PUBLISHED ONNovember 29, 2023 10:19 AMByYeo Shu HuiWhen Hong Kong actor Raymond Wong was filming his new movie The Locksmith in Penang between last December and January this year, he woke up at 5am every day, despite ending work at 11pm the night before.
The reason for rising this early was because he wanted to go for his routine morning runs.
"A lot of people said that I am insane… The driver in Penang also had a rough time because he would wake up at 5am to run with me," the 48-year-old told AsiaOne in a recent interview while he was in town on Nov 17 to promote his new movie.
Raymond shared that ever since he fell ill previously, he has become more conscious of his health and would exercise frequently.
He said: "I would exercise every day when I am not working and it has become a habit of mine. Those who have exercised with me also have very positive energy. I think exercising is healthy and it brings me happiness, it also gives me positive vibes… I encourage those around me who don't exercise to do it together."
In 2014, Raymond was diagnosed with a rare disorder called Behcet's Disease. The condition causes inflammation in the blood vessels throughout the body, resulting in painful skin rashes, lesions, mouth and genital sores.
He revealed in an interview back then that he was hospitalised for two weeks and had to pull out of a drama production.
'We can't see our own hands even within a short distance'
Besides early morning runs in Penang, Raymond shared that he thoroughly enjoyed his experience there, from the food and pleasant encounters with his fans, to a memorable trip to Bukit Hijau with his co-star Samantha Ko.
He said: "On one of our off-days, Samantha and I went to Bukit Hijau for a walk. When we were going up the hill, the weather was good and very sunny. But within a few minutes, it started to rain heavily and there was a heavy fog.
"We couldn't see our own hands even within a short distance. I think after a few moments, the weather was good again. So that is something that I remember very clearly."
In The Locksmith, Raymond plays detective Liu Yexin, who is good friends with Cheng Haoren (Philip Keung), a locksmith who is proficient in his work and often hired by the police to break locks.
After Haoren meets his old friend Li Quankai (Eric Chen) during work, mysterious occurrences start to happen one after another. When someone turns up dead, Yexin and Haoren's friendship is put on the line as the latter becomes the number one suspect.
The suspense crime drama also stars Hui Siu Hung and Yumi Wong and is now showing in theatres.
Very excited and touched
Before arriving in Singapore, Raymond and the other cast members were involved in promotional activities in Malaysia for a few days. While attending the gala premieres there, they were welcomed warmly by fans.
He said: "I was very excited. At the premiere in Penang, there were about 1,000 fans who were present to watch the movie with us. It's been such a long time since I saw so many people watching movies together. I was also very touched. When I saw them and they were very enthusiastic and kept calling our names, I was actually very happy."
Raymond added that despite the warm welcome, he actually missed his sons, Kayden, 12 and Ransley, 10, and wife Kaka Mok a lot and would try to contact them frequently.
When we asked if he prefers filming overseas or in Hong Kong, he shared that it is a paradox to him.
He said: "Filming overseas allows me to focus better, because when I am at home, I would play with my sons and have dinner with my wife. But when I am overseas, when we wrap filming for the day, I would go back to my room to read the script.
"I think it's easier to embody a character when you're overseas, because you're in an unfamiliar environment and you'll have less distractions, which would allow you to better embody a character. So it's very contradictory."
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