BEIJING, Jan 30 — Although one acknowledges the challenges Aaron Kwok and Him Law had to go through to play their role as Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing, director Cheang Pou Soi stated that one has to also give props to actress Gigi Leung for her performance in the upcoming The Monkey King 3.

As reported on Mingpao, the filmmaker recently shared that he made the decision to alter Leung’s look altogether to make her almost unrecognisable, so that audiences would be able to focus on her performance as the Kingdom of Women’s Advisor rather than see her as the superstar that she is.

"I grew up listening to Leungs songs, and I really think she has a refreshing aura about her. So I raised her hairline a little to make her look and feel more dominant,” he said.

When asked if Leung had any issues with her look, he replied, "Surprisingly no, even though the first makeup test took her about eight hours.”

He also sang praises for Taiwanese model-actress Lin Chi-ling, who plays a River God in the new movie.

"She is pretty and in a good shape, but in the film, you could see a more masculine Lin Chi-ling,” he said.

The movie is set to be released on February 15. — CinemaOnline