“Useless Brother” Lai Hongen goes all out in the horror film Gu Jiang, known as the “Encyclopedia of Black Magic,” delivering his most daring performance yet with a bathtub full-nude scene. Laughing about his “huge sacrifice,” he even revealed that he “didn’t wear any underwear” during filming, shyly joking that the director “saw my butt many times,” instantly making him the focus of the press conference. Philip Keung expressed that films about ‘black magic’ have become rare in recent years, so he’s very confident about the box office, boldly vowing, “If box office breaks 50 million ringgit, we’ll all strip together!”
Jointly produced by Malaysia and Thailand, Gu Jiang premieres nationwide today. Directors Ng Pei Gee and Yang Junlin led a multinational cast at the media screening on the 18th—including Hong Kong actor Philip Keung, Thai sensation ‘Kao’ Supassara Thanachat, Malaysian Best Actor Bront Palarae, Huang Shiqi, Lai Hongen, Singaporean actor Yung Qi Hang, and Ma Yiduo—to share behind-the-scenes stories and their experiences with cross-border collaborations.
Having debuted 10 years ago, Lai Hongen recently shot to fame after his brother “K-lau” unexpectedly went viral in a Chinese New Year vlog. In Gu Jiang, Lai plays a lustful and playful YouTuber, joking that the character is “a bit like” his real self—“useless.” He quipped: “I’m literally the laziest person in the whole crew, all I think about is picking up girls, which is kind of true in real life, too.” Immediately backtracking, he added: “Only kind of!” He further explained what he means by “useless”: “When you get home, aren’t we all a little useless? Right?”
Speaking about performing fully nude, he admitted it was stressful: “This is my first time acting nude with not even underwear on. It was a big challenge for me.” When Yung Qi Hang teased him about whether filming was fun, he quickly shook his head: “Not fun at all! Two big guys—the director and the cinematographer—just kept staring at me and telling me how to pose. It was super embarrassing.” He also laughed that he wouldn’t take on such bold roles again: “I really want to wear my underwear back next time.” He said he hopes audiences remember the film itself—not just his “underwear.”
Philip Keung plays a sorcerer in the film and revealed the biggest challenge was speaking in different languages. Because his character is a Thai Chinese, the director asked him to speak entirely in Mandarin and Thai—not Cantonese. “Both of those languages were tough for me!” He admitted he was initially very nervous, but once into character, things became more natural. Sharing unforgettable experiences during filming, he described how the crew visited local shamans in Thailand to learn black magic rituals. One shaman even let him try a kind of potion said to “melt objects.” He bravely held out his hand, and the potion felt like nothing on his skin, but when the liquid dripped onto the ground and his shoe, it caused a corrosive effect—something he still finds incredible.
“Kao” Supassara Thanachat said that acting in English throughout the film was a big challenge for her: “At the time, my English wasn’t that good, but my role required lots of English lines, and I also had to deal with Chinese. It was all very new and challenging.” She laughed and said her English has improved a lot since.
Yung Qi Hang had many scenes with Kao. He joked that his role was “the most unique”: “Everyone else got cursed, but I was hit with her ‘love curse’—wherever she goes, I follow.” When asked if he was charmed by her in real life, he said they’re good friends but graciously called her beautiful. He also revealed they often relied on translation apps to communicate while filming. When pressed by the media if Kao was his “ideal type,” he laughed that the question felt like a “trap” but candidly responded, “She’s straightforward and beautiful, why not?”
Huang Shiqi was rumored that Gu Jiang would be her last on-screen performance, which she confirmed. She will now shift her focus fully to behind-the-scenes work. She revealed that for the past three years, she’s balanced both acting and production, making her extremely busy, so now she’ll concentrate on producing, investing, and artist management—to give more opportunities to new generation actors.