you get the idea!
For a while she was also obsessed with Counter Stike so the host suggested Cherry and Dylan should have a face off. Dylan thinks he will win because he has over ten years experience!!? Hey I think Cherry will give you a hard time!
If I like a TW series, I always want to watch all the casts’ variety shows appearances as well because you really learn who they are as real people! Who knew that under the sweet appearance, Cherry is a serious gamer? Some actors might lead a glamorous life partying all night but looks like for these three, they much prefer staying at home doing what they enjoy. 😀
Photo credits: CTI TV website, screencaps are by me
CTI has uploaded some of the interview on YouTube (Part 1 & Part 2)
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