http://hk.asia-city.com/nightlife/article/first-person-vonnie-lui

First Person: Vonnie Lui
Following her turn in the world’s first 3D erotic film: “Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy,” the curvaceous Vonnie Lui is about to become Hong Kong’s biggest sex symbol. She tells Grace Tsoi about how being sexy is not just about shedding clothes and showing off your chest.
By Grace Tsoi | published Apr 07, 2011

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My character in the movie is the Elder of Bliss, a hermaphrodite who has accumulated the Zen of yin-yang. He can change his age, gender and appearance as he wishes.

At first, I turned down the offer. About 18 months ago, the producers approached me and offered me the role of Tie Yuxiang [love interest of the protagonist, Wei Yangsheng]. I wasn’t confident that I could act well, so I rejected them, in a nice way.

One year later, the producers told me that there would be another role. A hermaphrodite is a challenging role for any actress and I wanted to give it a try. I said yes even before I asked them about the salary.

During that year in between, I actually quit showbiz and worked as a salesgirl. I thought I might not be the right type of person to be in the entertainment industry.

But I realized that I want to show people that I don’t just have sexy looks. I want to challenge myself and achieve something. Despite the difficulties, I want to try—at least once.

It is rather unfair to say that actors and actresses in erotic films don’t need good acting skills.

Full frontal is not a big thing. A lot of actors have done that. Even Tony Leung has shown his private parts on screen.

This is a job. You have to expand your limits and do your best. Don’t let others restrict you.

We didn’t have sex on set. And what’s the point of doing that when you can’t show those scenes in a Hong Kong cinema? We actually put a lot of tape over our private parts. It hurts when you tear the tape off.

I looked kind of childish before, and I was worried that the audience wouldn’t be convinced of my role. I had some Botox to sharpen my features.

The Botox won’t last forever, and I consider having the shots as part of my job. It helped me deliver a more convincing performance.

About five to six years ago, I acted in another soft porn flick. I was very young and felt embarrassed when acting in sex scenes.

I might look as if I enjoyed myself in those scenes, but it only looked real because of the director. He combined different shots in post-production. I didn’t even want to do the moaning voiceovers afterwards. My performance was a failure.

Sexiness is a kind of feeling. It’s not just about taking your clothes off. Some random middle-aged housewives might show their butts on the street, but would people want to see that?

You have to be articulate when it comes to presenting a sexy image. It is about your eyes, the way you talk… It’s everything.

Acting in an erotic film is just a stepping-stone. It is an easier and faster way to get fame.

I guess it’s okay because I will get married in the end anyway. When I was a kid, I wrote in an essay that my dream job was to be a housewife.

I am not worried that I might not get a good husband because I acted in erotic films. Some of my predecessors married really well.

I dress sexy but I am actually quite conservative. I hope that my future husband will take charge of things. I am rather submissive.

I started dancing in Form 5. The dancing school picked a few students to join Cable TV’s YMC Channel VJ competition.

I was the only one who got into the second round, and I won first runner-up. I signed a year’s contract with them.

After the contract ended, I became a part-time model. A magazine invited me to be their model for a travel feature. I agreed because it was a free trip and I could have some fun with my friends.

The photos were kind of… outrageous. My bust looked huge and sagging. Some people even said they looked like a pair of papayas.

The Taiwanese audience started to learn about me after I did an interview with a Taiwanese magazine.

Hong Kong and Taiwanese audiences are quite different. I think Hongkongers are getting more conservative. They think that being sexy is something bad. But the Taiwan people think that being sexy is beautiful and that a voluptuous body is a natural asset.