Living Legend: Do Do Cheng Shares Her Thoughts on the Longevity of Her Career and the Role of Women in Showbusiness

Hong Kong movie legend and Women of Power honouree, entertainer Do Do Cheng shares her thoughts on her career longevity, the role of women in showbusiness and what she most looks forward to in 2024.

The secret to my career longevity has a lot to do with luck. I’m very fortunate that the audience in Hong Kong likes me. I think I work quite hard and I try to adapt and change with the times. In my earlier days I was an actress, and I tried to diversify through different television shows and movies through various characters. I like to look forward, so I expanded to interviewing people, hosting shows and events and becoming a radio host. I always want to develop more skills, and through that I’m able to show different sides of me that, luckily, the audience enjoys, which I am very thankful for.

Female empowerment means being able to make decisions. Even now, looking around the world, there are many places where women aren’t allowed to make their own decisions. Even the simplest decisions like visiting a doctor, they can’t make without someone else’s approval. Hong Kong is a developed society, but there’s still a lot more we can do. I can make my own decisions here, even if sometimes I make a mistake, but that’s still a decision I made, and you learn from that.

Female empowerment is becoming increasingly important within the entertainment industry. We’re seeing an increasing number of female directors, producers and crew members at all levels. In the early days of my career, a cameraman was always a man – there was never a camerawoman. But by the time I left TVB, I saw many more camerawomen, and women working in lighting and audio. It’s not only writers and directors that are women now, and that’s great to see.

I left TVB slightly over a year ago. I thought I’d get more time off, but it turns out I’m even busier than before. But being this busy has given me the opportunity to meet more people, especially the younger generation, which has widened my perspective. I recently did a travel show with a group of guys and before that, we just had an interviewer-interviewee relationship, but now we’re good friends and I’m very happy and grateful about that. Leaving TVB also allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and meet people from more facets of life. Back then, I’d just focus on working for the station and never thought much about things outside of it, but now my social circle has greatly expanded.

Thank you for considering me to be a “living Hong Kong cinema legend”! I must say I’m fortunate: the ’80s and ’90s were the golden days of cinema in Hong Kong and during that period I was able to partake in a vast number of films that were critically acclaimed and also succeeded at the box office. I feel honoured and privileged to have been part of that.

Despite all my accolades and achievements, I’m inspired by learning and experiencing new things. I enjoy engaging with the younger generation and staying in touch with what’s happening around the world. I don’t like dropping behind, and this desire to stay connected with society and its developments inspires me to continue moving and looking forward.

The highlight of 2023 for me was definitely my YouTube channel, The Do Show. I never imagined I’d be doing shows on YouTube, especially when
I first left TVB. A lot of younger people told me I’d make a successful YouTuber, so I gave it a try and I’m now very glad that so many people tune in to my shows. Of course, there’s also pressure to keep producing good content, but it’s a good sense of pressure for me.

The thing I’m most looking forward to in 2024 is simply doing a good job in everything I’ve taken on. Whether it’s The Do Show on YouTube or my radio show When I Was Young I Listened to the Radio or even just a small project, people give me responsibility when they come to me or watch me. They trust me, and that’s why they hire me, so whether it’s an event or an advertisement, I do my best for them.