Versatile actress Rainie Yang grows up

But eight years since that breakthrough role, there is no trace of the Xiao You that most people remember. At 25 years old, the actress-singer also known as Rainie Yang, has been through a lot of personal battles from paying her family's debts and getting into trouble with the mainland's nationalists; even her dating life became fodder for gossip as is de rigeur for idols like her.

All these things have certainly left a mark on her as she says she now keeps “an easy mind” about things in general.

Rainie is currently in Bangkok to shoot Pang Brothers' Child's Eye, part of the popular The Eye franchise. It is dubbed as the first 3D movie to be done in Asia and she plays the lead role in a group of travelers who encounter strange things while visiting Thailand.

This is her first horror flick and she admits it is different from the TV dramas and films she has done so far.

“It was quite hard for me at the very beginning because I never tried this before in my previous works. It is demanding as it all depends on your own imagination. But I feel lucky that I could try such special role which others may want to try but could never have a chance,” she says.

The actress' choice of movie roles has always bordered on the unpredictable. Her second movie, shown in 2007, was Spider Lilies where she played a Webcam girl seducing anonymous suitors on the Internet. She even had a daring love scene with Hong Kong actress Isabella Leung.

After finishing Child's Eye, Rainie will be working with a “famous Taiwanese actor” in a new drama. Wanting to keep the suspense, all she would say is that she has not worked with the actor before in a drama.

A self-confessed multi-tasker, Rainie says she will also start working on her fifth studio album. “It's lucky that I'm such type of person who is able to multitask, so it's not that difficult for me to balance between being a singer and an actress. I always enjoy shifting between different roles, which is totally different experience from my simple private life. To meet with different people and do different things everyday just makes me feel happy.”

At 25 when most people her age are thinking of settling down, Rainie says marriage is not yet in her agenda. She wants to travel and do one country or city per year and regrets having missed a lot of opportunities before. Number one on her list is to go to New York.

Her company, Mars Entertainment Co Ltd, also wants her to break into the Japanese and Korean markets. Her dramas including Devil Beside You and Why Why Love have aired in Japan and she has started a blog for her Japanese fans. “We're in the process (to break into those markets) but not that fast.”

She maintains two other blogs: her official blog under Mars and her personal one, which allows her to share her life with the fans. She reads each and every single message her fans leave for her but due to her hectic schedule, does not have time to reply to them.

Child's Eye, which is a Hong Kong film production, meanwhile, allows her to interact with other actors and directors outside Taiwan. Her work also constantly takes her around the region, including the mainland and now Thailand, but for her, comfort zone will always be in Taiwan.

“For Taiwan where I grew up, everything there is familiar and natural to me,” she says.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email