“CJ7” (長江七號) was a huge hit when it came out more than a decade ago in 2008. But unbeknownst to many, behind the success was a traumatic experience for the main star.
Xu Jiao (徐娇) was only 10 years old at the time when she played the lead character, a boy named Dicky, on the family-comedy. For someone with no acting experience, the pressure and on-set treatment were awful.
During a recent interview, the now 23-year-old actress recalled, “Filming CJ7 was a traumatic experience for me. [Director Stephen Chow] was very strict and each scene would be filmed 20 to 30 times on average. After the three months of filming, I thought the torture was over, but then I was called to the recording studio to dub the movie.”
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Xu Jiao continued, “Dubbing is a very difficult process, especially for a 10-year-old. I wasn’t able to cry on cue during filming, and Director Chow asked my mum to come on set to hit me. That’s how we managed to film the scene. I don’t know how I managed to survive dubbing as well.”
Despite the painful first acting experience, Xu Jiao is thankful for Stephen Chow and “CJ7” for opening doors for her in the entertainment industry. Although her debut film is still regarded as her best till today, Xu Jiao chooses to see the silver lining in the situation.
“It’s no surprise that they think that way because I’ve never met a director as strict as Director Chow. Being able to work with him is the luckiest thing that has happened to me,” she was quoted as saying.
Source: 8 Days.
