Jerry Yan - Ella Changed Me

MAGAZINE FEATURE
Source: Shanghai Entertainment TV Magazine – July Issue
Credit: Selina15@www.nbbbs.com / cherryyan@www.jerryyan.org
Translated by syyang@AF
Caption: Jerry Yan - Ella Changed Me

Caption: Ella makes me feel I no longer wish to be a spoilt kid.

Once rumoured as “being difficult”, Jerry Yan was noted to be very friendly with everyone during the filming of idol serial - [Down With Love] recently. Despite already being prepared since hearing this, the reporters were still surprised by the Jerry Yan before their eyes, when they saw him during the press conference for DWL in Hangzhou.

Once, he used to be cool and aloof, with little smiles; but not, he has appeared totally like a big boy. When Michael Zhang first entered the press conference venue, he sportingly clapped his hands and cheered aloud, shouting, “Wo~~~”. Despite facing with a platoon of reporters armed with “ammunitions” of all sorts, he did not mind these and continued to share words with Ella via whispers. He said that the director is very charming and in response, the director lowered his cap. Then he teased him further, “Should I find you a safety helmet instead?” When reporters probed about Lin Chi-ling, Jerry no longer appeared gloomy-faced, awkward or angered, instead he merely smiled and kept silent.

If one found the Jerry Yan during the press conference was a surprise, then the Jerry Yan, posing with Ella for the magazine’s cover shots, would be outright adorable. The photographer requested for him to ‘yang’ (meaning: lift) his head a little, then Ella added, “Just a little, ok. Not too ‘yang’ (meaning: lift too much)… If too ‘yang’, then you have to scratch it a little (meaning: itchy. Ella was actually playing with the pronunciations of ‘yang’ which could mean ‘lift’ or ‘itchy’ in Mandarin).” In response to Ella’s play of words, Jerry pointed to his right arm, “I do feel ‘yang’ (itchy) here.”

When the mischievous Ella started to open her mouth wide before the camera, Jerry saw it from the corner of his eyes and immediately secretly mimic Ella to open his mouth wide too. Both of them appeared just as if going to eat the apples falling out of nowhere from the sky. Everyone who was around them, and witnessed this scene burst into laughter. Sensing something amiss, Ella turned around, “What are you up to?” This time, Jerry quickly closed his mouth and pretended as though nothing has happened.

In DWL, Jerry acted as an aloof and “lethal-tongued” lawyer who specialises in divorce and fights for inheritance cases. On the other hand, Ella acted as a rich-to-rags girl, Yang Guo, who would end up working for Jerry as a nanny for his nephew and niece (under the arrangement of her elder sister – Yang Duo). Together, Jerry and Ella will weave a romantic love story in the drama serial.

When sharing on the change in him, Jerry admitted, it was due to the director, his co-stars, and members of the crew who have influenced him. Through Ella, he has learnt how to adopt an optimistic outlook to certain things, to be happy with oneself and to care for others. During the interview, Jerry was forthcoming in sharing on many things. The initially 15-minute interview actually stretched to nearly an hour and had to end as the crew hurried for it to wrap up. When he stood up, Jerry took the initiative to ask for the name card of the reporter and added, “Let’s chat again if there is a chance.”

With a serial titled [Down With Love], a new partner named Ella, we discovered a different side to Jerry Yan.



A Change in Temperament

To the filming crew, he would crack jokes and make fun.

Despite being the Heavenly King and Heavenly Queen in their respective area, DWL is the first time Jerry is collaborating with Ella. Although having heard of and were aware of each other prior to this, they did not know each other personally.

The passionate and warm Ella managed to “melt” Jerry within a week. “Female co-stars whom I had worked with previously would find me very cool and hence keep a distance away from me. But she (Ella) would pop over to kick me, but I am not angered by it. Instead I find her very adorable.” In the past, Jerry thought it would be sufficient and OK as long as he did his part, but through this collaboration, he observed how Ella would put in her best efforts not only at work, but also to spread happiness and joy to those around her.

