411: Kenneth Ma

Name : Kenneth Ma
Chinese Name: 馬國明
Vietnamese Name: Mã Quốc Minh
Nickname : MA KUNG KWOK MING, MA MING, MA JAI
Birthday: Feb 13, 1974
Horoscope: Aquarius
Height: 183cm (6 ft)
Weight: 72kg (159 lb)
Family Status: Father, Mother, 2 twin sisters

Ancestry: Chaozhou (Chiu Chow/Teochew), Guangdong
Address: Secret
Education Background :

Delia International School
Douglas College (Vancouver)
University of British Columbia (Canada) – Mechanical Engineering
Salesian English School

Entrance into ET industry: TVB’s 14^th-term Actor training class (1999)
TVB award (s): 2006 Most Improved Male actor (11/10/2006)

Fav. Sport: soccer
Fav. Soccer Team: Real Madrid, Manchester United, AC Milan
Fav. Food: sea food, Japanese cuisine
Fav. Drink: Lemon iced tea (Chinese)
Fav. Colour: Black, white, blue, grey
Fav. Collection/Cartoon: Donald Duck
Fav. Actors: Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung, Sean Lau
Fav. Actresses: Yung Mei Ling, Idy Chan Yuk Lin, Jacqueline Wu (Ng Sin Lin)
Fav. Singer: Leslie Cheung (Kenneth is in his fans club), Akina Nakamori, Noriko Sakai (During his young days, Japanese music was very popular)
Fav. Series (he was in): Scavenger’s Paradise (almost mentioned he liked his role as Tim in Love Guaranteed)

Hobbies: Singing, playing soccer

Role Models: Benz Hui, Sean Lau, Wayne Lai
Friends in the industry: Roger Kwok, Wayne Lai, Hui Siu Hung, Power Chan, Sharon Chan, Rain Li, Halina Tam and many others
Classmates from TVB training class: Yip Wai, Ho Chi Cheung, Wong Siu Ping, Karen Lee etc…

Roles he wants to Portray: Gay, mentally disordered, one w/ a love affair with older woman, evil…. some really unusual characters
Ideal type of girl: Have to get along, He does not care if the girl is older, would be nice if she makes good soup, looks pretty to him, long hair, tiny (physical size), gentle/feminine, but can’t be too shy or quiet

Ideal type of style: tanks with caps

Wants: to make more money, buy a house for his family, get married and have children

His characteristics:
1. Shy but self centered (defined directly from Chinese, but means more like takes care of/cares about himself, not selfish)
2. Easily anxious, sweats easily
3. More of a logical person, not emotional enough
4. Hard working and good at saving money
5. Neat (his room is the neatest place in the house)
6. Thrifty (Fans discovered that Ma Ming still uses his old and inexpensive Nokia cell phone now)
7. Friendly, amiable, diligent (Fans discovery)
8. Filial – the man that looks after the household (Fans discovered that Ma Ming always, at around 6 o’clock, automatically sends a message home for his mother saying that he will go home to eat)
9. Phrase he always says: “It Doesn’t Matter”
10. If he doesn’t know someone well, he will speak very little, but with those he’s familiar with he’ll speak alot

Secrets:
1. Does not know how to swim
2. Been in a relationship twice before entering TVB
3. Had learned Japanese, but presently does not remember it
4. When he was young, he had looked at a porn magazine called “Master””老爺” (translated by Babelfish – not sure haha.)

* Credits to: asianfanatics.net, why_cow (wHy.牛牛) @ MKMC

Additional Facts:

He doesn’t smoke or gamble
He went to Canada after high school in HK
He didn’t need to take the Final Exam in HK, but did anyways, earning decent results
He is very good with kids….his nephews never want to leave when he’s around
He described his first girlfriend who he met in Canada as being: beautiful, a good person, had long hair (now she’s married but they are still friends)
He admits to having been spoiled because he was the youngest in the house
He feels that he does not yet have enough money to take care of a wife, children, a car, or a dog
He often hitches a ride with costars to the subway station – UPDATE: Kenneth now has his own car a black 2009 Subaru which he debuted after the 41st TVB Anniversary Awards where he drove Raymond Wong home.
Karen Lee calls him “Dad/Father” because of a skit they did during TVB Acting Class together
When he was young, Kenneth had a lot of different pets – ranging from Dog to turtles to birds -, but as he got older, he had less time to take care of them. After his dog passed away, he didn’t have anymore pets. He feels that if you don’t have time for them, you shouldn’t have pets!
Kenneth does not eat beef. He gave up eating it some time ago.
He loves eating vegetables and a lot of foods.
Kenneth can’t cook. He usually cooks instant noodles for himself (if he has to cook since his Mom cooks for him!), but after Starry Kitchen, he’s learned a few tricks. Before the show, he’s only had 2hrs of culinary training!
When Kenneth was young, he was always lazy to put on a tie, so his mother made him fake ties to wear to school. So when he got the role of MK Sun, Kenneth decided to add the “fake tie” to show how lazy MK is. The tie he wore is made by his Mom. Kenneth also came up with the idea of the jean jacket!

Where can you find Kenneth?

