HK actor dies 5 times on 5 TV shows within 24 hours
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Soap opera star Law Lok Sam of Hong Kong may not have nine lives as cats do but he recently managed to set a television record of sorts by getting his character killed more often than the Terminator.
He died on separate Cantonese-language shows, in four different ways, all within a 24-hour period.
The experience with death began on April 6 at 8:30 pm on Relic of an Emissary in which he played the Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, who died after an illness. An hour later, he was beaten to death on Grace Under Fire, and the next morning at 11:45 am, he vomited blood before he expired on Face To Fate.
Of course, there was little chance to mourn his deaths before he died again at 12:45 pm on Police Station No 7 where he died from injury, and finally at 2:50 pm, he died from an illness on Virtues of Harmony.
"I think this was just a coincidence, very funny," Law said in a video posted on his professional blog run by the Hong Kong broadcaster TVB. "To tell the truth, I know nothing about the Internet, but now it made me famous."
His deaths were circulated on the Internet and even appeared in 15 overseas media reports.
After back-to-back television death scenes, Hong Kong audiences are paying attention to him in new ways. Of course, some have wished him a long life and are guessing when he would meet his maker again in a soap opera.
Death record
Some Internet users suggested he should ask the Guinness World Records for a mention.
Being in the industry for 40 years, Law, also known as the "Green Leaf King" from a 1970s program, prefers to live a simple life when he's not on camera.
"After being in this industry for so long, there is nothing I have to be so intense about," he said. "I just want to do my job well. As long as audiences pay attention to me, that is enough."
When he's not being killed on television, he likes to be a homemaker, cooking for his family and his maid. There is not much more known about him and he's not easy to track down for interviews.
Hong Kong-based newspaper Mingpao said Law was born in Chaozhou, in Guangdong Province, and later immigrated with his family to Macau while in his teens. At age 14, he moved to Hong Kong with his family.
Some Internet users criticized TVB on its website for making Law "die" so many times in such a short period.
A TVB spokesman defended the station by saying, "It was purely a coincidence."
Simple life
Since Law joined the TVB in 1970, he has "died" more than 100 times in various soap operas.
He has said that he doesn't have a preference on how to die because they are all interesting.
"It is totally up to the screenwriter, I can die anyway he wants," he said.
It may not make him rich but in Hong Kong, actors or actresses who are killed on stage or on TV receive red envelopes with a few Hong Kong dollars believed to bring good fortune.
"I don't mind playing dead, it is fun," he said. However, his elder daughter wasn't so sure.
"My daughter is upset about my multiple deaths, but I told her that it is not real, you shouldn't be unhappy," he said.
Tsui Yat-man, a Hong Kong citizen, said Law is a good actor.
"When I was a child, I remember him playing the main character Yeung Guo in The Legend of Condor Heroes and he was so impressive," she told the Global Times.
However, some mainland audiences have a different view of Hong Kong TV dramas.
Zeng Shui, 25, a student from Beijing Information and Technology University and a fan of Hong Kong TV dramas, told the Global Times that he was shocked that Law died so many times.
"The reason why he has to die again and again is due to the lack of diversity in the industry," he said. "So few new blood in the industry that the old ones have to meet a bloody end."
Law was the first of his generation to play Yeung Guo in "The Legend of Condor Heroes" in 1976, one of the most famous kung fu novels written by Jin Yong of China.
However, in recent years, he has played mostly father figures and other supporting roles such as emperors or bad guys.
Now that he is famous, he won't do anything to change his personal lifestyle.
"I still enjoy drinking tea with my neighbors, buying groceries and cooking for my family," he said.
During a promotional event of TVB's latest soap opera Yes Sir, Sorry Sir, Law pretended to die live on the spot.
"Don't worry. This time I won't die because it is a comedy," he joked.
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