The Life List: Actor Tseng Jing-hua cracks jokes, picks up calligraphy for comedy series

SINGAPORE – Oh no, here comes not exactly trouble, but a litany of lame jokes.

That was what Taiwanese actor Tseng Jing-hua brought to the set of the new iQiyi series, Oh No! Here Comes Trouble.

The 25-year-old star developed a “ritual” of dishing out wisecracks and puns while filming the action-comedy-fantasy show, but Taiwanese co-star Vivian Sung says not all his attempts were well-received.

In a joint Zoom call with Tseng from Taipei, Sung, 30, says: “I think we initially all laughed to be polite, but since he told a joke every day, our expectations grew, and we got to a point where we would laugh only if it was a really funny joke.”

Oh No! Here Comes Trouble marks the first on-screen collaboration between the two.

Tseng, who broke out with his role in the 2020 romance film Your Name Engraved Herein, plays Pu Yiyong, a high-school delinquent who starts seeing supernatural beings after a serious accident.

He teams up with a policewoman, played by Sung (Our Times, 2015), and a medical student, portrayed by Peng Chian-you (Nowhere Man, 2019), to help the spirits.

Here are four things that Tseng and Sung shared about the series, which is available on iQiyi International.

1. Bloody bus scene

For both stars, one of the series’ most memorable scenes is in the first episode – the accident Yiyong is involved in after a plane crashes into the bus he is riding.

“The crew found an abandoned bus which they split into two for filming, so it all looked very real. Of course, there were computer graphics, but about 80 per cent of that scene was practical effects,” Sung recalls.

“There were around 100 extras in make-up that made them look bloody or injured. It all felt very authentic, which contributed to a more serious mood on set that day.”

Tseng, whose character was resuscitated by Sung’s in the scene, adds: “I was supposed to be in a coma in that scene, which we filmed on a very cold day. So I was freezing yet sticky at the same time, because I had so much fake blood caked on my body.”

2. Picking up calligraphy

Yiyong has a talent for Chinese calligraphy, which becomes a medium connecting him to supernatural beings.

Tseng, who can be seen writing with brush and ink in many scenes, started taking calligraphy lessons two months before filming. He continued his lessons for half a year, through the entirety of filming.

He says: “At first, I thought that every stroke I wrote had to be objectively perfect, but my teacher told me that’s not the case. Your words are supposed to be your creation and can reflect your own personality as well.”

Has he fallen in love with the art of calligraphy?

“I do occasionally write, even now, as a way to calm myself. It’s a good way to quiet the noise in my heart.”

3. Embarrassing Nonkul encounter

Oh No! Here Comes Trouble also stars Thai actor Nonkul Chanon Santinatornkul, best known for his role in the Thai thriller Bad Genius (2017). 

The 26-year-old shared scenes with the main cast of Tseng, Sung and Peng, and Sung embarrassed herself in front of him unintentionally. 

She recalls: “He was on set and I was looking at him, and I told the crew, ‘Wow, he’s so good-looking’, thinking that he wouldn’t understand what I was saying. Then, when he started acting, I realised how good his Mandarin is and I was, like, ‘Oh no, he must have heard me talking about him.’”

4. Drama cloaked in fantasy and comedy

Oh No! Here Comes Trouble is billed as an action comedy, and it features fun scenes of exaggerated physical gags and thrilling crime-busting. 

But since the supernatural beings are depicted as manifestations of negative thoughts, the series deals with heavier topics of trauma and regrets too. 

Sung says: “Comedy is sometimes the external packaging for tragedy. Our actions are exaggerated, but the feelings and the stories are quite realistic and cover a lot of serious issues. There’s definitely a huge range of emotions here.”

Oh No! Here Comes Trouble is available on iQiyi International.