Selena Lee: The Star Urging Us to Protect the Oceans
Interviewed by Deborah Lau-Yu | Written by the Fete Chinoise Team
Photographer: Dan Shao
Make Up & Hair: Liu Chong
Clothing: J sister
ver the past decade and a half, Selena Lee has taken part in a plethora of series produced by TVB (the largest broadcasting company in Hong Kong). The University of Toronto BComm graduate and Miss Hong Kong 2003 Photogenic Award winner credits the production crews and fellow cast as being critical to excellent productions. From earlier works such as The Last Breakthrough (天涯俠醫, 2004) to The Life and Times of a Sentinel (紫禁驚雷, 2011) to the latest Forensic Heroes 4 (法證先鋒 4, 2019), Selena has rightfully earned her reputation as one of the most popular lead actresses in TVB. But she is always looking for new challenges because acting is her passion: “I would love to have a role that would challenge me as an actor, whether emotionally or requiring me to learn a new skill.” She is currently filming the sequel to her award-winning thriller drama, Barrack O'Karma (今宵大廈, 2019).
在過去的十五年裡，李施嬅參與了大大小小的無線電視台（TVB）製作。從多倫多大學畢業，參選2003年香港小姐並獲得最上鏡小姐獎項後，李施嬅就開始在香港工作。從《天涯俠醫》到《紫禁驚雷》，再到最新的《法醫先鋒4》，她領會到優秀的製作人員與演員的重要性。現在，她是無線電視台的花旦之一。然而，她希望未來可以扮演不一樣的角色、不斷挑戰自己。
The recipient of Best Actress Award at both the 2017 European Cinematography Awards and the 2017 Los Angeles Film Awards, Selena was nominated by the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards for her performance as an assassin in the Canadian production, Blood and Water, where her English could shine. She co-starred alongside the show's producer and lead actress Stephanie Song. She would love to witness more Chinese actors playing non-stereotypical roles in prominent Hollywood films. It is her dream that future roles for Chinese actors can gain major recognition, roles that are not necessarily bound by ethnicity. And speaking fluent Cantonese, Mandarin, and English has certainly opened up more opportunities for the actress. Her bicultural identity allows for diverse roles and jobs around the world. Selena shares that due to the reach of the internet, “All projects have the potential to be globally received.”
作為2017年歐洲電影攝影獎最佳女演員和2017年洛杉磯電影獎最佳女演員，Selena最近因在加拿大製作的《血與水》中出演殺手獲得提名。劇中，她用流利的英文來演繹角色。她希望華裔演員在未來能夠出演獲得國際認可的角色，而不是受限於種族。掌握廣東話、普通話和英語，讓李施嬅得到了很多意想不到的機會。得益於多元的文化背景，李施嬅接觸到了更多類型的角色，並在國際舞台上大展身手。因為互聯網的廣度，Selena認為「所有作品都有可能讓全球觀眾看到」。
“Her bicultural identity allows for diverse roles and jobs around the world. Selena shares that due to the reach of the internet, ‘All projects have the potential to be globally received.’”
But this international recognition was unplanned for. In the last five years of her TVB contract, she was not casted in as many dramas as before. Still, Selena felt that she wanted to keep working, to keep learning, and to be inspired as an actor. That is when she found the opportunity in a Hollywood short, Once More, which then led to the Canadian television series, Blood and Water. The initial disappointment of having less work in Hong Kong fuelled her passion and her drive to reach new acting goals. Akin to the Raptors’ victory in the 2019 NBA Championships, she sees Canadians embodying a low profile and humble work ethic to achieve a goal that others did not think was possible. Ultimately, Selena believes that God placed her in a position of influence to better society. Blessed to not only pursue her acting career, Selena also enjoys charity work.
但李施嬅沒有想像會得到國際認可。事實上，跟TVB合作的最後五年，她接到的劇本不再像以前那麼多，心裡只是想著要繼續工作、繼續學習、繼續從演戲當中找靈感。正在那時，她得到出演好萊塢短片《Once More》女主角的機會，緊接其後，又參與了加拿大的電視劇《血與水》。一開始因在香港 工作的減少而產生的失望，反而激發了Selena在事業上再創新高的熱情和 決心。類似於猛龍隊（Raptors）成為2019年NBA總冠軍，她以一種低調而謙遜的態度，實現了其他人眼中不可能的夢想。Selena也相信神賜給她這樣特別的一個崗位，是讓她可以以公眾人物的身分去影響更多的人。在追求 演藝事業之餘，李施嬅還喜愛參與慈善工作。
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Selena is a voice for environmentalism. She loves all animals and wildlife, but loves the oceans in particular. She openly expresses concern for animals and the environment on her highly-followed social media accounts. She hopes to educate the public about what is truly occurring in our world:
“Our earth including the ocean and animals are slowly dying and becoming extinct each day. People don't realize that the ocean gives us more than 50% of the oxygen we are breathing; without a healthy ocean, we will not be able to survive as well. There are temptations for short-term greed, and even short-term convenience (such as using single use plastics). The planet cannot sustain our needs and greed. Unfortunately, we are destroying nature.”
Living by example, she is reducing her meat consumption and strives to choose vegetarian options. Selena encourages fans to take part in simple acts that make a difference: picking up trash at the beach, or donating blood, for example. She encourages her community to purchase reusable straws, cutlery sets, and water bottles. Each one of her close friends in their self-named "Sisterhood Gang" (胡說八道會) including Myolie Wu, Nancy Wu, Paisley Hu, Elaine Yiu, and Mandy Wong received a set of straws and water bottles from Selena as gifts that keep giving. She continues to help activate others to take daily steps to reduce the plastic waste on our planet.
“Our earth including the ocean and animals are slowly dying and becoming extinct each day. People don’t realize that the ocean gives us more than 50% of the oxygen we are breathing; without a healthy ocean, we will not be able to survive as well.”
李施嬅特別喜歡大海、大自然，以及動物。她希望向大眾宣傳有關地球的真相：「我們的地球包括海洋和動物正在慢慢死去，每天都在面臨滅絕。我們沒有意識到海洋給了我們百分之五十以上的氧氣 — 沒有健康的海洋，就沒有我們。為了短視的利益，短期的便利（例如一次性塑膠），我們正在摧毀大自然。」Selena 以身作則，正在減少吃肉，並常常吃素。她說，這些改變有很多益處。同時，她也鼓勵粉絲參與環保活動，例如撿起沙灘上的垃圾，積極獻血等等。她鼓勵身邊的人購買可重複使用的吸管、餐具和水瓶。她在《胡說八道會》中的朋友，包括胡杏兒、胡定欣、胡蓓蔚、姚子羚和黃智文，都收到了 Selena 送的一套吸管和水瓶。
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Overall, Selena’s optimism is inspiring — in pursuing international stardom and in reducing humanity's environmental footprint. Especially for environmentalism, Selena notes that it is a process. “We might not be able to match Leonardo DiCaprio’s contribution, but every act is valuable. One simple change such as not using straws can help the world. I believe deep down that humanity is good, most people are simply unaware, so we just need to remind them.” We hope so as well.
無論是在爭取國際一席之地，還是在減少人類對地球傷害的這條路上，Selena 都持有的樂觀態度，很令人受啟發。環境保護主義是一個過程。「我們可能無法與萊昂納多 ∙ 迪卡普里奧做出的貢獻相提並論，但我們也可以保護地球。一個簡單的改變，比如停止使用吸管，可以改變未來的世界。我深信人類是好的，大多數人僅僅是不清楚這一點，我們只需要去提醒他們。」我們也希望如此。
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