Blazer; trousers, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. Top; suspenders, stylist’s own.Tseng Jing-hua
Tseng Jing-hua was 21 when he first stepped into a gay bar. But he wasn’t there for a good time. “I only went because I wanted to research about the gay lifestyle and community for my role in Your Name Engraved Herein,” he explains in an interview over Zoom. Sitting in his manager’s office in Taipei, casually dressed in an off-white t-shirt and a white cap worn backwards, the Taiwanese actor, 25, spoke about how he prepared for his breakout role in the highest-grossing LGBTQ+ motion-picture in Taiwan’s history, currently available on Netflix.
Set in the 1980s, after Taiwan was liberated from the oppressive regime of martial law, the film follows the relationship between Tseng’s character, Birdy, and his classmate A-han (played by Edward Chen Hao-sen), which develops from platonic friendship to bittersweet romance. Tseng admits that he struggled to relate to his character. Growing up in the rural township of Dongshan in Yilan, he spent most of his childhood helping out at his parents’ breakfast eatery, exposed to little else outside of his periphery. But he was determined to portray his character realistically, and felt it was necessary to understand what made him tick. He shares, “I had no clue how to play this role. For someone who had grown up in the countryside, it was quite unimaginable. It was only my second film, and there were many experiences and emotions that I had not encountered and could not have understood at that point. The people I met at the bars defied the stereotypes I had in my mind. They were warm and welcoming, and chatting with them was so effortless.”
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Coat; vest; trousers; scarf; shoes, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.Tseng Jing-hua
Tseng brings the same earnestness to his latest work, Oh No! Here Comes Trouble on iQIYI, which he describes as “a light-hearted comedy that highlights the follies of human nature”. He plays high school student Pu Yi-yong who gains supernatural powers after surviving a near-fatal car accident and is able to communicate with spirits through calligraphy. He embarks on a fantastical crime-solving journey with a rookie policewoman played by Vivian Sung. To portray Pu’s calligraphy skills convincingly, Tseng studied with a master calligrapher for almost half a year. “I needed to not only write talismans accurately, but also beautifully,” he says.
As Tseng elaborates on the lengths he goes to in order to immerse himself in his roles, it begs the question if he considers himself a method actor. “No one can fully become their characters, except maybe Heath Ledger, when he played The Joker in The Dark Knight,” he says, firmly rejecting this notion. “But I do prepare for my roles by reading the script over and over again to familiarise myself with the characters. I also feel that it’s necessary to keep a part of the real me while acting. After all, when a director chooses you for the role, it means they see parts of the character in you, even if you can’t see it yourself.”
Shirt, Louis Vuitton. Top, stylist’s own.Tseng Jing-hua
It has been four years since he made his acting debut as one of the leads in the supernatural flick Detention. Tseng, who had originally wanted to pursue a swimming career, changed his major to film when his high school academic results did not meet the criteria. Music was the other option—he played the saxophone and was encouraged by his father and music teacher to take it further. But he never considered music seriously as a career though he enjoyed being part of the high school band. Instead, the self-professed film buff chose to do his bachelor’s degree in Film & Television at I-Shou University in Kaohsiung.
While learning about ins and outs of film production, Tseng participated in a student drama production which led to him auditioning for one of the lead roles in Detention, a psychological horror film based on the popular video game of same name developed by Taiwanese game developer Red Candle Games. He says, “The game was all the rage back then. My friends were very excited when they heard about the audition. While I knew my chances were slim, I thought I would give it a go.” To his surprise, he got the role. When he met director John Hsu, he asked him: “Why did you choose someone like me who is young, naive, with no acting experience?” Hsu replied that these were exactly the qualities he was looking for in an actor for his debut film. The director’s eye for talent proved to be on the money—Tseng received a Best New Performer nomination at the 2019 Golden Horse Awards.
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Blazer; trousers, CELINE. Shoes, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.Tseng Jing-hua
He certainly has a knack for choosing plum roles even though he claims he does not have his career plan all mapped out. “I believe in working on the present, and keeping myself happy today,” he says. “I don’t overthink about what will happen tomorrow. Rather, I give my best to my current jobs and enjoy my personal time to the fullest,” he says. He is currently working on two projects, one of which is a comedy centred on kinship, slated for release in August. Personal time is a luxury at the moment. “After working for more than 12 hours at a stretch, all I want to do is shower and sleep,” he says with a laugh. When he does have pockets of free time, he prefers to spend it with his old mates. “I still hang out with my high school friends. We meet up, chat about life, and sometimes, I cook danbing (egg pancakes). For my next break, I hope to travel somewhere I have never been before, and experience different cultures.” Singapore is definitely on that list. “I hope to visit Singapore as a tourist—and not for work,” he says. “I would really like to explore Marina Bay Sands, and try some pandan cake.”
Jacket; shirt; shorts, Ferragamo.Tseng Jing-hua
Photographed by Reuben FoongStyled by Navin PillayTranslator: Shi MinPhotographer’s assistant: Ku Po LunGrooming: Chiu Chi-WeiHair: Jae Chen using Kevin.MurphySpecial thanks to The House on Sathorn
