Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu disclosed in a recent interview with the Chinese edition of Cosmopolitan magazine that Japanese heartthrob Takuya Kimura has been her idol since she was 14 years old.

Hsu, 42, said when she was a student, she saved up her money so she could go on backpacking trips to Japan with her younger sister Dee Hsu, to buy merchandise linked to Kimura. She also started learning the Japanese language on her own because of him.

She admired actress Lin Chi-ling for having acted with Kimura, 46, in the Japanese television series, Moon Lovers (2010), and hoped she would have the opportunity to meet Kimura in person.

She shared the post from Cosmopolitan on her Weibo account on Monday (March 18) and was surprised when Kimura replied: "Big S-san, hope to have a chance to work with you in future."

Barbie Hsu replied: "Kimura-san, I am so happy to receive your reply. Let's have a humorous performance if there is an opportunity."

Barbie Hsu is also known by her nickname, Big S, while television host Dee Hsu is known as Little S. Barbie Hsu rose to prominence after playing the role of Shancai in the hit Taiwanese idol drama Meteor Garden (2001), an adaptation of Japanese manga series Boys Over Flowers.

Kimura was a member of Japan's once-biggest boyband, SMAP, and is famous for acting in TV series such as Long Vacation (1996), Beautiful Life (2000) and Hero (2001).