Anson Lo, Edan Lui of boy band Mirror on the intimate scenes in their boy love drama, reviving Cantopop and taking on K-pop

A few decades ago, Hong Kong showbiz reigned in Asia.

Families watched TVB dramas after dinner, girls swooned over handsome stars like Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and people were singing songs by Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung.

Then, Cantopop got burned bad by K-pop and C-pop.

In the last few years though, the 12-member Hong Kong boy band Mirror, discovered through ViuTV's reality talent show Good Night Show — King Maker in 2018, rose from the ashes and Hong Kongers are now going gaga over these homegrown stars.

Two of Mirror's members — Anson Lo, 26, and Edan Lui, 24 — created more waves recently when they starred in Hong Kong's first mainstream boy love drama Ossan's Love, an adaptation of the 2018 Japanese television drama of the same name.

Edan stars as Tin, who has been single his whole life and unsuccessful in getting a girlfriend. However, he suddenly finds himself caught in a love triangle between his boss KK (Kenny Wong) and his roommate Muk (Anson).

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c05_CVLbfFE[/embed]

The drama is available in Singapore and other territories through the streaming platform Viu.

AsiaOne did an interview with Edan and Anson recently, where they talked about starring in the groundbreaking drama, how they handled their kissing scenes, and whether they (and Mirror) hope to revive the Hong Kong showbiz industry and topple K-pop.

Replies have been edited for clarity and brevity.

AsiaOne: Ossan's Love is Hong Kong's first mainstream boy love drama. What are your thoughts on this?

Edan: I think it's a great first attempt because many places have done dramas of this genre also. I'm very happy that Hong Kong finally has it and that I was in it. I hope Ossan's Love can bring positive energy to many people and that people will have a wider understanding of love.

A: Both of you share intimate scenes in the drama. Was it more comfortable or awkward to be filming such scenes with each other, since you are friends and bandmates?

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Anson: Actually, I found it more comfortable because there are fewer worries when you film them with a good friend. We know each other's limits and preferences, we communicate well, and didn't need to spend time getting to know each other before trying different ways to bring out a scene. Because Edan is a friend and I trust him, filming went along smoother.

Edan: Anson and I are old friends so it wasn't too awkward. If I were filming them with someone I'm not close to, I think it would be. We hug each other in real life anyway, so it felt natural filming the scenes.

A: Actors might have some boundaries that they don't want to cross on-screen. Do you have any?

Anson: I'm still new at acting and there're many roles and stories that I haven't tried yet. I've only done one movie and two dramas, so I won't limit myself or resist certain things. I want to try characters with different looks, personalities, and backgrounds. After Ossan's Love, I realised I like acting even more and I enjoy immersing myself in another character's world, so I hope to try more roles to widen my experience.

Edan: Actors should be versatile, flexible, and willing to try out any character, and I'm like that now. If I really had to pick something I wouldn't do, it would be things that I'm not able to handle now because of my lack of certain abilities and skills. If I went ahead with the role, the scenes won't look good and it would affect the entire production and the co-stars.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd0QFi-iXCM[/embed]

A: How are the two of you like away from the fans and media glare?

Anson: I think there are two layers to us in private. People have seen one side of us, where we were always playing around and laughing loudly over trivial stuff and inside jokes that only the two of us know. We often made fun of each other's clothes and behaviour. This is how we got along previously.

But recently, I realised there's a change in how Edan and I got along; it matured a little. Besides the fooling around, the things we chat about are more serious. We talk about whether we have different views towards acting. This sounds like a very PR answer but in private, we really talk about acting, what we hope to do in the future, the songs we want to sing, and the roles we want to take on. I think both of us have matured a little!

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Edan: Both of us play hard and often play pranks. We are really good friends, so we also talk about things deep in our hearts. I'm an optimistic person and love to make jokes but I can be serious when I need to, perhaps more than what people imagine. Anson is a very gentle and considerate person who pays attention to the details. However, he doesn't reveal his emotions easily.

Because we are such good friends, we show each other our true emotions; we would tell the other person directly if we are happy, unhappy, or dissatisfied with the other, and if we think he can do better in certain areas. We are just like big kids in private.

A: Do you hope that Mirror or yourself would be able to revive Hong Kong showbiz to be the best in Asia or the world?

Anson: To be honest, I don't think Mirror and I have strong enough abilities to do so. We simply try to be the best of ourselves each day, and we don't hope to reach a certain achievement. We've only been in showbiz for around three years, and we know too little compared to our seniors in the music industry.

We haven't had a lot of performing experience, nor have we released a lot of songs. Right now, we are learning as we work, doing our best and not thinking too much. In the future, I hope we can perform more of the songs that people like, and that I could show different sides of myself. Although I'm mostly a singer-dancer now, there are still many different performing styles within that sub-group that I want to present.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5ivE_QZTcw[/embed]

Edan: I personally hope we can achieve that, but I also know we are very far off from that target because a lot of factors need to come to play. Besides our individual abilities, other areas such as ideas, budgets, and production need to be present as well.

I still hope we would have the opportunities and abilities to achieve that. What we can do now is to draw Hong Kongers back to our local music and showbiz. Once we've done that, we can take on the world.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoHKilN1-Ug[/embed]

A: Do you intend to take on K-pop?

Anson: I've never thought of competing with anyone or any country's music scene because music transcends borders and languages. Any type of music is simply a piece of work that is only divided into genres. I'm more interested in the quality of the music and whether there are any changes.

On the other hand, I compete with myself. At every recording or performance, I'd think back to what I did previously. What can I do this time round that I didn't get to do before? Or, was there anything that I couldn't overcome previously and that I could now? Is there something new that I can bring to the audience?

Edan: I really don't think of competing with K-pop, since our standard is still a distance from theirs. K-pop and Korean boy bands have been around for a while and their standard is really high. But I feel we are special in that each of us is unique and has areas that we are strong in. All of us are very grounded guys, we are very different and multi-faceted, and we are very close to the audience.

Catch Anson and Edan in Ossan's Love on Viu.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-wAaOWD7mY[/embed]

kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com