Hong Kong actor Owen Cheung (張振朗) is no stranger to Malaysia, having visited the country many times for work and holiday. However, the star is aiming to be closer to Malaysia by starring in a local production.
The actor was recently interviewed by local news outlets, sharing about his career and future. 2025 marks Owen’s 13th year in the industry, after debuting in 2012 with a minor role in a TVB drama. Despite his current status as one of Hong Kong’s top drama actors, he had to struggle for years before getting his big break. In 2024, he received recognition for his hard work, winning “Best Actor” and “Malaysia’s Favourite TVB Actor” at the “TVB Awards Presentation” for his role in “No Room For Crime”.
Owen shared that winning the two awards and the achievement of “double TV king” has inspired him to explore markets outside of Hong Kong, especially in Malaysia. The 37-year-old said he wants to film more dramas in Malaysia, adding, “I hope to work with the Malaysian production team.” He then explained why, saying, “I like having this kind of cross-cultural and language communication.”
However, when asked if he would accept the challenge of speaking Malay for the role, Owen joked, “The filming process will go from 1 hour to 10 hours, and it might take a long time to learn.” Despite that, Owen does seem interested, even conceiving a plot where he plays a man travelling from Hong Kong to Malaysia to start a business and has to learn all the locally spoken languages, like Malay and Hakka, to get by.
While Owen hasn’t gotten the chance to work in a Malaysian production, he did recently star in his first Chinese drama, “Miracle (奇蹟)”, which will soon air on China’s state media, CCTV. The actor said it was his first time speaking Mandarin dialogue for the entire drama, admitting that it was a challenge. Owen said, “Although I can speak Mandarin, the difference between the first and fourth tones is still quite difficult.”
While there are no plans for Owen to act in a Malaysian production yet, let’s hope his wish does come true soon. Would you be interested in hearing the Hong Kong star speak Malay for a role?
Source: China Press
