Jasper Liu sends love to 'goddess' Yoona and Puff Kuo, but who does he want to marry?

It's a long list and he needs to go through it carefully.

Jasper Liu, man of the moment starring in the hit Taiwanese movie More Than Blue, apologised when he couldn't decide who among the many actresses he's worked with he would want to marry.

"I've never thought about dating someone in the industry," the actor told AsiaOne. "What if they say, 'I don't want you as my boyfriend either' (laughs)?"

The 32-year-old is quite the sensation. After debuting in 2011 in the popular idol drama In Time with You, Liu has progressed into leading-man roles opposite the who's who of Taiwanese showbiz, including Cheryl Yang, Sandrine Pinna, Vivian Sung, Annie Chen, Puff Kuo and Mandy Wei.

The tearjerker More Than Blue, a remake of a 2009 Korean film, opened in Singapore on Dec 13 and went on to gross the biggest weekend for a Taiwanese film here in three years.

In town for an awards show, Liu was quizzed on romance in the wake of a spate of marriage announcements, including that of Yang.

Although he couldn't decide on his ideal partner, he sent lots of love to South Korean superstar Yoona and Kuo.

Liu met Yoona of girl group Girls' Generation last month at the Asia Artist Awards in Incheon, where the Chinese speaker frequently helped to translate for him.

"When we met I was already in awe," he revealed. "I never imagined meeting her and she's really very beautiful.

"I am very grateful for how she took care of me. (I) hope we get to work together. When I met her, I was like, 'Goddess'."

While Liu did not place Kuo on a pedestal or profess his love for her, he said she would make the best buddy.

The two appeared in 2014's Pleasantly Surprised and can be seen in another television series, Before We Get Married, next year.

Liu recalled, "When I first took on a lead role, I could feel her watching out for me.

"I'm actually quite introverted and get nervous easily. I remember back then when microphones were shoved in my face, I would panic and maybe move backwards. But I'll always remember once when she propped me up and encouraged me to face the media."

Liu enjoyed a meal of salted egg crab and black pepper crab the night before - he has never heard of chilli crab - but more than anything else, what Liu appreciates most about Singapore is the reception to his new movie.

Get the tissues ready if you're going to catch it. The film centres on K (Liu) and Cream (Ivy Chen), who have lived together since young because they have no other family, but are technically not in a romantic relationship. When K learns of a terriblenews, he secretly tries to plan the rest of Cream's life.

Liu revealed the role took a toll on him, admitting he was resistant to the tragic movie initially.

For research, he visited the hospital "because I've always been healthy and wanted to experience what it's like to have a limited time to live. Unknowingly I just became more and more depressed, and I went out less, and talked less.

"There was a point while doing this movie when I became resistant to getting into character because every day I was crying. I asked the director (Gavin Lin) whether I could stop crying because it was getting unhealthy. I felt like my body couldn't take it anymore."

Lin devised a solution to prevent Liu from "sinking too deep".

"He gave me a particular type of essential oil and when I smelled it, I was K fully, but at the end of a shoot, washing the smell off switched me back to myself. That gave me a great sense of security."

A fantastic co-star certainly aided Liu's heartbreaking performance.

Chen is an award-winning actress and Liu raved about "her eyes that speak".

"When she cries and you look at her, you'll unknowingly want to cry too. The moods she gives off are very genuine and a lot of the time, I felt like she carried me emotionally and then my emotions came out naturally."

In spite of what he endured for More Than Blue, Liu, who's a guitarist in the band Morning Call and an occasional model, loves acting the most precisely for such projects.

"You get to move an audience. I remember when I attended my first screening, I felt a vibe I couldn't explain, and when we saw many people crying, I was dumbstruck."

For someone who joined a modelling agency thinking he would be doing "some animation or post-production work" since he majored in visual communication and design, Liu is now big enough to appear on popular Korean variety programme The Return of Superman and banter online with Haha of Running Man fame.

But he is not shooting for the stars. He said he doesn't mind working overseas simply because he loves travelling, especially if the project (like The Return of Superman) is fun.

Question is, would he shave his trademark "cauliflower hair" if a meaty role in a Mainland period drama comes along?

"I'm okay to shave! Recently I've been very keen on trying different hairstyles. I don't want to limit myself because of my hair."

Liu's locks from an early role were so iconic it's reported he regularly perms his straight hair to maintain the look.

But he clarified during the interview that he does not and actually prefers long, unkempt and shaggy hair.

Unfortunately, he kept having to cut it for work, "therefore K was perfect for me and I insisted on growing out my hair," he said.

Before he left for the airport, Liu let us in on his latest hobby - camping - and asked whether Singapore has any recommended spots.

Who knows? Next time you're at East Coast Park or Pulau Ubin, you might just run into the boyish-looking star.

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tanthiampeng@asiaone.com