Child actors: Leila Tong

[teddybear67]

Child actors: Leila Tong


Born in 1981, Leila Tong Ning started acting when she was eight years old. She acted as the youth version of Cherie Chung, Ada Choi, Loletta Lee, and Joey Wong in films. To date, Leila filmed over forty television series and two dozen movies. What type of turbulences has she not witnessed?
The young Kong Lai Na [Leila’s real name] has grown up. But Leila is still only twenty-five years old, younger than TVB’s leading actresses, Myolie Wu, Tavia Yeung, and Bernice Liu. In comparison, there will be choices. The “little tropical storm,” Leila, arrived at the right moment.
Leila’s childhood story was not as complicated as other child stars such as Nancy Sit Ka Yin and Anita Mui. Although she started acting at age eight, she did not come from an impoverished family.
“Even before I dreamt about becoming an actress, I already entered the industry. The movie, ‘Once a Thief' was filming in my neighborhood. The Director was looking for a child actor and saw me. It was pure coincidence. Although I knew nothing about acting, I was happy to work alongside superstars such as Chow Yun Fat and Leslie Cheung.”
“One scene required me to cry. When the Director saw I was unable to shed any tears, he tried scare tactics, ‘Your mother left you and will not return ever again!’ After that, it was very easy for me to do crying scenes. I knew that the Directors only wanted my tears, thus I gave it to them. There was no need to scare me in such a manner."

“My character in ‘Once a Thief’ is quite reflective of my true self. Obviously I am not a thief, but I will play on the street corners with my elder brother. I injured my forehead at the age of three, leaving a lasting scar still visible today. That’s why I always had bangs to cover my forehead ever since I was a young girl!”

“Many people thought I did not have a happy childhood [since I starting acting at such a young age]. But that was not true; I grew up the same way as other children with the exception that I acted as a side job. A child actor is not required to film for very long hours. However, there were instances when I filmed into the late evening hours and I ended up sleeping in class. But overall, it was not too tiring to film and go to school at the same time. Since I behaved on the filming set, many people adored me. It was quite fun.”
“My family was not wealthy. My father worked in the construction industry and my mother worked in a factory. My family had enough to live by. Each Sunday, we would eat at the dai pai dong (street vendor). It was like a big feast to me!”
“Although my income from acting helped with the family’s expenses, but it was not enough for me to support my entire family with it. I thought my acting income would relieve some financial burden. For example, my elder brother and I would be able to buy video games without worrying about affordability.”
“My mother asked whether I blamed the family for requiring me to act at such a young age. I never blamed them since I have always enjoyed acting. However, my mother will worry whether I am working too hard. Whenever she sees me cry on screen, she will be unable to bite back tears herself. When she saw photos of someone forcing me to drink dirty water while being pushed to the ground in ‘Phoenix Rising,’ she asked whether I really had to drink the dirty water. I told her it was just soy milk.”

“From fourth through six grade, I was the busiest. I filmed television series and movies, as well as did dubbing for other child actors. Since I retained my child-like features even while growing up, I still resembled a 7 year old when I was actually 10 years old. However, I was able to understand concepts far beyond a much younger child. Thus many Directors wanted to cast me in their movies.”
“In primary school, my classmates were all very kind to me. However, in intermediate school, there were a group of classmates that started spreading rumors about me. In Form 3, I couldn’t catch up with the homework, so I had to repeat the grade. Thus I decided to change schools. At the new school, one group of people liked me while the other didn’t. Some of the students treated me as a toy. One time, someone stole my diary and recited an entry in front of the class. During those two years, I nearly cried everyday! Since everything is in the past now, it no longer matters. Thus I realized that people may dislike you for no reason, even if you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Being Indonesian and Chinese

Leila’s eating preferences set her apart from other actresses. She likes to eat fatty roast pork for lunch. On the day of the interview, another magazine published a glossy pictorial spread of Leila. “The photos are shot beautifully, but they misspelled my name. It should be ‘Leila,’ not ‘Lelia.’” Afterwards, Leila did not bring the magazine home.
Many young girls prefer the colors pink or light blue, but Leila likes brown instead. “The desert scene is the most alluring. The environment can camouflage and protect you.” Practical and low-key, Leila was no longer Kong Lai Na.
“I am Indonesian Chinese. Many years ago, my grandfather emigrated to Indonesia from Xiamen. Both my grandmother and father were born in Indonesia. In the 1960’s, a mass exodus of Chinese people left Indonesia. My father returned to Xiamen, where he met my mother, who had also returned from Indonesia. My elder brother was born in China. A few years later, my family moved to Hong Kong and I was born there.”
“I went to Indonesia twice, staying for two months each time. At home, I will converse in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Indonesian with my family. If any of our friends have problems with their Indonesian Visa, they will often seek my family’s help in translating.”
“Since I am only one-quarter Indonesian, then I should refer to myself as being Chinese. At home, I often eat Indonesian food, but I do not like spicy flavors. The only Indonesian characteristic that stands out is my dark skin color. During the filming of ‘Aqua Heroes,’ my skin became so tanned, that I had to borrow Bosco Wong’s foundation.”
“I believe in the Chinese practice of fengshui. When I was sixteen years old, a fortune teller advised that if I continued to use my real name, Kong Lai Na, as an actress, it will result in a lot of negative rumors withother women. No wonder my female classmates disliked me!”
“The fortune teller came up with three choices to choose for my stage name: Tong Ning, Cheuk Ning, and Kong Cheuk Ning. If I were to use ‘Tong Ning,’ my popularity may grow slowly but continuously. ‘Cheuk Ning’ would result in quicker fame, but may not be long lasting. I never believed in shortcuts in life, thus I chose ‘Tong Ning’ as my stage name.

