DIRECT FROM HONG KONG: Julian Cheung Chilam might be turning 45 in a
little over a month, but the singer-actor can still give his younger
counterparts a run for their money when it comes to his looks.
His
ability to maintain his youthful countenance is likely the reason why
the Hong Kong star has been appointed by Japanese beauty brand FANCL as
their first male ambassador. The brand withdrew from Singapore in March
2014 but re-entered the market this year with Isetan as their partner.
Toggle
was invited on a trip to their headquarters in Hong Kong earlier this
week and was given a peek at the brand’s operations and stores, along
with a chance to speak to Julian himself.
As we stepped into the
room, the first thing we noticed was how the 44-year-old’s skin glowed,
with him attributing his flawless skin to having collagen twice a day
(after lunch and dinner), along with taking special care of keeping his
face cleansed and moisturised.
Julian expressed that to him, looking after his looks is more than
just for the sake of himself – he feels that it’s a part of being
professional as an artiste. Sharing that his wife, fellow actress Anita
Yuen, also takes special care in looking after her appearance, he
chuckled that she has to spend a little more time to be able to maintain
her mien.
In fact, she’s so serious about her beauty regimen that
Julian was once reprimanded for trying to rush her into speeding things
up a little. “She’s pretty scary when she gets upset, so after
experiencing it once, I’ve never tried to rush her again. I’d rather
find other ways to entertain myself instead,” he deadpanned.
The
same applies to Anita when she’s out shopping, something that his
nine-year-old son Morton has somehow caught on to. “In this aspect, my
son and I are on the same channel and we’ll quietly wait for her or fall
asleep (while she’s shopping)… We sometimes wait until we’re just about
to turn into diamonds,” he grinned wryly.
The power couple is
known to be fiercely protective of their son’s privacy, but accidentally
caught Morton on camera when they broadcasted on Facebook Live while on
a family vacation in Italy. Julian shared that while he isn’t against
his son making joint appearances with him on programmes, he feels that
now is not the time.
“He’s still a student, and kids at this age
shouldn’t be exposed to that much attention,” he philosophised.
“Everyone knows that he’s our son and may follow him on Instagram
because of this – but that isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
Apart from posting pictures of himself and the things around him,
Morton has also posted snaps of his celeb parents, which has caused
Julian to pay special attention to his son’s social media account. He
explained, “I was jumping from a high place into the water and thought
it was pretty cool so I asked Morton to take photos for me, but I didn’t
know that he’d post it on Instagram.”
“When I checked my
Instagram feed, I saw a chubby looking person’s back view and only
realised it was me after I took a closer look. That photo made me look
fat and not my usual self, so I asked him to delete it,” Julian
continued.
Eagle-eyed netizens, however, had already taken
screenshots of the photo and the snap even made it onto the news. “My
son didn’t know why the photo wasn’t a good one and why he couldn’t post
it online. I had to explain it to him, but I didn’t reprimand him for
it because he didn’t do anything wrong. The one who did wrong was me,
because I didn’t work out enough!” he chuckled.
As for whether
he’ll consider allowing Morton to follow in his parents’ footsteps and
join showbiz, Julian mused, “He’s still young so we don’t know what he’s
good at yet and whether showbiz is for him.” While he won’t encourage
him to step into the limelight, neither will this protective father stop
his son from realising his dreams, should he decide to become a
celebrity.
Having spent much of his youth striving to better his
career, Julian admitted that his future plans will include slowing down
and spending more time with his family. He also added that he’s
currently working to having a second child, explaining, “Technology is
so advanced these days and everyone seems to be living well. I think I
have the ability to look after more children, so having a few more won’t
be a problem.”