The actor revealed that he hurt his finger while shooting the drama some time ago, but only realized how serious it was much later when he went to see a doctor.
"I hurt my finger when I was trying to close a window while shooting. The window got jammed and I pulled harder, then it suddenly closed and my finger got crushed between the between the window and the window sill.
"I thought it was nothing, just a sprain and went to a Chinese medicine practitioner to massage it. But when the swelling refused to go away after two, three weeks, I felt it was strange and got an X-ray," said Cao.
"The doctor later told me the ligaments were torn and the bone was cracked."
"I'm going to have to carry this brace over the Lunar New Year," said Cao with a laugh, joking that at least he now has something to talk about when he meets his relatives during the Lunar New Year season.
However, Cao said the pain he felt because of his injured finger was insignificant compared to the joy of acting opposite veteran actress Zoe Tay in "Double Bonus", a Lunar New Year drama about how the appearance of two immortals wreak havoc and yet bring happiness to the Jins, a family of bak kwah (sweet roasted pork) sellers.
"This is a mere injury, but the show was a good chance to work with Zoe Tay and my old friends. It is a joy to work with her (Tay). It was easy to forget the injury.
"This is the first time I am playing her onscreen husband, especially someone who is married to her for ten years," Cao gushed.
"It's very different from playing lovers or a newly married couple. In the show, we deal with a lot of sensitive issues like how to have kids, how to have relations… It's not something you get to do in every show."
Who is Zoe Tay, really?
Cao went on to express that he finally saw the true face of long-time colleague Zoe Tay when they worked together in "Double Bonus".
"You know, I think everyone had been cheated over the past 20 years. People always have this impression that Caldecott Queen Zoe Tay is a mature, elegant star.
"But she is actually very lively and playful off camera. This is a side of her that few people get to see."
"When we speak, when we share meals together, you really can't tell she is married with three kids already," said Cao with a smile, adding that the only thing people have gotten right about Tay is that she is a natural at acting.
"Very often when we are shooting, the actors are really nervous, but Zoe is really relaxed and it shows her acting ability.
"While everyone else is worried about forgetting their lines, she is able to still pay attention to other fine details like the arrangement of the props on the set and so on," said Cao.
"Double Bonus" airs every weeknight, 9pm on Channel 8.
-CNA/ha