“In the past, my impression of her was only bubbly and adorable. But after our interactions, I discovered she is very sensitive and sentimental. The kindness she treated everyone with, would make you feel that the world is really a beautiful place. Sometimes, certain artistes will try to gain an edge by hurting another person, but for her, she would always show concern for you like you are her family.” When Jerry first arrived in Hangzhou, the weather was very hot and once while he filmed till 3 am in the morning, he suddenly felt very down. Ella not only kept him company, but also offered him encouragement, causing him nearly to be moved to tears. The very next day despite the weather was still hot, while he was filming, and with Ella was on the sideline teasing him, Jerry suddenly lifted her up and twirled many rounds until she could not stand up straight after he put her down. “From her, I’ve learnt that when you have made others’ happy, you would also feel very happy too. Therefore, now I would always share and crack jokes with fellow members of the crew.”

To members of the media who had once hurt him and made him feel adverse to them, Jerry has since adopted a new perspective, “Now I tell myself, I must be happy. There’s no need to be afraid of the media. I should not be against all media, just because of the hurt from one particular reporter. Furthermore, the media can serve as a reminder to us at times. If I am really not doing well in certain areas, I would pay attention to it. As for the misconstrued and distorted reports, there is no need for me to be angered. I will not try to get into their good books; I will just treat everyone sincerely. It is impossible for everyone to like you.” During last month in Taipei when Jerry held his new album release autograph session, he saw how a reporter was perspiring badly under the weather with the heavy recording equipment. He simply passed the reporter a tissue, leaving the reporter very surprised but smiled in reciprocity when he took the tissue. Jerry was very happy, “Actually this is not a difficult gesture, why haven’t I thought about it in the past?”

A Change in the Way He Treats Others & Handles Situations

Squatting down for a meal with crew members, helping them to move props and the track (for camera).

During the interview, the reporter could feel Jerry’s sincerity. To past comments of being difficult and bad-tempered, Jerry admitted gamely to the reporter - before he entered the entertainment industry, some people already made comments that working with him would be very stressful. “When I was young, my family was poor and I always feel the need to win. I keep telling myself, despite being poor; I must never let others look down on me. Therefore, I am always the class monitor, and even the team captain of the school’s basketball team.” But beneath his strong appearance is actually a very gentle heart. “When I was young, I would always fall sick. And only when I am sick, I feel more human, because I can enjoy being doted on and loved by others.”

The rose to fame of F4 has caught Jerry by unaware. He was not prepared psychologically to become the super-star, to enjoy the love and admiration of so many, within a short span of time. Every day he would be accompanied by an entourage of assistants. Other than work, his contact with the external world would be very little. Being overly protected has its cons too as he could not figure out if he was doing fine, and could not fully empathise with the hardships and efforts of others around him.

While filming DWL, Jerry worked almost alone, and has more chances to interact with crew members and could better empathise with everyone’s efforts. “In a scene whereby we have to break the glass window of the car, the prop master’s hand was injured.” Now, he no longer wishes to be the spoilt kid, “Do not take for granted that every single thing others have done for you is meant to be so.” Now, he could squat down and join fellow crew members to enjoy their meal boxes together, helped them move props, and tracks (for camera). Meanwhile, crew members who noticed his approachability would also take the initiative to help him shield the sun with umbrellas. “When I used to wake up daily in the past, I would ponder over what I would be like today. Suddenly I realised one day, if I could pay more attention to others, perhaps, my life could change for the better.”

While preparing for his new album - [Freedom], Jerry was actually filming DWL too. Once when he had filmed till 2am in the morning, and had to travel another 2 hours to another venue to film 2 MVs. He was nonetheless exhausted. However when he reached the MV filming site, he saw how early the members of the crew had started work in order to prepare the set-up. He forgot all of his fatigue and felt a little awkward instead, that he could only afford so little time, resulting in everyone having to rush filming 2 MVs in a day. That day, he put in all of his efforts to finish the filming and when it wrapped up, everyone was feeling very happy. “All this while, I have not been understanding enough and only concentrated on finishing all the work to perfection. Now I’ve understood, actually with a little more concern and attention to those around you, you could actually achieve even better results.”

A Change in the Way He Expresses Himself

Wishes for a chance to go boating with Ella and enjoy the scenery, while listening to her share on her thoughts.

