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Convention Information

BURBANK, CA
(Los Angeles Area)
Fri., Sat. & Sun. January 25 - 27, 2008
Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel
2500 Hollywood Way

Guests

Lucy Lawless
Renee O'Connor
Brittney Powell
Tsianina Joelson

Ted Raimi
David Taylor
Daniel Sing
Steven L. Sears
Katherine Fugate
Liz Friedman
Zoë Bell

Adrienne Wilkinson

 

2008 OFFICIAL XENA CONVENTION
Burbank, California, USA

January 25 - 27, 2008


Photos & Reports

Created and maintained by MaryD

Con 08 Burbank Daniel Sing

Review by KTL
fsktl@uaf.edu

Another fresh face. Or fresh meat. (For those of us who eat meat. . .) Daniel Sing who played Ming T’ien made his first ever con appearance.

Like David Taylor, Daniel’s first interaction with fans was at the dessert party. I missed him coming to our table because I had already left to go be with friends who didn’t have dessert party tickets. But I was there when he was first introduced along with the other stars who would be desserting with us.

Both that night and Sunday when he was onstage, quite a few fans remarked upon first seeing him just how slender and sleight he was and also how young he looked. Perhaps Ming T’ien being a bad guy made us remember him as bigger and older? Or maybe he always wore a hat on the show? Now I’m wondering if he was always sitting down when with either Lucy or Renee-or if he was only shown in close-ups with them if standing. Because I had no idea of his height. Trying to remember now, I don’t think he’s all that tall because I don’t remember him towering over the other actors at the dessert party or the breakfast. At any rate he was one of the few people who didn’t immediately bring his character to mind when he showed up at the con.

He’s from Auckland. And in real life he talks just about like all the other Kiwi actors-and with a normal cadence. And most obviously, not with a rising level of sound so that by the end of a sentence he’s practically screaming.

He said, "It wasn’t until after I shot Xena that I knew I wanted to be an actor." From my darned sketchy notes, I get the impression he told us he was studying law and that that was something you could use everyday.

"If you were an actor in New Zealand, Xena was the biggest thing at the time."

He was asked about the audition and he said the slug line for the role was just, "The Green Dragon must be made small". He added, "And he was".

At the audition, he was actually there trying out for the role of a guard, but after seeing the actors they picked, "I realized I was a little too skinny to be one of the guards".

A fan told him that Adrienne had told us that her real life mother had issues with the relationship that Livia had with her mother, Xena. And asked her if there were any parallels in her real life. Daniel repeated, "Did my mother have issues based upon the relationship I had with my mother on the show? He thought about it for a bit. "Because I DID kill her." Then he casually added, "As we do in my family."

No-his mother was delighted that he had the part. When it showed on TV in New Zealand, his mother screamed when she saw him on screen, "There’s my son! I don’t care if he has no hair!’ She had no issues-she was pretty excited about it".

He was asked about his character killing his mother and the scene where he sneers to Xena that he knew it all the time-did he REALLY know it all the time? "He was a really evil character. But she’s still a part of him. Lao Ma was his mother. And for an instant there, he registered that she really was. He had to be evil to do that deed."

A fan asked how old he was when he played Ming T’ien. "I’m 33 now. So significantly younger." He looked up and began to do the math, "33 less…" I don’t think any of us ever figured it out, neither him nor us.

I believe there was a question about where he got the inspiration to play the character. "The script was good enough that it didn’t take long to get it. Not a big character." Next I have the word "intimidated". My impression as I’m remembering this is that he said he was NOT intimidated and I think he was referring to Ming T’ien as not a big character in terms of the number of scenes he had, not in terms of impact. But as always, I could be wrong. . .

He was asked about "The Voice". He explained that "The character developed the voice on it’s own from the screenplay. Jacqueline Kim was adamant that she would be using a neutral American accent." He wondered, "Me too?" Then, "That voice came out in reading". He just suddenly slipped into it and "Oley (the director) said, ‘That came out great!’ So he answered, "Okay, *I’ll* be the one from China."

He told us that the actor who played Ming T’ien’s father on the show, Grant McFarland was one of the Power Rangers. I think THAT’S news to us, no?

A fan asked, "What was on Xena’s face when she found Gabrielle in Ming T’ien’s bed?"

I believe that the fan was probably asking about the emotion that was on Xena’s face when she saw Gabrielle lolling around in Ming T’ien’s bed. (And which would have surprised the heck out of me when I first saw the ep since I ALWAYS fanatically avoided spoilers-had someone on the Xenaverse list NOT sent an e-mail out with the subject line, "How did Gabrielle beat Xena to Chin?" Many of us wanted to beat that spoilering sod to Chin ourselves-with sticks.)

Daniel looked a little confused and began to talk and kind of stopped and started and thought a bit and then his face cleared up presumably because he finally fixed the scene and Xena’s face in his mind, and he answered in an, Oh, NOW I understand the question kind of way, "Well, it was make-up."

We howled (or at least I did) – I found this hilarious. The question was neither repeated nor clarified. Heck, maybe that IS what she was asking-who knows?

Was there a question about him trying to kill Xena? Not sure. But next, I have him saying, "Xena was sold out by her buddy Renee for a good part of the ep. I was looking pretty good (compared to Gabrielle). But it wasn’t called, "Ming T’ien: Warrior. But that’s the beauty of the series-you got to come back."