TVB Studios
At a local Teashop (aka Tea Restaurant) eating a pinapple bun and drinking lemon ice tea
At a random soccer field playing his favorite sport
At the subway/MTR going to/from work to/from home

What Others Have said about Kenneth:

“…I really feel that Kenneth is really innocent, and very silly. I hope that this self professed ordinary worker who takes the train and bus to work will continue to improve while retaining his innocence and silly vigour…” – Myolie Wu
“…when Kenneth was receiving his award, I felt my eyes welling up.” – Yoyo Mung
“…he’s usually very well mannered and respectful of what other people say….”– Yoyo Mung
“Kenneth is a dark horse, but he is a good guy and complaisant actor. Congratulations to Kenneth for winning the Most Improved Actor Award. Kenneth’s looks are quite mature, but comfortable and pleasing.”- Gallen Lo
“I’m not that nervous though! Kenneth is known for being a good boy, so he definately won’t take advantage of me.” – Cherie Kong”
“It’s very rare to find someone like Kenneth in the industry….” -Raymond Lam
“I really like [Kenneth]…he’s NEVER late….he’s one of THE nicest guys I know….” – Ella Koon
“He’s a very upstanding guy (proper/nice/honorable)…”-Eric Li
“[Kenneth] definitely has audience’s acceptance (goon chung yuen)” – Margie Tsang
“He’s very shy…but a softy/ friendly…” – Ron Ng
“[Kenneth’s] a hardworker…he’s careful, never late…and shy…” – Sammul Chan
“He’s a good person…cooperative (easy to agree to things), is careful…and a little ‘paw ma’ ” – Bosco Wong
“He bullies me behind the cameras and I bully him in front of the cameras. Ha ha…No, I’m just kidding. He is a very nice person and will not bully me….He knows how to flatter women….Very happy, all the women are very happy when he flatters them” – Selena Li
“He is an actor with principles and is very punctual. He is never late so I don’t have to worry about him never showing up. He always reads his lines and prepares ahead of time…I think he is a very tall and handsome ‘siu sang’ (actor) that is being promoted right now. That is why he will quickly rise to the next level. After receiving the ‘Most Improved’ award, the next one should be the ‘Male Lead’ award.”” – Selena Li
“aw…You’re such a good boy! Your parents must be very happy…. When you got the award, I was backstage, and everyone was cheering saying that you should get the award and that you deserved it.” – Astrid Chan
“He’s an extinct guy….he’s so innocent and focused…” – Michelle Ye
“He is very nice and very filial…And he doesn’t smoke ” – Sharon Chan
“He is very real, but there are times he pretends to be naughty” – Selena Li
“I have quite a lot of things to chat with him. He looks proper, but in reality, he’s the opposite. He looks quiet, but can actually talks a lot. A lot of crew members also like to interact with him. He has good interpersonal relationships.” – Sammul Chan
“There’s one of the [TVB] guys that I think is pretty good. Can you guess who? ….I see the image of young Chow Yun Fat in him…After a little more time and he loses a little weight, he’d be good…I think he’s a little chubby right now..His last name is Ma…MaMing Brand haha… He’s a little silly [like Chow Yun Fat] and his acting is pretty good. He’s pretty OK in comedies.” – Sandra Ng (replying to which TVB male she thinks is good)
“Ma Ming is good, very good. He works very hard…He really does….I actually see Stephan Chow in him…he’s special/unique. He’s very thoughtful and doesn’t mind taking small parts, saying that if we have one or two scenes we can just let him act in them. Sometimes, we feel like we need to protect him and tell him not to take just any parts.” – Stephen Chan
“His reactions are not as quick as Kate’s, but his winning quality is that he is hardworking…he really is… [he would ask to repeat a scene if he was unsatisfied even when I think it’s fine]… he has very high standards for his work” – Lau Dan
“Kenneth is handsome enough and has a very nice smile” – Virginia Lok @ SCDII
“Kenneth is our company’s targeted actor to promote this year. Right now, he is capable enough to carry 2nd lead roles. He has lot of potential and is hardworking. In the past, he’s a bit reserved, when facing the camera he’s a bit shy, now he has more self-confidence. We will arrange for him start taking first lead roles this year, increasing his impression on the audiences.” – Virginia Lok
“Of the male artistes in TVB, Kenneth Ma is an extinct good guy. He has a good temperament and he is hard working.” – Nancy Wu
“MaMing, he doesn’t like to talk much. He’s very “si man” (gentleman-like?)…so when we three play around, he’d play with us…but he’s not very aggressive. We’re all really good friends” – Raymond Lam
“As for Kenneth, he treats new people really well, and he’s always encouraging me, and he doesn’t mind sharing his past expereince, even stories that were embarrassing.” – Vivi Li
“Cute cute Kenneth came over to our studio for a visit…..he’s really a nice guy~~haha^^” – Cake Wong
“…he is an absolute honourable gentleman to the point…..I like this guy very much! He is a good gentleman! Kenneth Ma is ok, too! There are times when you admire a guy not only for the “like” found between a man and woman. He’s a very good guy!” – Ella Koon
“…any women that speaks with Kenneth Ma will end up liking him. They’ll think that he’s really great! For example “YuenJai” (Kingdom Yuen) said to me that Kenneth Ma is a really great guy, and asked if I could introduce some girls to him. I said “Isn’t he dating with someone?” Kingdom said “They broke up!” There really isn’t any chance? He’s really a great guy, he’s a “steal”!- Mak Ling Ling
“Especially Kenneth Ma. I have seen him grow and continually improve from minor roles to a lead who can carry a series. He really likes to act.” – Wong Wai Sing (Producer)
“I have worked with Kenneth previously, and in “Into Thin Air”, we also had kiss scenes. The kiss scene we filmed that day (this one) wasn’t even that intense. The ones we filmed prior to this one were more intense! But of course I can’t reveal that much right now. You guys will know when you watch it! My first on-screen intense kiss is given to Kenneth Ma. Kenneth and I both didn’t [do any preparation]. We just kissed on the spot!” – Bernice Liu
“Kenneth is a very good partner to work with =)”- Selena Li @ chat w/ fans
“Ma Ming does have charisma” – Nancy Wu