Li Nanxing on why he focuses on managing his artistes instead of acting

For decades, Li Nanxing has been a big star on local television, and in recent years, he's gone into the food & beverage business, creating new dishes in collaborations with restaurants Bakers & Co, TungLok Group and Ippudo.

In addition, he also has a talent management company LNX Global, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with a company trip to Hong Kong. The stable of artistes include Constance Song, Vivian Lai, Shane Pow, Julie Tan and Mino Song.

AsiaOne spoke to the veteran local actor yesterday (Oct 16), where he said he's currently focused on managing the artistes and acting is secondary for him.

Nanxing, who turns 59 next month, elaborated frankly: "I am interested and willing to act, but it depends on the script. My priority is to take care of my artistes and seek opportunities they want.

"I have received invitations but I feel I am not suitable for those roles. Modern drama is more concise, and viewers may watch the first and last episodes before deciding if they will watch a drama series. So, the industry seems to expect a different style of acting nowadays, something that goes straight to the point.

"Eastern and Western styles of acting are different. My own style is more Eastern, so it's slower and drags on for a longer time."

'If I buy new ones, I would have to throw away many things'

Nanxing, together with Julie, Shane and Mino, attended the inaugural Youth Eco-Arts festival (YEAF) held at Youth Park on Saturday (Oct 14).

That day, 14 eco-outfits created by fashion and design students from Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), Millennial Institute Raffles College of Higher Education and Temasek Polytechnic were showcased.

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Also displayed were eco-art installations repurposed from old materials and made from design ideas provided by students from Raffles College of Higher Education and through collated feedback from youths.

Nanxing felt that it was very creative of the artists to make art installations and costumes from recycled materials, and he was especially impressed by the dazzling outfits.

In his personal life, apart from using recycling bags and metal straws, he also reuses items as vases and containers for his plants.

Nanxing shared: "They look nice after some designing. If I buy new ones, I would have to throw away many things and create waste, so I would rather reuse things."

'Most of us wouldn't go through such a hassle if we were on a vacation'

Recently, he and the talents and staff from LNX Global went to Hong Kong to film a travelogue, which he shared would be released in around one to two weeks' time.

Besides sharing that Hong Kong is ideal for shopping and dining, he added: "We mainly went to places we have not been to before. I wanted to see natural scenery, while the younger people wanted more Insta-worthy things.

"We went to a little fishing village where there are boats and fishermen. It took us more than an hour to get through mountainous areas to get there. Most of us wouldn't go through such a hassle if we were on a vacation."

He also revealed that they filmed on the trams and needed to apply for permits to do that.

As he was in charge of food on that trip, Nanxing led the team to nostalgic eating places like char chaan teng (Hong Kong-style cafes) and old-school dim sum restaurants.

He seemed fond of a habit that Hong Kongers have, saying: "They are used to sharing tables, as it is part of their unique food culture. The cafes are usually crowded and they need to eat and leave hurriedly, so sharing tables is common and I got used to it."

However, he observed that his younger artistes seem to have a greater obsession with health than he does: "I realised they can be quite choosy about what they eat. They may not like greasy food. For example, I ordered an authentic roast duck, and they said it was 'too greasy' and to regain their figure, they would have to 'abstain from eating for the next two days'.

"I felt that they should try the authentic dish since they were there. The restaurant can't possibly make it less oily anyway, so they just had to put the fats aside."

At the same time, Nanxing recognised the commitment that his team displayed towards their assignment.

In the first two days of their trip, they couldn't go out due to Typhoon Koinu, resulting in them having to complete the filming in the next three days.

Nanxing said: "They were very committed and efficient. Young people capture visuals very quickly, I won't be able to do so… We work together, and I seek their help for technology and social media-related things these days."

On turning 60 next year, Nanxing has no particular plans and prefers to go with the flow.

"Every year, I am growing, and I cannot predict what will happen each year. I don't do much planning in particular. My present mission is to have joint ventures with those who have the expertise and nurture my artistes, for example, collaborating with tour agencies whom my artistes will conduct tours for."

YEAF is organised by MCC International in partnership with Somerset Belt, powered by National Youth Council and supported by *Scape.

The eco-art installations will be displayed at the Youth Park in *Scape until Nov 5, while the eco-outfits will be on display at 111 Somerset till Nov 5.

ALSO READ: 'We're quite thick-skinned': Shane Pow on challenging Li Nanxing, Vivian Lai and others to 'wave at strangers' in Hong Kong

jolynn.chia@asiaone.com

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