'Heavenly king' Leon Lai takes director's mantle in new film

Actor Zhang Hanyu. Leon Lai's directorial debut, Wine War, will feature Lai, supermodel-turned-actress Du Juan and veteran actor Zhang Hanyu in major roles.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"Lai was fast and decisive," Huang says. "He did not look like a newcomer. He is very demanding when it comes to storytelling, which is rarely seen in stars who turn to direction."

In his early days, Lai was trained by Hong Kong's Television Broadcasts Limited, a kind of West Point for megastars.

Lai first shot to prominence as a singer in the mid-1980s, and began to star in films only in the early 1990s.

He won the best actor prize at Taiwan's Golden Horse awards for Three: Going Home in 2002, and received international acclaim for Peter Chan's romance Comrades: Almost a Love Story, a favorite at many festivals.

In the past decades, Lai also invested in a series of movies, such as Leaving Me, Loving Me, and shot a few music videos.

"I have done a lot of film making and accumulated a lot of experience from acting. But I always wanted to be a director," Lai says.

"For me, it is a great risk to start in a new field, because after the screening there will be many diverse voices, including negative ones. But I am ready for that," says the star, who has seen many ups and downs.