HONG KONG - Japanese-Taiwanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro is not very keen on making movies nowadays, according to Hong Kong film director Peter Chan.

Chan, 59, was explaining why Kaneshiro, who turns 49 in October, has been missing from the big screen for a long time.

Chan said the actor has rejected several movie offers. “His focus is not on filming now and he will give 100 reasons like ‘not filming in places with no computer or Internet.”

The director said perseverance is needed as it can take at least six months to persuade the heart-throb to do a project.

He added that the actor is willing to take up a film offer only when he feels comfortable.

Chan has worked with Kaneshiro on three movies: Perhaps Love (2005), The Warlords (2007) and Wu Xia (2011).

The actor has not been in a movie since the romantic comedy This Is Not What I Expected (2017) with Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu.

Another movie, crime thriller Sons Of The Neon Night, does not have a release date even though filming wrapped in 2018.

Chan was speaking recently on Hong Kong entertainment talk show Director’s Gate, in which he talked about working with stars such as Kaneshiro, “Heavenly King” Leon Lai and actress Maggie Cheung.

Many fans felt that Lai, 55, turned from an idol into a capable actor after taking part in Chan’s movie Comrades: Almost A Love Story (1996), which also starred Cheung.

The film won Best Picture at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA) in 1997, with Lai nominated for Best Actor at the HKFA.

Chan said the first step in transforming the singer was to cut his hair. Lai was reluctant to do so initially, but later gave in and invited Chan and the film’s art director Kenneth Yee to his house to discuss the makeover with his personal hairstylist.