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When Hong Kong star Julian Cheung walked into a suite at the Mira Hotel at Tsim Sha Tsui to speak 8days.sg, we were half expecting the 53-year-old to turn up with a grizzly beard and a head of greying hair.
After all, Julian has been seen for months out in public living what seems to be his Silver Fox era.
Lo and behold, Julian turned up looking every bit the idol his fans know him for, with sleek, black hair and dressed in a tan jacket.
Julian stars alongside Donnie Yen, Kent Cheng, and Francis Ng in the upcoming Hong Kong action thriller The Prosecutor.
The film is based on a true story and revolves around Hong Kong’s intricate justice system.
Typically known for playing swashbuckling heroes and baby-faced romantic leads, Julian takes on the villainous character of Ou Bowen, a defense attorney who is also a drug-addicted criminal group leader.
For the film, Julian says it was his idea to grow out his beard and hair for six months and he thought it looked “very good and cool”.
“I want to grow older and become more mature as this will expand my acting range,” he says
“Currently, my public image is still similar to what it was two decades ago,” he adds.
He says his wife, Hong Kong actress Anita Yuen, was not a fan of his burly look initially.
“She is a funny one,” he says. “When I grew it out, she kept teasing me, asking why I was keeping this look and saying I looked like an old man.”
“Then when we wrapped filming up and I said I can finally get out of this look, she said to keep it,” he laughs.
By now, we realise the usually stoic Julian instantly brightens up whenever the topic of his family comes up.
Even when we cheekily asked if Anita is still growing her collection of Hermès bags, Julian didn’t wave the question away and instead pauses to think about when his wife’s last purchase was.
“She has really cut down a lot…” he muses before laughing, “I know when she buys [one]!”
Instead, he says Anita doesn’t seem to go out shopping as often anymore and usually spends her time relaxing at home.
“Or maybe, I don’t notice [her shopping trips],” he laughs.
Julian also reveals that the family, including his 18-year-old son, Morton, recently moved into their own home, a property they have owned for about six to seven years.
He says that they were “too comfortable renting at their previous place” when we ask why they didn’t consider moving out earlier.
However, they ultimately needed to move as Julian says their previous home belonged to the landlord’s family and wasn’t for sale.
Of course, it seems that the family of three won’t be staying at the new residence together for too long.
Morton is set to study abroad though at press time has not decided where he will go to further his studies.
“We still have a year till then, and right now, I am thinking how we can spend more time as a family before he starts school,” says Julian, who is divided on starting on another project next year.
“If I get busy, juggling family time will be a lot tougher,” he says.
We ask Julian if he and Anita are looking forward to being empty nesters.
“I don’t dare think about that part of my life yet,” he laughs.
“Actually, I think my wife is looking forward to accompanying him there,” Julian adds.