MANILA, Philippines—2bU! recently bagged an exclusive interview with two of the hottest Asian heartthrobs, Wu Chun and Calvin Chen. The two make half of the Taiwanese singing sensation Fahrenheit, which, next to F4, is the most famous male group in Taiwan and Asia.
Chun and Calvin are also the lead stars in ABS-CBN’s Romantic Princess. They arrived on June 12 (Saturday) for a three-day stay in Manila to promote the last two weeks of the series and to meet their fans.
In Fahrenheit terms (despite the rainy season in Manila), Chun and Calvin got a truly hot summer welcome from screaming fans who had waited for their arrival at the airport and faithfully watched them guest in different ABS-CBN shows on Saturday and Sunday. The fans even sang along with them—in Chinese!
Please tell us your experiences in doing “Romantic Princess.”
Chun: It made us feel very rich … rich for young kids. (laughs)
Calvin: But sometimes, money cannot buy everything.
Chun: Yeah. The storyline shows that (money) cannot buy you happiness.
Calvin: Although (our characters) are rich, we have our own problems, worries … Like for me (his character Ralph), I’m rich but (when it comes to my friends), I’m not sure what they really want from me. When I’m rich, I go out and spend money and have fun with them, but if I don’t have money, they just don’t contact me anymore. So if you’re rich, you have to think more …
What do you think made “Romantic Princess” a huge hit across Asia?
Chun: Because the story is about love, relationships, family, friends, and there are some very touching scenes, and (there are also) very funny scenes. So that’s a great combination, and it’s fun to watch with family or with friends. That’s why the audience response is not bad.
Calvin: And because some scenes are about what happens in your daily life.
Are there specific similarities between your roles in “Romantic Princess” and your personality?
Chun: (I can relate to) Jin’s drive for his own career. He wants to do something on his own. What I’m doing now is a bit similar to what he’s doing.
Calvin: My character (Ralph) and I are very outgoing. He likes to make friends, he’s very gentle, a gentleman to his friends, (whether they’re) guys or girls. That’s the thing my dad has always taught me—to be nice and gentle to your friends.
So, you’re the outgoing type?
Chun: Yeah, very outgoing. (smiles)
Calvin: (laughs) He thinks I’m too talkative.
Is that true?
Chun: (laughs) He’s very outgoing, yeah.
Does that mean you’re more of the serious type?
Chun: Me, uhm, sometimes …
Calvin: Sometimes. (nods)
You have your own (fitness gym) business, right?
Chun: Yes.
How would you compare your experience managing a business to being part of show business?
Chun: I think there are some similarities, like when you’re managing a business, you make sure you show everyone you’re hardworking, so your staff will (be hardworking like you). If you’re an artist, you need to show the world you are doing the right things. You want to be a good example for people so that you can influence them, encourage them.
So you want to be a good influence on people?
Calvin: Yeah.
Chun: That’s very important.
When you’re not taping or doing shows, what do you usually do?
Calvin: Just common things … going out for a movie, dining out with friends, chit chat …
Chun: Very seldom … If we do … Cause we have lots of friends before coming into this business. But now, seeing them twice a year (has become) very hard.
Twice a year?
Calvin: Yeah! Before, my friends call me on weekends—“Hey what’s up? Where are we going tonight?” But now, they don’t call me anymore! (laughs) They say, “You’re so busy, why should we call you? Why bother?” (Chun agrees by nodding his head and laughing with Calvin.)
We watched your interview at (ABS-CBN’s) Entertainment Live yesterday, and you said that you both don’t have girlfriends. Are you at least going out on dates?
Calvin: (smiles) No time. Really, during weekends, we just send e-mails to our friends. That’s good enough for us. We don’t expect too much. (laughs)
Chun: Yeah. They’re also worried that if (the press) sees them, they might (be in the news, like), she’s probably his girlfriend …
Calvin: Yeah, and even if we have girlfriends right now, I don’t think it’s fair to the girls because we don’t have much time. We just go overseas all the time.
Chun: They’ll get mad. (laughs)
You have upcoming shows, right?
Calvin: Yeah. (The Fahrenheit) will have a World Tour Concert starting September.
Do you think it’s possible for you to do a concert in the Philippines?
Chun: Hope so! (smiles)
Calvin: We’ll ask our company about that after this trip.
So before we end this interview, we’d just like to play a little game with you. We’re going to say a word, and then you’ll tell us the first thing that comes to your mind without thinking much. Are you ready?
Chun: Okay.
Food.
Chun: Banana. (laughs)
Calvin: Seafood.
Beach.
Chun: Brunei
Calvin: Sunshine!
Sports.
Chun: Basketball!
Calvin: Basketball.
Cars. Chun: Lamborghini.
Calvin: Racing.
Country. Chun: Brunei.
Calvin: Canada.
Love.
Chun: Family.
Calvin: (beams) Treasure.
Women.
Chun: Women, uh, uh, best friend. (laughs)
Calvin: (smiles, then laughs hard) Sexy.
Perfume.
Chun: Uh, perfume, mood.
Calvin: Cologne.
Dream.
Chun: Courage.
Calvin: Dream … comes true.
The latest news from ABS-CBN is that Wu Chun will be joining F4’s Jerry Yan in a new series called Hot Shots, and the series may start airing in the network by the last quarter of this year.
Visit http://www.abs-cbn.com.
E-mail lhenparedes@gmail.com.
Wu Chun (or Wu Zun)
This laidback looker is the oldest and last member to join Fahrenheit. He was born on Oct. 10, 1979 in Brunei, and continued his college studies in RMIT University in Australia. Chun manages a gym, Fitness Zone, in Brunei.
Fast Facts: Height: 181 cm Weight: 73 kg Zodiac Sign: Libra Previous jobs: model, basketball player Languages Spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Malay and Hokkien (whew!) Represents: Mysterious, 56 degrees for autumn Other Trivia: some of his businesses have Filipinos as employees. He loves food but stays in shape with regular workouts, has three tattoos (two on the upper right arm and one on the lower leg), and is a fanatic of Michael Jordan, whose final-ever game he got to watch. John Claude Pagdanganan
Calvin Chen
Born in Taiwan on Nov. 10, 1980, Calvin went to Canada to finish college, obtaining a Master’s degree in the University of Victoria. He then won first place at the Sunshine Boyz tilt in Vancouver, which got him on a plane to Taiwan. In the country, he quickly signed up for a recording contract and a TV role, and the rest is Fahrenheit history.
Fast Facts:
Height: 184 cm
Weight: 65 kg
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
Previous jobs: commercial model
Languages Spoken: Mandarin, English, Hokkien
Represents: Handsome, 77 degrees for spring
Other Trivia: He plays the piano and is currently studying Public Finance despite the band’s hectic schedule.
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