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February 02 2009 19:18 by Patpoh

“Being yourself” has never been easy.
This is especially so in the Entertainment industry where two kinds of ability is required.
One is the ability to recognise your own talent among the crowd
The other is the ability to charge forward even when reality is cruel to you.
Putting it simply, it means, you must be clever enough. And brave enough.
Joe Chen has both of these abilities.
She has been a laughing out loud variety show artiste and also a sweet smiling idol singer.
In both areas, she showed good results, but till now,
Joe is still adamant on being an actress and paving a route for herself.
Today, Joe is termed as the Rating Queen of Taiwan, with ratings that are unbreakable till now.
From her, we learn what’s “there’s more to come” and from her, we see that as long as we’re courageous enough to face up to ourselves, and determined enough to stick till the end, we will one day manage to reap the good fruits that we sowed and get results from the sacrifices we had to make.

Joe Chen – Not a Sticky Note Girl.
Be bold to love, be bold to dream

I didn't expect the interview to start from movies. Joe who once admitted that she was "a girl of few words" and say "cold stuff" started to review movies excitedly when the topic was on the recent movies. It was like how once the computer “beeps”, a lot of windows started to pop out. “I’m a movie-lover. My favourite topic is about movies! And I will read the novels that those movies get adapted from.” “A recent movie that I watched was “Twilight" because the director is Jewish, the movie carries a lot of love and peace. The scenes are pretty well connected. I’ll give it a 3 star recommendation….” (This discussion lasted a full non-stop 5 minutes).

Listening to her serious and quite professional review, I joked “Why don’t you write a movie review column for us then”. Unexpectedly, Joe immediately did a self-recommendation. “If your magazine really is starting some review column, you can really invite me. I really want to be a movie reviewer. I’m serious.”

On-screen’s Joe is an outgoing extrovert who sometimes even comes across as a blur girl. However, after hearing her recount her favourite dramas, I realised how she has actually build up a very complete internal world – one that’s logical, serious and meaningful.

How different is her on-screen personality and her actual one? Joe answered that “I’m definitely not the sticky note girl Chen Xin Yi in ‘Fated to Love You’ ! I’m a very self-centred person.”

From variety show artiste to an actress – Determine and never giving up

Acting is what she’s most adamant about. This is the one thing that’s imprinted in her, something that she always wanted to do and definitely not a sticky note that can be easily thrown away.

When Joe just entered the industry, she was set as a variety show artiste and host. Regarding the company’s various arrangement, she could only obey but not choose. Recounting that period, she mentioned how during the filming of a game show, she was once thrown into the waters from a one-storey high place. When asked if she was upset, she responded “At that time, my thought was, gone. Will I die?!” Regarding the pain caused by the momentum when hitting the water, she described it as “Even when crying for a drama, my tears has never dropped that fast.” However, Joe put up with all of that. “You have to climb up shore yourself. No one will care about you. Wearing your swimming costume with your whole hair wet and your eye liner and other makeup all in a mess, you still have to continue to laugh, fool around and complete the whole recording.”

A physically tiring job is still okay. What’s worse is an act that’s emotionally draining. During the girl pop idol group “7 Flowers” period, Joe was converted into the image of a little princess. Not only did she have to sing and dance at the same time, she still had to keep up a smile on her face and pretend to be sweet. She mentioned that in reality, she didn’t like that image of herself because the dance wasn’t suited for her age and hence made her felt very awkward.

As a variety show host, Joe managed to build up a name for herself and earn a income but behind that fame, Joe was actually always struggling with abandoning her own dream. “I entered the entertainment circle not to be an artiste and not to be a star. I only wanted to be an actress!” she said determinedly. Due to her determination to act, she once gave up on hosting and this resulted in her being frozen by her agency. She went through a period of self-denial.

“At that time, I thought that if I ever have the chance to act, I will definitely give my all to do my best!” Joe treasured the opportunities that came her way. During the filming period, not only does she memorize her lines, she also goes to the production room to watch the view the drama. She will observe her own performance from the various angles before the cutting and joining of scenes. All for the sake of a perfect performance. This is probably what the saying “First bitter then sweet” means. It does not necessarily refer to how after you have been through a period of bitterness, your luck will suddenly change but rather…. After the bitter experience, a person will be inspired to strive harder. By trying harder, naturally, there are better results.

Recalling her difficult past where she was selling her smile and even her life, even the stylist at the side couldn’t help but ask “But don’t you find that very cold-blooded?” Joe however answered maturely and resolutely “There’s no choice. I chose this career path so what rights do I have to be picky? If you can’t do it, you can just go home already. What’s the point of entering?”

