Those who watch Cantonese drama will no doubt know of Roger Kwok Chun On. A familiar face on TVB, Kwok has starred in many series and achieved stardom in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia, including Malaysia.

He has even won the TVB Best Actor award three times, a feat that only two other actors – Gallen Lo and Wayne Lai – can match.

But Kwok revealed that the road to stardom was rocky in the 1990s. He hit rock bottom in the mid 1990s after appearing in the series The Tangible Truth, which received low ratings. Coupled with issues with his management company, Kwok decided to leave Hong Kong showbiz to seek employment elsewhere.

However, his career never took off overseas. At his lowest, Kwok said it was fellow actor Kent Cheng – best known for his role as Fei Mao in the 1985 film Why Me? – who helped him get back on his feet.

“He approached me to act in Warrior Period, it was really tough and I’ve never taken on such a difficult role before," Kwok, now 57, said of the 1997 drama.

"Every day, (Kent) would inculcate a lot of positive thinking in me, teaching me how to deal with the entertainment industry.

"He said, ‘You have to recall what it was like at your very first day at work, how your mentality was like then, curious and excited about everything, to re-ignite that fire in your heart,” Kwok recalled, adding that he owes it to Cheng who constantly motivated him when he was down.

Kwok returned to TVB in 1998 and has stayed with the company since.

Cheng, 71, is still active in showbiz; he last starred opposite Louis Koo in the 2021 action flick Once Upon A Time In Hong Kong.