Beauty beyond words

When Wang talks about the two-month shoot, she uses the word "emotional" and becomes very serious. "I felt speechless for those two months," she says.

There is one scene in the film that has Mei Mei falling in love with the abandoned bus, and dancing and walking in the rain. Wang considers that a classic scene.

Director Joshun Tong says that when he decided to use Wang, he had not seen her in Starting from Scratch. What impressed him most was Wang's inner power when she walked in with a red photo album. "She looked innocent and clean but I could feel her restlessness and stubbornness," he says.

The director says that her role required rich facial expressions and eye contact. He is all praise for Wang's hard work.

The actress from Inner Mongolia grew up without any intentions of becoming a movie star but came under the influence of her mother and an older sister who studies dancing in Beijing. Her mother was keen on an acting career for Wang and encouraged her to apply to the Beijing Film Academy in 2001. "My mother is good at acting. I think she is better than me," she says.

"When my sister studied in Beijing, she sent me a pair of shoes but they were the wrong size. I really loved the shoes so I wanted to change them immediately. That was the first time I began thinking of going to Beijing."

Wang says that she likes to watch herself on TV, reviewing her performance. "I am not afraid of looking at myself on screen because it helps me to improve," she says.

"But my parents scrutinize my acting even more closely. They will play the series again and again and then compare me with the other actors."

The actress attributes her success to her "tremendous luck" with TV series. "You never know what's going to be a hit," she admits.

"You just try to pick the best you can from what's available and work with people that inspire you."

Today, the roles have gotten bigger and the fan base larger, but not much has changed about Wang. She is just as unpretentious, curious, witty and straightforward as before..

Wang cut her long hair for her latest TV series Volleyball Girls. She also released her first single this September, called Tears of An Ice Cream. "Basically, I am trying to find a look that people will find different," she says.

(China Daily 10/14/2008 page20)