Looking cold on the exterior but warm at heart, Jerry is one who is not good at expressing himself. When he went on a Taiwanese talk show - [Shen Chun Hua Life Show], he shared that he does not know how to say the right words to coax his former girlfriend, was unromantic and often let her feel disappointed. He admitted that he was not good in expressing his concern via honeyed words. “Because my father passed away early, I always feel responsible to take care of the family. In the end, I treated my mother like a younger sister. Her health is not good and I would always chide her to go see a doctor. Actually I do not mean to ‘scold’ her, but rather I feel heartaches for her.”

Ella spent her 28th birthday in the midst of filming for DWL. On the day, Jerry was only scheduled for filming in the afternoon, but he made an effort to arrive early at the filming site. In order not to let Ella detect anything amiss, he hid in a car to wait for over 2 hours. As voice recording was done at the same time of filming, Jerry could not turn on the air-conditioner in the car, and had to open the door to let in the breeze. He only appeared eventually after Ella wrapped up filming, and this came as a pleasant surprise to Ella. To outsiders, perhaps, this surprise gesture would already look “romantic” enough, but when sharing about it to the reporter, Jerry expressed his regrets, “Actually I was quite angry with myself. I have been planning a surprise for her all along, but because I have something on (new album release), I was unable to accomplish it. In fact, I have already made plans for everything already.”

While filming in Hangzhou, Jerry noticed that Ella had appeared a little down for 2 days, and even contemplated to walk into her room to offer a comforting hug. Nonetheless, he still lacked the courage to do so. “Perhaps, I had cultivated a habit and discipline of extreme self-restraint since young. Haha.” Until the day of the press conference, Jerry finally could not hold back and shared his thoughts with Ella, and his gesture also made her feel very touched. While filming in the scenic Hangzhou, he shared that he liked the nature scenery there, “I wish there will be a chance for us to go boating together and enjoy the scenic view. I could take the initiative to listen to her thoughts and show my concern; all along she has been the one showing concern for me.”

A Change in Perspective in Love

In the past, he preferred long-haired, gentle girls but since having met Ella, he shared he also like her type.

Jerry Yan and Lin Chi-ling’s romantic relationship has been revealed to all. During the interview, when asked on the type of girls he preferred, Jerry smiled shyly, “This is difficult to answer. In the past, I like girls with long hair and gentle. But having met Ella, I thought I also like girls like her type.” Prior to their collaboration, a girl with an androgynous disposition like Ella would probably not be his type. Thus, he now realised, “The most fantastic thing about love is all about feelings. One need not necessarily have to be 178cm, 58kg…” He shared that he wishes for his other half to be someone who can care for him, be understanding and sensible. “In our circle, the stress is really great, and we keep irregular hours. If my other half could not understand this, there will definitely be conflicts.” When probed if Ella and him could develop their friendship further, Jerry said, “I would not give special thoughts to that. But I have been touched by the kindness and concern she has given me.”


In the Eyes of Co-Stars Who Worked with Jerry Yan

Funny

Ella: He is a comedian, very playful. Off-screen when rehearsing with me, he would purposely put on funny faces to tease me. In real life, he is just like me, both of us are “kai xin guo” (lit transl: bundles / sources of joy).

Chen Zi Han: He would often crack jokes with everyone. One day he walked into the filming site and said, “As I was passing by the entrance just now, the security said I resembled Jerry Yan. Why didn’t you all come take photos with me?” Everyone burst into laughter at this.

Polite

Rong Rong: When I first joined the filming and saw Jerry, he exchanged greetings with me in a very friendly manner. He said, “Qi-mama (character name), how do you do?” When filming wrapped up, he would say, “You had a hard day.”

Yuan Wen Kang: The first time we met was in the dressing room. He was already seated inside when I entered and he took the initiative to say, “Have you acted in [Ji Jie Hao]?” I answered, “Have you watched it?” He replied, “No, but I wish to.” Then I said I would give him a disc as a gift. He was very happy and said he looked forward to watching it.

Thoughtful

Chen Zi Han: During his breaks, he would express his concern for members of the crew and asked if they had their meals or if they are thirsty etc. Without realising, you would soon find a bottle of mineral water being put before you with a straw inserted. He would also help the lighting crew to hold the reflecting board, and help to massage the crew members. A lot of the female crew members have enjoyed this “benefit” before.


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