Inside Cover: Amy Lo on finding her place and staying creative

Amy Lo has moved from the runway to being in front of the camera as an actress. She tells David Ho about her journey, navigating the entertainment space as a biracial actress, and staying creative

Whether she’s checking out the latest fashion runways, acting in films or more recently, winning acclaim for her singing on a music show, Amy Lo’s energy is admirable.

When we catch up with her, it seems like the bubbly 31-year-old model turned actress may have some new projects up her sleeve. “I’m so excited and happy to get to be involved in some creative works of upcoming projects, but I can’t say what it is yet,” she says with a laugh. But given that not long after this interview, Lo posted a clip of her singing accompanied by lyrics on Instagram, we will venture a wild guess that this might be a music-related project.

The comments on the post look promising, with fans heaping praise on her vocals and begging for more from her. It wouldn’t be out of the question in her evolution, given how she has already made the jump from modelling to acting, as others like Louise Wong have done. 

Reflecting on her initial shift into acting, which started with ViuTV dramas about eight years ago, Lo was frank about the challenges she initially faced.

“In the first few years, I’ll say I was more like a mannequin, because I am so used to being told what to do, not to move too much to present the outfits better, or even tried so hard to look cool as that’s what a model typically does. Well, I can only say I tried too hard, focusing on looking cool instead of finding my own aura, which is what truly matters,” she says. “To be honest I am not very used to being under the spotlight and I am not very confident of doing so.”

Her years of modelling, which came after being scouted as a Food Safety and Environmental Health student at Hong Kong Baptist University, has still come in handy though. “I guess years of being a model , facing different people in different looks, being photographed on runways or advertising campaigns has prep me a little bit more than I thought,” Lo considers.

“The best and greatest thing I’ve learned from it is to not give a single care. This is very contradicting with my personality because I am a very sensitive person, and my sensitivity sometimes blocked me from being me. Because when I pay attention to other people or things, I get overwhelmed.”

Years of practice have helped her learn to cope by channelling the noise to drive her performances. “I’ve learned to overcome it. Not by shutting it off but to use it properly. That’s why I always tell people who asked me “what do you like about acting?” I always say “Because I have the right to crazy, to be me!” she says. “As you know, sensitive people can be annoying when they don’t know how to really use or project their gift well. So I guess all the little things that happened in the journey got me to understand that it doesn’t really matter what people think or say about me, but the only opinion that matters is our own.” 

She also credits her growth as an actor to her castmates and all the opportunities that have come her way so far. “I have met so many good people and teachers along the way,” she says. “Every chance to act is a lesson to me, even the casting process. I put in the same amount of preparation for casting a role and the role that I already got, because now I enjoy “being”, Lo explains.

The industry has been quite an education for her. “I learn new things every time and that’s unbelievable… I’ve learnt so much through a character, communicating with the director or the crew, being on set, filming for days and days… It’s been hectic, sleepless and sometimes set in extreme locations. Sometimes, I do wonder how did we survive that?”

But the joy of creating characters from scratch has satisfied Lo’s inner child. “The hunger to create, to think outside the box, and getting to write a lot, those have been the most enjoyable parts for me,” she says.

Lo’s favourite role so far was as Una from last year’s An Abandoned Team movie. “It was my very first female lead role and the most meaningful and most involved shooting experience. The movie about touches on different issues we face as a society, be it the treatment of animals, elderly or families,” she says.

Lo, who is of Cantonese and Costa Rican heritage, also reflects on her dual identity in Hong Kong’s largely homogenous entertainment industry. “I think it’s used to be a burden of me because I was kind of confused about my identity. The cultural difference between Costa Rica and Hong Kong is pretty big, it got me wondering who I was and how I should be communicating with people, or even how I should see myself.”

Lo was born and raised in San José, but moved to Hong Kong with her family as a child . Despite identifying more with the Latina side of her heritage at times, she remembers reigning herself into fit in with the fast paced, more business-like tone in Hong Kong. But now she feels more free to embrace all different aspects of her personality and cultures. “After years of learning (and still learning) and finding myself, I’ve combined my sentimental and passionate parts with the efficient and explicit sides.”

Outside of work, Lo remains creative. “Reading allows me to imagine. Writing with a pen and paper calms me down and lets me enjoy the mindfulness,” she says.

Quite understandably, Lo is also a huge film buff and is the one that her friends turn to for recommendations. But she struggles to pick a favourite, instead giving us a long list that ranges from Cinema Paradiso and 12 Angry Men to Blue Jasmine and lots of Pixar and Hayao Miyazaki. Likewise, her list of who she considers to be #legends is extensive, from Cate Blanchett and the Wachowskis to Aretha Franklin and Greta Gerwig.

With so many that she looks up to, Lo is philosophical about her own life. “When I zoom out a bit of the blueprint of my life, I can see the journey has just started! It’s never about how we started nor how far we get , it’s always about the journey,” she states.

Looking forward, Lo wants to do more creative work, especially writing stories. “I love to read and I am very moved by words, different forms of stories , including books, movies, music and poems. I write a lot of things, including dreams, what I saw in daily life and how I feel about those, ideas, random things and thoughts. Hopefully one day, I can influence people with the stories that I create,” she says. “I also want to try musicals in the future, Amy is very greedy!”

“But imagination is how a story begins. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Space X project or a painting or even a meal. We put our imagination and creativity into every little idea that starts in our head. Imagination is the very first step. Then we dig into it and find the way to make it happen, that’s creativity. And then, discipline and perseverance is how we make it last.”

CREDITS
Creative concept: Hashtag Legend
Photographer: Issac Lam
Photography assistant: Jason Li, Samuel Chan, Riki Chan
Videographer: Jessica Chan
Stylist: Anthony Tong
Styling assistant: Kelly Wong
Hair: Cooney Lai
Make-up: Jenny Shih

Also see: #interview: Alligator Jesus artist on designing grillz for Beyoncé, Madonna and more