Still Trying Her Best

Since 1992, Leila has worked with TVB as a child actor. She signed a contract with TVB in 2000. She acted in twenty-four series, averaging four series per year.
Since Leila was not an artist managed solely by TVB, her opportunities were less than TVB’s young fadans. However, Leila lacks negative rumors. In the industry for 17 years, she was only romantically linked with Stephen Au Kam Tong and TVB Director, Chung Kwok Keung. Recently, there were rumors linking her with Luk Wing.
“Over the last few years, TVB has tried to sign me as a managed artist. Since I was sixteen years old, I have worked with the same manager. I am grateful that he jump-started my career since such a long time ago.”
“I am never concerned whether I am the leading or supporting actress. I will continue to act as long as this interest exists. Recently, I saw several child actors who looked sad on the set. I asked if they did not wish to act and they nodded their heads. It would be very difficult to have a sustainable career in this field if you lack true interest.”
“Each year, many young beautiful women enter beauty pageants. Some audience may welcome the new faces, but I believe other audience members value a warm, recognizable face, which is my strength. If an artist does not put her ‘heart’ into acting, the audience can recognize that. I am proud to say that I still put my ‘heart’ into my acting. My idols are Louisa So Yuk Wah and Teresa Mo Shun Kwan. If I can garner the same critical acclaim as Louisa and Teresa in the future, that would be enough."
“I do not have ambition. Many friends said to me, ‘You’re so young, you should think of a way to stand out more….’ I do not mind other artists employing in self-promotion tactics, but that does not mean everyone should do the same. I will not wear a low-cut dress to shoot photos. There is no need to fabricate romantic rumors either.”
“Recently, I have been linked with Luk Wing, but those rumors are laughable. Since ‘CYC Family II,’ we have known each other for over ten years. But I am not one of his fans. I worked with him on several songs because my manager wanted us to do a crossover album. In the past, there were rumors that I liked older man. Finally, I am distanced from such rumors!”
“Perhaps I entered the industry at a young age, my true personality is very introverted. I prefer to stay home to play video games. Preferably, no one recognizes me when I go out on the street.”

A Split Personality

Leila will pose for photographs in front of the camera. However, her true self is not different than a typical teenage girl. She likes to wear jeans and sneakers. She loves playing video games and owns the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles. Due to playing “Dead Rising” extensively, she even dreamed of vampires in her sleep. Leila spoke about her game strategy in the game, “I found a Japanese knife yesterday; it was placed outside the restaurant. If you heat the pan, you can use it to hurt other people. You can even throw the television set and crack open the floor.”


The reporter’s instinct was that Leila wanted to chase back her lost childhood. “A part of me never grew up, while the other half has already seen a lot. I have a split personality….”

Source: 忽然一周 #611
credits: jaynestars

[dolphin115]

Wow! Thanks for the info! I knew she was a child actor (actress) but I don't ever recall seeing her in any I've watched...

[SweetOrchid]

I think Leila's a great actress...too bad she doesn't stand out as much as the fadans like Myolie Wu or Charmaine Sheh. It would be cool if she was cast in The Drive of Life taking over Toby's role. Toby can't act if her life depended on it.

[mun2]

woww....i neva knew she was part indonesian....thats something new...looking at the pics of her as a kid...she hasnt changed abit..her face still looks the same!

[asdfghjkl]

Originally Posted by SweetOrchid

I think Leila's a great actress...too bad she doesn't stand out as much as the fadans like Myolie Wu or Charmaine Sheh. It would be cool if she was cast in The Drive of Life taking over Toby's role. Toby can't act if her life depended on it.

x2 on the last comment.

Leila's face hasn't changed much through the years eh..

[Anonymous]

yeah.. still the same young baby face...lol.. i think tvb never really promoted her as she was not managed under them...

n x3 over the comment as well.. i never watch dol..but i saw her acting in mens in pain...@@

[hhcheung]

i think Leila is a really good example of what a true artist should be because all these new artisites that tvb continues to have stays popular for a short amount of time and then no one remembers them

[sammirox]

lol wow leila's face still looks the same as when she was small! lol pretty impressive!