Brain surgery depleted savings, mum passed away: Lawrence Wong shares career turning point in 2016

The taste of success is sweet for Lawrence Wong, but many may not know that it came at a cost.

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News on Monday (Nov 21), Lawrence shared how the year 2016 was the turning point in his career.

That was when he underwent an operation to remove a non-cancerous mass in his brain. His mother also died that same year.

Although the surgery went well, it cost him his life savings, Lawrence told the Chinese evening daily.

"I was in hospital for brain hemangioma. The cost of the surgery depleted all my savings. That year, my mum also left me due to an illness," shared Lawrence, who is believed to have been based in Singapore at the time.

The Malaysia-born actor added that it was also in 2016 that he decided to strike it out in China.

Lawrence has acted in a total of 11 Chinese drama serials in these six years, including a breakout role in 2018's Story of Yanxi Palace.

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His star has been on the rise since.

In his new Chinese series Summer Wind, Lawrence once again plays a character who is "tall, rich and handsome". It is a role that is all too familiar for the 34-year-old.

Worried about being pigeon-holed, Lawrence even brought up the issue to the head honcho of his management company.

But don't get him wrong. Lawrence is quick to clarify that his reaction does not come from a place of disdain, Shin Min reported.

While he is grateful for the constant flow of work, he explained that he is simply excited to explore other aspects of acting.

Getting all wrapped up... in cling film

Lawrence recounted how filming for Summer Wind ironically took place during winter in Chongqing, China.

And the light, summery wardrobe required did nothing to protect cast members from the biting cold.

It was even more unbearable for Lawrence, who was required to take off his shirt for some scenes in a house with no heating.

Worse still was when he fell ill but was due to film a scene running in the rain at night.

Not wanting to cause any delays, Lawrence went ahead with it.

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In order to keep his body temperature up, the wardrobe department employed some creative use of cling film by wrapping Lawrence's body in it.

When asked by Shin Min if he struggled to breathe as a result, Lawrence laughed: "Yes, it was hard to breathe but it was better than freezing to death!"

And it's probably a good thing he was all wrapped up too; Lawrence shared that filming the rain-soaked scene that night took a whopping 10 hours, all the way till daybreak.

No wonder actors in China are reportedly well-paid.

During a media interview following the success of Story of Yanxi Palace, Lawrence reportedly revealed that he makes per drama what local actors here earn in two years.

Guess it all evens out then?

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5guB38C4AA[/embed]

Summer Wind, which also stars Liu Sichen, will be available on demand for free on meWATCH on Nov 25.

candicecai@asiaone.com