‘I’m not a beautiful vase’: Actress Hong Huifang, 63, welcomes playing more grandmas

SINGAPORE – Local actress Hong Huifang is unfazed by the thought of being typecast as the grandmother these days.

The 63-year-old portrays yet another one in her 70s in the Taiwanese drama Breeze By The Sea, her first overseas project following her Golden Horse-nominated turn in Singapore-South Korean film Ajoomma (2022).

The 18-episode series will be available on Rakuten Viki and Viu from Dec 14. 

Speaking to The Straits Times at the Asia TV Forum & Market held on Dec 4 at Marina Bay Sands, Hong said she does not mind playing much older characters. After all, she added, she has portrayed a centenarian in the Channel 8 drama Good Luck (2015) and several grandmothers over the years.

Furthermore, she is heartened that on-screen grandmothers are being viewed in a positive light and have gained more prominence recently, such as in the hit Thai movie How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024).

She noted the Chinese saying of “having an old person in the family is like having a treasure”, and added: “Some people are closer to their grandmothers than their parents. I think it is partly because they know their time with their grandparents is short. By the time they grow up, their grandparents are already quite old.”

Hong also recently put on “ageing make-up” for the upcoming Chinese New Year movie Blooms Of Happiness, which was filmed in Genting Highlands.

She said: “As an actress, I can keep changing constantly. I am not a beautiful vase.”

In Breeze By The Sea, a remake of South Korean drama Top Star U-back (2018 to 2019), Hong’s oyster-farmer character sports white hair while toiling in work clothes. Her movements are slow, while her speech is gentle and calm.

The veteran star said: “It is not about playing old or young roles. What is most important is that the role is a good one.

“The truth is that if I had a good life, I should be a grandma and not just play one. Had I married earlier, I might already be a grandma.”

She married fellow Singaporean actor Zheng Geping in the early 1990s. They have two children – daughter Tay Ying, 28, and son Calvert Tay, 24. The celebrity couple do not have grandchildren.

Breeze By The Sea is set in the picturesque coastal town of Kinmen island in Taiwan.

Hong said filming took about six months, starting in late 2023 and wrapping in the first half of 2024.

The Mediacorp artiste, who signed with management agency Catwalk Taiwan in 2023, said of her career’s second wind: “Some might say I have ‘succeeded’, but I think there is more success that lies ahead. If I felt that I had ‘made it’, there would be nothing pushing me forward.”

The series also stars Taiwanese actors Chen Bo-lin – who plays a celebrity caught in a storm of negative news, and stays at a bed and breakfast in Kinmen to avoid the limelight – and Charles Lin.

Taiwanese actress Puff Kuo, 36, who plays Hong’s on-screen granddaughter, said in a separate interview at the same event: “When I first met Huifang, I was surprised that she would play my grandmother. She is so fashionable. But after she got into costume, she looked like a regular grandmother, and it was very easy to get into character with her.”

American actor-director Peter Ho, 49, said he cast Hong in Breeze By The Sea because he was impressed by the warmth and kindness in her eyes. “They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. And there is a sincerity in Huifang’s eyes.”

In one scene, Hong had to drop a bowl of porridge and fall down after Chen’s character accidentally knocks into her.

She said the team initially tried having a crew member drop the bowl while she focused on falling, but the timing was always off.

So, she volunteered to perform both actions herself simultaneously. Hong said: “As long as I knew where the bowl was supposed to land, and which position I should end up in, I was confident the scene would turn out okay.

“I had filmed many martial arts dramas when I was younger, and although I am older now, I know how such scenes are filmed.”

And sure enough, the sequence was completed in one take. Ho said jokingly: “She should be a stuntwoman. She was amazing.”

Breeze By The Sea also features Singaporean actress Fann Wong, who plays Chen’s agent.

While Hong and Fann did not share scenes, Hong once portrayed Fann’s on-screen mother in the Channel 8 drama The Ultimatum (2009) and looks forward to future collaborations with her.

Ho, who played Fann’s on-screen beau in the romantic-comedy film The Truth About Jane And Sam (1999), said: “The last time we worked together was more than 20 years ago. It was like meeting someone again after walking different paths in life. It was a special feeling, and we were excited to create something great again.”