“Not many people know how to choose, even fewer choose the right person, do not feel guilty about making the right decision.”
Jennifer Yu interview: David Chiang’s line in 白日之下 (Shed Light, 2023) did more than land on screen, it became a touchstone for actors trying to sustain a career, and it resonated with Yu Heung-ning (余香凝) as she pursued both family life and the stage.
Yu Heung-ning and new actor Heoi Jyut-seung (許月湘) received nominations this year at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards, for Best Actress and Best New Performer respectively. When Yu accepted the Best Actress prize, she took a calm breath and told the audience, “As a woman, at any stage of life you can still chase your dreams.”
Entertainment, then healing: Jennifer Yu interview
Three days before the awards night, the outcome was still unknown, but Yu and Heoi had already found a form of happiness in the work itself. Jennifer Yu interview here focused on how small professional choices shaped larger changes in her life.
Yu says she did not set out to rush family milestones, but by age 30 she had both a family and the critical acclaim actors often spend years seeking. She described the feeling as a quiet contentment that freed her work: “After having a child, I no longer chase fame or fortune. My mindset and my acting have become more composed.”
She said the shift was visible to viewers and critics alike: after returning to work she was told her performance in “Far Far Away” (緣路山旮旯) felt looser, more natural. Becoming a parent, she said, taught her a different sensory approach to emotion that improved her on-screen sensitivity.
Training, choice and early breaks
Heoi Jyut-seung studied accounting at university before she could accept that numbers would not hold her. She transferred her studies to the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts and, before graduating, won roles on the Viu TV series We Are Blossoms (那年盛夏我們綻放如花, 2022) and in 白日之下 (Shed Light, 2023).
Yu described the Academy as the place that taught her what performance truly is, not just how to act. She and Heoi agreed that the actor’s work can move beyond providing two to three hours of entertainment, and into a form of public healing that reaches audiences in unexpected ways.
The actor’s duty is to live
Yu said actors must be rooted in life to bring truth to performance: “One of an actor’s duties is to feel life, to focus on the everyday so you can use it in your work.” She rejected the idea that every performer must be a glamorized celebrity, and said she often deflects fan recognition by saying, “I am just an actor, that’s all.”
She said her temperament tests show a low degree of self-centeredness, which helps her shift into character. When preparing for 白日之下 (Shed Light, 2023), she had to learn to suppress the instincts that made her want to cry in rehearsal, because the director insisted the character, Ling Hiu-ki, could not show that outward vulnerability.
Pushing boundaries, staying curious
The two actors agreed they had been told to be bolder in choices, to surprise audiences more. Yu recalled teachers telling her she sometimes performed like a model student: technically correct, but lacking the unpredictability that can make a scene sing.
Her solution, she said, is continual study across art forms. She credits teachers such as Yau Chung-wai (邱頌偉), nicknamed A-Gai, for urging her to pull ideas from literature, visual art and theater to question systems and human relationships.
Yu explained that her given name, Heung-ning, comes from the late Chinese artist and revolutionary He Xiangning, and she said that influence showed in her acceptance speech, which carried a quiet feminist tone.
Photographer: Karl Lam
Art Direction: Karl Lam & Mimi Kong
Styling: Mimi Kong
Videographer: Kason Tam & Zenus Ng
Video Edit: Kason Tam & Zenus Ng
Set Designer: Lit
Interview & Text: Ms. A
Makeup: Lavinia Tang (Jennifer), Heisan Hung (Vanora)
Hair: Ken Hui @ Artify Lab (Jennifer), Haffman Cheng @ Yonda Hair (Vanora)
