This episode is sponsored by
Squarespace
(In memory of Ng Man-tat)
On February 27th, 2021
Beloved Hong Kong actor Ng Man-tat
(Lovingly referred to as Uncle Tat by fans)
Passed away due to liver cancer
At age 70
This news came as a big shock to many, myself included
It feels like a big part of our childhood suddenly and unexpectedly
Left us
In case you don't know
Uncle Tat was a legendary actor in Hong Kong cinema
Throughout his prolific career
He played almost exclusively supporting roles
Yet, despite that, he was known throughout most of Asia
As a superstar
For many, he is the beloved comedy sidekick in Stephen Chow movies
A loving father figure of the comedy duo
Seen in films like Shaolin Soccer
The God of Gamblers
Fight Back to School
And many, many more
But for some, he is a surprisingly versatile actor
"Can you scold me"
"But also show that you care about me?"
"If you are so good"
"Leave!"
Look at his eyes...
He can be cowardly
Abusive
Stoic
Cunning
Badass
Or freaking Ultraman
"Back when I was still new in the industry"
"He was already an amazing actor"
"He was my role model"
Today, I'd like to pay my respect
And take some time to appreciate the finer details of his craft
We will take a look at three scenes from Shaolin Soccer
Three confrontations with the antagonist
And see what we can learn from a legend
Whose art went under-appreciated
This is my tribute
To the loving Uncle of Hong Kong cinema
[LEARNING FROM UNCLE TAT]
[CHAPTER ONE]
The film opens with a flashback
We see a young soccer player accepts a bribe from his teammate
And intentionally loses the game
Causing a horde of angry fans to rush forward
And breaks his leg
Years later, the teammate who orchestrated everything
Is now a successful businessman
And the young player, now played by Ng Man-tat
Is just a lowly support staff
In this scene, Tat begs for a chance to lead a team of his own
He's desperate, vulnerable, and has no more dignity
How do you show that?
Trick question
That is not how you approach acting
"Don't act as if it's a comedy or tragedy"
"It's a character, a life"
It's a common mistake for inexperienced actors to focus on the goal of a scene
Trying to be funny
Trying to be sad
It's a sad scene?
Put on a sad face, right?
But, no
In a sad situation
Many people often forcefully put on a smile
Until they can't smile no more
And that's what Uncle Tat does
Let's just look at his smile
A smile so wide you can see from behind his back
A smile that instantly disappears when out of sight
And reappears, when his head is raised
What does that tell you?
Well, the smile is fake
Meaning he's eager to please
He knows when to turn it on and off
Like he has done this a million times before
Now look at his hands
Moving all over the place
What does that tell you?
He's uncomfortable, Right?
Well, we don't know for sure, yet
And that's the thing about good acting
Uncle Tat understands that
It's not for him to explain to film's intention
It's up to the audience to decipher what the character is thinking
All he needs to think about
Is what the character would do
His request to lead a team gets rejected
His smile wilts away
His hands lowered
His wandering eyes do most of the acting
And he speaks out
"You got nerves!"
Now we know his hand gestures are part of a facade he put on
Pretending to be friendly and confident
Hoping the antagonist will have mercy
Once that hope is dashed
His facade is broken
Gone is his fake smile and hand gestures
As the antagonist leaves
In just one single close up
We see the inner battle happening inside Tat's mind
From eyes wide open shock
To the corner of his mouth twitching in anger
Until he burst into laughter
Laughing at his own failure
His acting isn't to show you desperation
It is there to show you what the character feels
He thought he had hope
And now the hope is gone
That is character
[SPONSORED MESSAGE]
If watching this makes you want to become an actor
You are going to need...
A website!
Oh yes, Squarespace comes to the rescue
Look at these slick looking templates
Designed for actors and artists
Just pick one
Edit
And you, too, can have a professional website
Now, when someone ask to see your portfolio
Instead of a bunch of social media links
Just send them your website
Nice and easy
Squarespace has tools that allow you to monitor your traffic
Gain insight into trends over time
So you can tailor your content better to your audience
And stand out from the competition
Start your free trial at squarespace.com/accentedcinema
And remember to use the coupon code ACCENTEDCINEMA
To get 10% off your first purchase
Easy, flexible, and user-friendly
Doesn't matter if you are an actor
Singer
Restaurant owner
Squarespace can always help
Visit squarespace.com/accentedcinema right now
And give Squarespace a try!
[CHAPTER TWO]
After much hardship
Uncle Tat assembles a ragtag team
So, he tries to register them for the national championship
A championship run by the antagonist
What follows is a short exchange
A fantastic display of how well Uncle Tat understood his character
And this scene
He starts with the same facade he always has
Bowing down
Faking a smile
Touching his body uncomfortably
"What's their name?"
