In a way, his character’s rise to power in the ‘80s mirrors Tony’s in the same era. Did he think he would become the superstar he is today back in the days of big shoulder pads?
“No, I didn’t,” he says. “At that time, I just really liked acting. It’s the thing that has never changed for me. I still love acting. It is a very fun thing to me. Every time I perform, I get to experience different things and a different type of life. With other jobs, you are doing the same thing over and over again. For actors, it’s different each time and you get to explore different worlds.”
What was the ‘80s like for him? “I just entered showbiz,” he says with smile. “I remember being in the artiste training course. It makes me think of Hong Kong at that time. The ‘80s was the busiest period of my life. I would travel to Singapore a lot then. I started coming here and around Asia a lot. At that time, most of Asia watched Hongkong dramas so I had a lot of chances to travel to many places.”
He says he still visits Singapore often — he was spotted at Gardens by the Bay in February — and his affinity for our sunny island started back in the ‘80s for him.
“I have friends here,” he says. “I used to come here a lot for work, for performances. I miss the way of life then, like the roadside stalls, the local cuisine. I used to go to the parks often, like the Bird Park but that has already moved.”
Wait, how does he even know that? How would Tony Leung, one of the world’s biggest stars, know that our humble Bird Park is no longer in Jurong, we ask.
“I was here recently and I like going to parks. Whichever country I visit, I’ll go walk around the parks. So when I got here, they told me that it moved. That’s how I know,” he says, adding that he hasn’t been to the new one.
He says in the past, when he would brainstorm over scripts with his creative team, he would suggest they fly to Singapore. “I’m not sure why but we would always say Singapore and that’s why we came here a lot”.
Is it because he feels relaxed here, away from the prying eyes of the formidable Hong Kong paparazzi?
“Yes, yes, yes, yes,” he replies, without missing a beat. “A lot of times [I can just chill] by the pool. I can go swimming, suntan.” Those are simple luxuries he cannot afford to do in Hong Kong, he says.
Someone asks if he has thought of buying a house here. “It’s very expensive [to buy property in Singapore] now,” he chuckles. “Singapore’s living standards are very different. I hear they are a lot higher now.”
Again, we express our surprise and ask if he reads up on what’s happening in Singapore.
“Yes, I do,” he says, before adding that he “tries to understand the situation here”.
So who knows, maybe one day when property prices fall we can catch Tony strolling and minding his own business at one of our national parks on the regular.
Photos: Kelvin Chia/ Mediacorp
The Goldfinger opens in cinemas Dec 30.