PUBLISHED ONApril 25, 2023 12:30 AMByJolynn ChiaAn actor might be able to experience many different lives through the characters they play but it's not enjoyable when they are overpowered by negative emotions.
Former TVB actress Bernice Liu shared in a video posted on her YouTube channel last Saturday (April 22) that she got too immersed in her character when she was filming the TVB drama Healing Hands III (2005), which affected the relations between her and her father.
In the series, her character Betsy has a strained relationship with her father.
Seemingly amused at her own confusion, the 44-year-old said: "When I was preparing for my character, I rehearsed for my lines at home with my dad and I threw tantrums at him sometimes. For example, when I closed the door, I slammed it.
"I couldn't drop the character's feelings because I was so immersed in the role. I couldn't separate myself from my character, so I almost felt like my real father had done what Betsy's father did in the show."
The relations between Bernice, who was with TVB from 2001 to 2011, and her father deteriorated during the eight-month filming period.
[[nid:626669]]
In fact, the former beauty queen said she even unintentionally blurted out facts from the script, as if they happened to her in real life, such as "You and mum separated."
One of her most memorable scenes in the show was one of reconciliation between Betsy and her dying father in the hospital ward, where she finds out he was not the one who chose to leave their family.
"I broke down and for the first time, I couldn't stop crying. They had to find emergency first-aiders in the studio, as I could not breathe normally. Everybody had to stop filming for three hours," she elaborated.
It did not end there. Bernice cried again when she went home after filming and saw her father. She felt guilty for having ill feelings towards him as she had been overly immersed in Betsy's storyline.
She added in her latest video: "I feel sad mentioning this because I did not see my father in person for three years due to the pandemic."
This experience made her realise that the more immersed she was, the more difficulty she had in withdrawing from a role.
After Healing Hands III, she took a break for two months, as that was something both she and her company thought was good for her.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z4knnguLYQ[/embed]
jolynn.chia@asiaone.com
No part of this story can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