And then, Tat's smile changes, ever so slightly
See his eyes widen and eyebrows raised
Back straighten and chest up
He is genuinely proud of the team he assembled
"They are the Shaoli-"
"Whatever whatever"
"Can you afford to register?"
"I'll pay for it"
Wanting to humiliate his team
The antagonist offers his help
Oblivious to his ill intention
Tat's face changes again
The fake smile disappears entirely
Replace by genuine surprise and gratitude
But then, the animosity shows
"No problem"
"We are like brothers, right? Crippled old man?"
His face freezes
And his response becomes hesitant
"My shoes are dirty again"
For a very brief moment
You can see him almost wanting to cry
In fact, you can hear a slight hint in his voice
That he's holding back his tears
"Let me clean them"
"I'm good at cleaning. Let me do it"
Luckily, his team rushes to the rescue
That's 5 different emotions
Reacting to just 4 lines of dialogues from the antagonist
"I had a scene with Tony Leung"
"About 2 pages"
"Read it over 200 times"
In this entire scene, no longer than 2 minutes
He managed to decipher the subtext for every single line of dialogues
And bring us on an emotional rollercoaster
This level of details doesn't come spontaneously on set
The amount of preparation must have been insane
"Film set isn't the place to think about plots and dialogues"
"Those are done inadvance"
Indeed, he was well known to be one of the most hardworking actors in Hong Kong
And that's the second thing we can learn from Uncle Tat
Preparation
To know your character, like you know yourself
"Audience can always tell"
"Have you done your homework"
"Have you given it your all"
"How hard did you work for it"
"They can always tell"
[CHAPTER THREE]
Turns out, Tat's ragtag team of Shaolin Monks makes the perfect soccer team
They play their way to the top
And are about to meet the antagonist's team in the grand finals
Tat and the antagonist meet one more time
Tat arrives like he always does
Smiling
Touching his head uncomfortably
But this time, the tables have turned
This time, the antagonist is the one making the request
He gives him a cheque, like he did many years ago
"Forfeit the game, join my team"
The moment he does that
Tat knows he won
See how his fake smile instantly disappears
The moment the antagonist offers the cheque?
What follows is his most natural facial expression yet
An expression we have not seen from this character
For the first time, he is expressing himself without restraint
Without anger, without desperation
"Not just me. My entire team is greedy"
"Not for money"
"But for the championship"
"See you on the field"
In a short speech, he tosses away all of his characteristics
And turns into a different person
A confident, stoic, righteous person
"I'd think about, at this point in time"
"What would the character do"
"In this scene"
"What is the emotional core"
How much worse would this scene be
If he still touches his body and forces a smile when trash-talking?
It's consistent with the established character
But not with the story
Characters change, move
They evolve
By the end of the story
A character must have some kind of emotional growth
To be able to do that
Knowing the character alone is not enough
You have to know the story
You have to think about where your character is heading
What is the arc?
What is the journey?
"Like a lot of actors today"
"Get the script"
"Take a look, whatever"
"AD goes: 'Everyone standby'"
"5...4...3...2.."
Within the industry, Uncle Tat is famous for studying his scripts so much
He could feed lines to other actors
That's the level of dedication we are talking about
He has internalized not just the character, but the entire script
The performance in the long-form
Is what elevates a good actor
Into a great actor
As he walks away, his character arc is complete
How's that for a performance
[CONCLUSION]
But maybe, the best lesson we can learn from Uncle Tat
Is from off-screen
"We got a superstar here"
"No no..."
"I'm just a regular actor"
From all the interviews
Ng Man-tat is this humble, honest, wise person
"There are no small parts"
"Only small actors"
But he had made mistakes in his life, too
When he was young and successful
Tat was a prideful brat
Incessant drinking, partying, and most importantly, gambling
Forced him into heavy debt
"Johnnie To was one of my sleepover friends"
"Very close friend"
"He saw my situation"
"Called me a screwed-up"
When he went bankrupt
His company also stopped hiring him
It seemed like it was the end of the road
And he thought about ending it all
Luckily, he stopped himself
He decided to start his next life
In this life
He would start over
For the next four years
Uncle Tat spent every single day reading books about acting
Honed his craft
Studied as hard as he could
"From that day on, everyone knows Tat"
"As that person who doesn't need scripts on set"
"Every line of dialogue, no matter how complex, memorized"
"He even remembered other people's lines"
We all make mistakes
Sometimes, these mistakes can be life-altering
But it's never too late to change your life around
His mistakes made him stronger
They made him better
It was through these mistakes
That he made himself into a superstar
A humble one
A loveable one
Someone who may not be with us any more
But will continue to inspire us
For generations to come