"It was very memorable working with Lucy and Renee. By the third season, they were total veterans. They were very helpful. It was the most family feeling kind of set. By the third season, New Zealand began to realize it was popular. Everyone was on a high. Lucy and Renee worked every day from 6:00 a.m. on. For working so much, they were amazingly generous.

In answer to a question he said, "I didn’t keep my costume." His Debt costume was his favorite one. He said that he had two dresses, others only had one. (Meaning that his character when he returned in "Back In The Bottle" was dressed differently? Not sure.)

He was asked about his ethnic background. His father is half Chinese and half Samoan and was born in Fiji and his mother is half Chinese and half Malaysian and was born in Hong Kong.

He’s now living in (what sounded like) Omalia Beach and "Working on whatever happens."

He asked us if we’d ever heard of the New Zealand soap, "Shortland Street." "It’s a big deal in New Zealand-has been on for 15 to 17 years. I think he said he’s been working on that? He did say, "It was a contrast to play a good character".

He was asked about working with Kevin Smith. He said he hadn’t actually worked with him but that he was on set one day and he saw him doing bicep curls with sandbags. That whenever they took a break, Kevin would grab the sandbags and exercise.

He repeated a question, saying that it was his first con and -"How’s it bean for me?" (Giggles. I always hear the clarion call of a Kiwi actor saying "Bean". Even when they’re talking as Kiwis. As excellent at a "neutral" (aka "wimpy") American accent that Lucy and Kevin Smith were, even with them when they were in character, "Bean" slipped in every time they said "Been". So yes, I undisputedly am, as the entry in the Xenaica calls it, "A bean counter".)

"Amazing, humbling, can’t believe it. I was a small part of something that’s become so big-even now. The show means a lot to so many people. It’s a story that will go on for the ages."

A fan stated, "Ming blamed Xena for making him evil." Using his Ming T’ien accent, he growled out, "You made me, Xena! You taught me to be the monster I AM!" HUGE applause and appreciative laughter from all of us.

"Xena kidnapped me. Daniel also. I was the ghost-kinda came back and haunted her. Ghost of her past."

"We loved the concert last night." I think then someone in the audience must have waved at him? My notes have, "Hi-wave". Shrug.

He said he’d love to come back to another con. (I’m sure we applauded that.)

Fan: "Did Xena need to kill Ming?"

"I thought we had this back history so I thought she’d let me go. Ask Lucy. Xena gets betrayed by Renee. She doesn’t let Gabrielle know she’s killed me. I thought me and Gabrielle had a bond good enough for her to warn me that Xena’s coming."

"I guess she could have not killed me. It was her squashing her old demons so they wouldn’t come back and haunt her. Which I actually do."

Fan: "Did Lao Ma want Xena to kill Ming T’ien? She would not have wanted to kill anyone if it could have ‘bean’ avoided."

In answer to a question, he told us that the "Ponytail portion of my hair was pinned to my hair. Every morning I had fresh hair."

At that moment, a Creation person came out and handed Daniel a phone and told him it was Lucy calling to talk to him. We all laughed and applauded. (It takes SO little to set us off…)

Daniel took the phone and said, "It’s kind of an awkward moment right now, Lucy". (More laughter and delighted hoots.) "While I’ve got you on the phone-do you think it was really necessary to kill me?" (LONG silence. Daniel nods, listening intently.) "Okaaaay.

He said "Okay" a number of times (I imagine at least one of the "Okays" was probably being an answer to whatever Lucy was actually calling about.)

He hung up, looked at us and said that Lucy said that "Xena had had time to think about it. It was a well thought out plan. She wanted to do the dirty deed." (Pregnant pause.) Then he continued in a soft, sad little voice, "I was hoping maybe not. . . Okay."

"Being on set was just fun, especially if you have stunt men". I’m not sure if he said his stunt man was a Chinese man extra trained in Chinese martial arts who did Tai Chi every day or if a Chinese man trained him in Chinese martial arts.

He talked about how every day on the set they took a baked bean break. "I watched Lucy eat baked beans every day at 4:00 O’clock."

He was asked when the show began airing in En Zed. He thought they were a season behind. "It would be was at least a year since it was shot before it showed in New Zealand."

He said that people who knew he had worked on Xena would ask him what his episode was about. But he wouldn’t tell them. He’s say, "It’ll be on later."

A fan brought up "Bitter Suite". "Me getting to sing. Which I would have liked, of course. They didn’t ask, ‘Would you like to sing?’ But that would have been good."

He’s got a dry sense of humor, not sure if he was joking (as in he can’t sing) or if he was serious.

I think a fan asked him to sing a New Zealand song. But was ignored-I’m pretty certain he didn’t sing. He asked us, "Who’s been out to New Zealand? Who’s been on the set locations? Who loved it? Who’s going next year?" Hands went up and down as each question ended.

He told us that his family traveled a lot. His dad was a big traveler. And wanted the kids to learn from travel. "There could be a test at the end."

And then he was out of time.

He was funny, even laugh-out-loud funny, and at ease with us and very comfortable and enjoyable. Good addition to the con roster. Hope he comes back someday.

 

KT

 

 

 

 

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