Sometimes, things have to end for us to start something new. For British-Hong Kong actress Natalie Tong (唐诗咏), that end came in September 2022. The actress, who was previously under contract with TV station TVB, revealed that she would not be renewing her contract with them.
There’s no denying how she blossomed under TVB and its many dramas. Still, Natalie had been adamant when she announced the news. However, it was only recently that she sat down to share why she had decided to let the contract go.
Natalie had initially joined TVB in 2003 after her being a full-time model. She started gaining traction in the entertainment scene after her first lead role in the 2008 drama “The Seventh Day (最美麗的第七天)” alongside Bosco Wong. She then continued to impress her audience and gain fans with various works. And in 2017, Natalie won the Best Actress award during TVB’s Anniversary Awards with her performance in “My Unfair Lady (不懂撒嬌的女人)”.
However, after nineteen years, Natalie decided against renewing her contract. Although she had not stated why then, Natalie recently shared her reasons when she was on the talk show “Sister Talk (丝打围炉)”. The 40-year-old actress attributed her decision to the stress that came with the job.
“When I started my career, I (managed) to film 4 dramas a year,” she shared. “But in the past two years, when I filmed 4 dramas in a year, I found it hard to (perform) like before.” The stress also caused her to lose her hair and Natalie claimed that her hairline had started receding as well.
Natalie made it clear that she has experienced both ups-and-downs with TVB. In fact, Natalie shared she had once been scolded by a TVB director for repeated failing at a scene. The actress had been unable to stand the scolding then and had ended up in tears.
But, regardless of her experiences with TVB, Natalie has decided that she wants to stop and live a good life. “I want to do what I want, and live like a normal person,” she shared. However, her work isn’t quite finished yet. Natalie will still be filming for another two movies for the next two months.
We can certainly respect Natalie’s decision to let her career go. Hopefully, she does manage to find the time to do what she wants and live life as she wishes! In the meantime, we wish her all the best.
Watch Natalie’s explanation here:
