Megan Lai Explained

Megan Lai
Native Name:賴雅妍
Birth Date:1979 12, df=y
Birth Place:Yonghe, Taipei County (now New Taipei City)
Alma Mater:Shih Hsin University (bachelor)
Ming Chuan University (master)
Occupation:Actress, singer-songwriter, model, television host
Years Active:2000–present
Module:
Child:yes
T:賴雅妍
P:Lài Yǎyán
Module2:
Embed:yes
Alias:Lai Ya-yan
Genre:Mandopop
Instrument:Vocals, Piano

Megan Lai (; born 5 December 1979) is a Taiwanese actress and singer who is best known for Bromance, Miss Rose, Meteor Garden II and Mars.[1] [2] [3]

Life and career

Early life and education

Lai was born on 5 December 1979 in Yonghe, Taipei County. She is the younger of two daughters. Her father operates a Chinese medicinal herb shop, and her older sister is a teacher.

Lai is left-handed, and is able to produce handwritten mirror text, in addition to normal writing with her right hand. As a result, she often has difficulty distinguishing left from right.

Lai graduated from Taipei Municipal Datong High School, where she was the President of her school's pop dance club. Lai completed her bachelor's degree in Information Communications at Shih Hsin University. In 2008, she enrolled as a part-time learner in Ming Chuan University.[4] [5] She graduated in 2011 with a Master of Arts in Design management.[6]

Lai is also licensed barista, having attained her barista certificate in 2016.[7]

Career

Career beginnings

In 1999, Lai made her first television appearance on the Taiwanese variety show Guess in the segment "Do not judge a book by its cover", where she was a contestant along with Hebe Tien of girl group S.H.E, amongst others.[8] She was later scouted by a modelling agency, where she started her career modelling for magazine pictorials, television advertisements, music video productions and fashion shows.

In 2002, Lai was scouted by notable television producer Angie Chai after appearing in Vic Chou's music video.

In December 2004, Lai released her first studio album, Love, which featured soundtracks from the television series' Mars and Starry Night, in which Lai also starred in.[9]

Transition into leading roles

In 2010, Lai appeared alongside Baron Chen, Lego Lee and Chie Tanaka in the drama Because of You.[10]

Upon graduating with a Master of Arts in January 2011, Lai was cast in the police crime drama Next Heroes. Filming began in the same month, and only commenced its broadcast run in October of the same year. Concurrently in 2011, Lai played the role of Su Hai-er in the period drama The Invaluable Treasure 1949. The role earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 46th Golden Bell Awards.[11]

In 2012, Lai was cast in the SETTV romantic comedy Miss Rose in which she played the titular character opposite Roy Chiu.[12]

Rising popularity

In 2014, Lai was cast in the role of A Bu-si, a lesbian barista in the highly anticipated movie adaptation of Café. Waiting. Love, penned by well-known Taiwanese novelist Giddens Ko. Lai started taking barista lessons and shed her long hair in preparation for the role, even going to the extent of not attending any public event to maintain the secrecy of her participation in the movie before her casting was announced to the public.[13]

Lai was also cast as an ultramarathon coach in Jay Chou's first movie as an executive producer, 10,000 Miles, starring opposite Sean Huang and Darren Wang. To prepare for the role of an ultramarathon coach, Lai underwent training for three months under ultramarathon runner and executive producer, Kevin Lin. The movie was released in December 2016 to poor critical reception.[14] [15]

In September 2015, Lai received her fourth nomination for the Golden Bell Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for her role in the film The End of Love.[16] The same month, Lai commenced filming for the romantic comedy Bromance, in which she played the role Pi Ya-nuo, a girl who has to pretend to be a boy until her 26th birthday to be safeguarded a smooth-sailing life.[17] The drama ended its broadcast run to massive domestic and international success, and Lai received tremendous support for her portrayal in the drama.[18]

In 2016, Lai joined the cast of the musical More Than Words, which celebrated the life and works of musical artist Chang Yu-sheng.[19]

In 2018, after a short hiatus from acting, Lai returned to the small screen in the television series Meet Me @ 1006 in a guest appearance. Lai was then cast alongside Sammi Cheng, Kenny Bee and Richie Jen in the movie Fagara, the silver screen adaptation of Amy Cheung's novel Wo De Ai Ru Ci Ma La. The role earned her a Best Actress nomination for the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award.[20]

Lai also starred in the blockchain corporate warfare movie The Last Thieves opposite Yen Tsao, Joanne Tseng, and Eric Tsang, which was released in fall 2019.

Filmography

Television

Year English title Original title Role Notes
2002Meteor Garden II 流星花園IIMimi
2003Spicy High-School Pupils 麻辣高校生Chen Hui-min Guest appearance
Hi Working Girl Hi 上班女郎Tseng Ai-lin
Love Storm 狂愛龍捲風Tina Guest appearance
2004Mars 戰神Lai Ching-mei
Starry Night 愛在星光燦爛時Megan
2005 Good Beautiful Clinic 2 好美麗診所II嘿哈Chen Ruo-nan
2006 Silence 深情密碼Mi Hsiao-kuang
White Robe of Love 白袍之戀Sun Qian
2007 Sweet Relationship 美味關係Jen Ko-hsin
2007–2008 Wish to See You Again 這裡發現愛One half of a couple Episode 5
2008–2009Time Story 光陰的故事Wang Chien-chien
2010 Because of You 星光下的童話Yu You-tung
Rice Family 飯糰之家Yen Hsin-ya
2011 The Invaluable Treasure 1949 瑰寶1949Su Hai-er
Next Heroes 真的漢子Hai Qiao
2012 Miss Rose 螺絲小姐要出嫁Luo Sze-yi
2013 Two Fathers 兩個爸爸Fang Ching-chu
Jiu Jiu Nu Er Hong 九九女兒紅Tao Jiudan
2014 High Heels and a Scalpel 白袍下的高跟鞋Wu Ya-fan
2015–2016 Bromance 愛上哥們 Pi Ya-nuo / Pi Ya-chi
2018Meet Me @ 10061006的房客Chen Yu-fangGuest appearance
2021Piggy's Counterattack三隻小豬的逆襲Chu Hsiao-tung
2023Love Yourself沒有你依然燦爛Sun Min-min