Not born with the life of a princess – A female fighter that can do everything herself

“My family wasn’t rich so I had to work harder.” Joe said. Joe was brought up under the hitting and scolding education system and this caused her and her mother to be distant from each other. Joe built up the habit of relying on herself and not be a cry baby depending on her mother. She said “When I see how some newcomers are too well-protected, unwilling to do this and unwilling to do that, saying ‘Ah, I don’t want to do this …. (Acting out a female crying voice)’, I will think about how that is unacceptable. How will they be able to face the difficulties of the future? I find them quite pitiful because they don’t have the strength to face up to all these.”

She recounted how she was moving house one midnight and was unable to find a home mover company. In the end, she went back to her house at HsinChu and drove up the small family lorry (That’s very man) up to Taipei and moved all her furniture by herself. I asked “Seriously, no one helped you?!” She jokingly answered “Yup, I’m as strong as an ox!”

There was a period of time where she often went to the KTV herself. When the serviceman asks for the headcount, she will pretend that her friends are late and nonchalantly answer “4 person, a small room. Thank you!” In reality, she’s alone the whole time. In the small room, she will hit the high notes that she don’t usually hit and she will even act as a host to bring up the atmosphere. Although she is so “high”, the serviceman will still keep using the excuse of clearing the plates to enter the room to check on her. She laughed and said “In the future, those rooms should have a lock!”

Once, her assistant was overly concern about her and Joe being very straightforward half joked “Do you have obsessive-compulsive-disorder?” Her assistant cried immediately. Joe declared “Girls are like that. Very troublesome.” During the conversation you can often see a distinction between “Them/Girls” and “Me”. She often seems to forget that she’s a girl too. This kind of strong headedness depicts how her internal world is like. But, does she also has her weak side? There must be a point in time where she will want to rely on others and lay her head on her boyfriend’s shoulders!

Love of utmost importance – Give birth at 35

“I feel that everyone has a lonely and weak side of them. I cannot be independent forever if not how can I manage to act out those crying scenes?! I have a feminine side too.” When discussing relationships, Joe admits that she cannot maintain a superwoman position. She still hopes for someone to love her, to dote on her. “However, the males I’ve been with all like my more strong headed personality. If I’m gentler, they might not be with me!” Joe quickly added. Where love is concerned, Joe still has an “attitude”. Just like with her work, she sticks to her beliefs.

Currently, she spends most of her time in mainland filming and with her Australian boyfriend Michael, they spend more time separated than together. Many will ask her “Aren’t you worried?” and she will answer “If love is something that makes me worry, then I will rather not have it!” Joe feels very fortunate that her boyfriend respects her work and currently, the two will talk on the phone everyday. Although she is busy with work, she won’t forget her love.

“Love is a very crucial part of me. What I do now paves the way for a perfect ending chapter for my love. I hope that by 35, I will have enough money for me to start a family and then I can spend time bringing up my children.” Joe who seems like a workaholic now revealed for the first time that her current efforts are all actually for the final aim of starting a family.

She revealed that she might not marry but she definitely wants children. “It’s amazing how women have wombs! It is a sacred mission for all women! If we don’t give birth, what’s the point in being a woman? Some males want to do it but they can’t…. In this lifetime, I will definitely try at least once what’s actually having a life inside you.” When discussing family, Joe definitely is very agreeable with the “female” identity and even has a strong mother nature, being a very female person among all females.

Happy to be herself, Looks at life in a humorous manner

Being out for 7 years, Joe has slowly progressed from the little girl on screen who often laughs foolishly on screen and is used as the dartboard for water bombs to a real actress that was nominated for the Golden Bell. Joe has been through the humorous, series, determined, weak, sweet, unique, feminine side of life. In life, she has slowly grew up to be someone that she herself likes.

She’s more adamant now about what she loves and for what she doesn’t love, she has learned to accept. Regarding the revelation that she used to be an alcohol addict during the period where she was down, Joe explained that it was a drinking wine to make herself relax story that was exaggerated into a story of being an alcohol addict. It makes her very frustrated too. Now, she’s able to openly declare “In the future, if I ever drink myself drunk, I will do it at home.” And then she continued to make a small complaint of how “Now I can’t go to KTV alone anymore! There will be reports of how I’m ill!” Faced with all the sniggers and talks that come along with popularity, she has built up the mature attitude of “I’ve been through this kind of thing.”

Right now, Joe is a entertainer from deep inside her. She is able to openly and face up to the pain that she went through before humorously and humour herself to humour others. She’s a true entertainer that can “turn bitterness into joy” and a good actress that can “find joy in what she does”.

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