Lawrence Wong on Qin Lan dating rumours: 'I'm like her little brother'

If you've been watching the hit Chinese period drama Story of Yanxi Palace, it's hard to miss the adorable imperial guard, Hai Lan Cha.

And Singaporean Lawrence Wong, who plays the character in the show, has got ladies all over Asia swooning over his boyish smiles.

Although he's been dubbed a heartthrob in China, the actor remains coy about his love life.

Is there something brewing between Lawrence and co-star Qin Lan, whom he describes as very nice, kind-hearted, and "so beautiful"?

He's quick to deny any romantic feelings for the 37-year-old actress and chuckled, "I'm like her little brother. Incest? No."

But that doesn't mean that he will rule out dating someone older, says the actor, who is tight-lipped about his age.

However, if fate has it that he has feelings for a fan, he'll take the chance, shared Lawrence during our interview with him on Thursday (Dec 20).

Asked the actor: "Why do you want to refuse love when it comes?"

Before fans rush to ask him out on a date though, Lawrence has said that he would prefer to meet his other half through mutual friends.

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

But the Malaysian-born actor told AsiaOne that the path to fame hasn't always been rosy.

Before he moved to China in 2016, Lawrence said that he felt lost in his career because he was "doing the same thing over and over again".

"I felt like I have a lot of things to offer, but I had no opportunity to do so," he said.

An opportunity came knocking when a friend introduced him to management agency Wow Star while they were shooting in Singapore.

The decision to move to China became the turning point in his career, Lawrence said.

For a period of time, he 'disappeared' from TV screens as he was shooting dramas endlessly.

With the massive success of Yanxi Palace in Asia and a rapidly growing fan base, it looks like Lawrence's hard work has paid off.

And with that, 2019 is set to be a busy year for Lawrence.

He told us that he has two dramas - Love and Passion, and One Boat One World - lined up next year.

Now that he's based in Beijing, Lawrence shared that if he gets the chance, he'd love to work with Chinese actors Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun, and Chen Kun among many others.

And when asked which type of role he'd wish to play opposite Ziyi, he lit up and said, "Any role will be dope (awesome)!"

Lawrence said that he has watched a lot of the award-winning actress' work, including the recent variety show 'The Birth of An Actor'. He admires Ziyi's acting skills and believes he'll be able to learn a lot from her.

He described working with these A-listers as a faraway dream, but said, "one can always dream right?"

With such aspirations, that may just be what it takes to propel him to the next level.

Lawrence Wong is in town for the StarHub Night of Stars, which will be held at Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands this Saturday (Dec 22).

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minlee@sph.com.sg