[Ta Kung Pao]

Talking of Cindy Au, what do you think of?
Roger Kwok's girlfriend, singer of the theme to Children's programme 'Chibi Maruko' (Siu Yuen chi), TVB artiste...
Although she has many different identities, the one that usually springs to mind is that of being girlfriend to Roger. Although she does not want to talk too much about her boyfriend, the truth is that since she started dating him, her profile has been raised and this has lead to her work increasing as well.

Setting out as a singer, Cindy chose to start acting when her record company closed down and although the pressure in acting is not as great as singing, she still hopes to be able to go back to her roots. She says: "Both acting and singing make me happy, but singing is ultimately my original path and I was doing quite well, gaining some newcomer awards in 2001. If I have the chance, I hope that I can build on these good foundations and gain some good results." However, Cindy understands that being a singer now is not the same as it once was, due to the changes in the music industry and the fall in value of the singing star. As a result, much as she wishes to return to singing, she daren't wish too hard and will go along with the flow.

This is the second year that Cindy has moved over to acting from singing and as she has never had any formal acting training, she has to learn as she goes along. At first, it was quite hard work but things are starting to fall into place now. She says: "Taking 'Lady Fan' for example, I had a lot of complicated lines that were all about numerology and when I get nervous I will forget all my lines. Luckily, Wai Ka Hung took great care in teaching me and when he saw me looking puzzled, he would help me out and tell me how to relax because I was acting too rigidly. I am very thankful to him! (Has your boyfriend taught you anything?) He has also been teaching me, but he is often busy with his own work. He has told me to use what I learn and flow in my performance."

Although her time in actual acting is still short, Cindy has had many chances to perform such as in the recent 'Lady Fan' and 'Vigilante in the Mask'. As her roles grow larger, she has become happier and hopes that she can make more series in the future and increase her value. When asked what characters she would like to do, she smiles: "Actually my age is no longer that young, but I have a baby face and I get given a lot of 'little sister' roles. I hope that I can leap out of the little sister roles soon. I would most like to perform in a blind girl's role because expression in the eyes is very important in acting and to act without the aid of the eye expression is another level of acting skill."

In order not to restrict her acting path, Cindy has been trying to make herself look more mature. As well as adding hair extensions, she is no longer speaking with a high pitched voice as she purposely drives down her tone to remove the innocence from her voice. Also, she has been reading up on etiquette. She says: "I like to read psychology books. (Do you hope to understand your boyfriend and control him?) No, it is to help with my acting because to play a role, you have to understand the humanity behind it. Also it will help me in real life to deal with other people. (Have you increased the understanding with your boyfriend?) Him? He is already in the palm of my hands!" Cindy feels that you should not just concentrate on holding onto your boyfriend. A lot of bosses are men as well and if you can further understand them, then your own work will go more smoothly.

Reporter: San San

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-2-22/UL-231066.htm