Shawn Yue reveals reason he dropped out of public eye for years

TAIPEI — Hong Kong actor Shawn Yue has explained why he has almost disappeared from the public eye for six years.

The Taiwan-based artiste made a rare public appearance at a branding event in Taiwan last Friday (Aug 25), disclosing that he suffered from panic disorder.

"I have hardly participated in public activities since the beginning of the pandemic because I had severe panic attacks before that, and I would suddenly feel very scared," said the 41-year-old at the event.

He said the anxiety attacks happened before his marriage to Taiwanese actress Sarah Wang, 34, in December 2017. They have a five-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter.

Yue recalled that one such attack took place on a plane, an incident which he also recounted in a video on his YouTube channel in May 2022. "I was flying to France to shoot a commercial and I went crazy when the plane took off," he said. "I couldn't breathe all of a sudden and kept saying I wanted to get off the plane."

It led him to cut down on his public appearances. Despite that, he was seized by anxiety on one of these rare occasions.

"I felt very scared, my hands trembled and I couldn't breathe," he said. "It was too late to take medication, which takes 15 to 20 minutes to take effect."

The actor added that his condition is now stable, probably due to the long break he took during the pandemic.

Yue, who is known for acting in movies such as the Infernal Affairs trilogy (2002 to 2003), Love In A Puff trilogy (2010 to 2017) and Mad World (2016), said he used to shoot seven to eight movies in a year.

His role as a man struggling with bipolar disorder in Mad World earned him a Best Actor nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2017.

Yue clarified that he has not left show business, saying that he has been writing scripts recently.

"I prefer spending time behind the scenes as I meet fewer people," he said. "We do different things at different phases (of our lives)."

Although he will be cutting back on acting, he hopes to turn the scripts into movies. "I want to explore some of my favourite themes, look for actors and directors whom I want to work with and develop the projects we really want to do together," he said.

Yue also declined to talk about the recent incidents involving his good friends, television host Blackie Chen and actor Sunny Wang.

Chen, 46, has been accused of sexual harassment by actress Tina Chou in Taiwan's #MeToo movement while Wang, 40, is reportedly having marital problems with singer Dominique Choy, 37.

"I don't ask about other's people's matters as I don't gossip," he replied. "To tell you the truth, I don't read the news."

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.