Actress Jessica Hester Hsuan was a psychiatrist in Detective Investigation Files IV, a lawyer in File Of Justice and a customs officer in A Matter Of Customs.
Right from the start, Hsuan’s TV career is made up of a series of powerful female roles.
“To be honest, for the first 15 to 18 years, I never really chose what to do or what not to do. So I didn’t choose these roles on purpose," she tells StarLifestyle exclusively in part two of our three-part story on Hsuan.
“But I think I played these roles numerous times because the producers believed that I could lead these roles. Viewers felt comfortable seeing me in these roles, they believed that I was that person."
As she’s cutting back on the amount of dramas she takes on these days, Hsuan has chosen to focus on telling quality, female-driven stories:
“I don’t want to be in dramas where the main focus is on the men and the women are just supporting characters.”
“I think women have a tougher life than men because men focus on work but for women, they have to focus on work and family. It’s tougher for women to juggle between so many different things. I think it’s important to focus on them as well (on screen).”
In 2017, she played a woman navigating the corporate world (and succeeding) in My Unfair Lady to record-breaking ratings.
“I had so many people coming up to me on the streets, telling me the drama was exactly what they were going through at the office. About how crazy their boss was and all that.”
She talks about the significance of that moment: “Sometimes they may not be able to tell others what they’re going through, but through dramas, they see something that’s a reflection of their own lives. It may make them feel better.
“So I think it’s important. And it’s also good for men to watch these dramas because they can understand a lot more about what women are going through.”
As such, it’s no surprise Hsuan signed on to play leading lady on Armed Reaction 2021, the fifth instalment of the iconic female-led police series that first aired in 1998.
But unlike her previous roles (and even the previous Armed Reaction instalments) where the women were unmistakably strong figures at the start, her character Diana is gradually finding her strength as a police officer.
After a traumatic event, Diana has been working a desk-bound job at the police force for many years. But an interesting turn of events sees her transferred to a department investigating cold cases.
She fumbles at her job in the beginning but slowly proves to her higher-ups that she has what it takes to be a cop.
“Some people were kind of disappointed because they thought I was going to play another strong woman. And Diana turned out to be somebody completely different, ” she acknowledges.
Hsuan adds if the drama gets another instalment, she believes fans will be able to see Diana’s full strength.
All episodes of Armed Reaction 2021 are available on Astro Go.
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