Film

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleRoleNotes
2004 Free as Love 浮生若夢 Ah Pin
2005 How's Life 生命狂想曲 Lai Hsin-yi Television
Ashia's Dream 愛絲希雅的夢中夢 Nurse Guest appearance
Chocolate Rap巧克力重擊 Ally Lin
2006 Auctioning Off A Corner of the World 拍賣世界的角落 Fran Television
2007Motorbike on Fire! 燃燒吧!機車 Wu Ke-wei Short film
2008Clinic 黑道診所 Ai Hsiao-hui Television
2009 Taipei 24H 台北異想Megan Lai Segment "Share the Morning"
L-O-V-E 愛到底Yen Segment "San sheng you xing"
2011 Will You Still Love Me 妳是否依然愛我 Peggy Tien
You Are the Apple of My Eye 那些年,我們一起追的女孩 One half of a couple Guest appearance
2012 Jumping Boy 不倒翁的奇幻旅程 A-yun
2014 Proposal 家事提案 Lee Hsiao-tung Television
Café. Waiting. Love 等一個人咖啡 A Bu-si
2015 The End of Love 愛情的盡頭 Li Yi-lun Television
2016 10,000 Miles 一萬公里的約定 Ellie
2019 Fagara花椒之味Branch Au-yeung
The Last Thieves聖人大盜Hsu Ching
2020Get The Hell Out逃出立法院Hsiung Ying-ying
2023Cyber Heist斷網Sandy To Wing-shan

Variety show

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleNotes
2005 Super Deal超級好康A Host
2007–2010 GoGo JapanHost

Music video

YearArtistSong title
2000Shino Lin"This is"
2001Chiang Yu-heng"Deny"
Stefanie Sun"Kite"
Sammi Cheng"Future"
Tiger Huang"Firework Live"
Shunza"There's No Ugly Woman"
2002Vic Chou"Hotline for Help"
Eason Chan"Men's Fault"
Yang Kun and Chen Lin"World of Us"
2004Faith Yang"Queen"
2010Huang Pin-yuan"Pisces Love"
A-Lin"Give Me A Reason To Forget"
2011Cindy Yen"Let Go"
2012Princess Ai"Love Forever"
2017Wu Bai & China Blue"Ai Ni Wu Mu Di"
Bii"Think Of You"
2020JJ Lin"Drifters"

Discography

Studio albums

TitleAlbum detailsTrack listing
Love
  • Released: 28 December 2004
  • Label: Black Mustard
  • Formats: CD, digital download
FACE
  • Released: 27 March 2015
  • Label: More Entertainment
  • Formats: CD, digital download

Soundtrack appearances

YearSong titleAlbumNotes
2004"The Hardest Note"Mars OST
"感覺你"Starry Night OST
"愛可以燦爛很久"
2006"轉身的時候"Silence OST
2007"愛的勇氣"Corner with Love OST
"有你有我"Sweet Relationship OST
"直覺"
2010"小雨心事"Because of You OST
"團團愛"Rice Family OST
"冬末之戀"
2011"行行好"Rainbow Sweetheart OST
"如果不是你"
2012"快樂不倒翁"Jumping Boy OST
Crazy Idol Soap OSTMusical
2013"如果沒有你"Two Fathers OST
2014"未完待續"High Heels and a Scalpel OST
2015"Flow"Future Mr. Right OST
2016More Than Words OSTMusical
2017"依然是你"Art in Love OST
2018"舞魅娘"Wuda's Girls OST

Songwriting credits

YearAlbumArtistSong titleLyricsMusicNotes
CreditedWithCreditedWith
2004LoveMegan Lai"The Hardest Note"林尚德from Mars OST
"感覺你"from Starry Night OST
20112 be differentCindy Yen"釋懷"Alang Huang黃俊郎
2012Crazy Idol Soap OSTMegan Lai"忘掉"
2014Bring Me Home Charity Event Theme SongMickey HuangFang Wen-lin

Landy Wen

Xiu Jie Kai

Lin Yu-pin

Jay Shih

Steven Sun

Lyla Lin

"帶我回家"Ian Chen (F.I.R.)
FACEMegan Lai"未完待續"from High Heels and a Scalpel OST
2015"臉"
"Stray Dog"Real Huang (F.I.R.)
"Flow"from Future Mr. Right OST
"剛才"Deepwhite深白色
"女孩"
2018Art in Love OST"依然是你"Chris Yen顏維霆

Theater

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleRole
2009Fools 傻瓜村Su Wan-tung
2010Seventeen Year Itch 17年之癢Misa
2011By the End of the Flora Season 花季未了Chiang Yen-ping
2012Crazy Idol Soap 瘋狂偶像劇An-chi
The Goodbye Girl再見女郎Bao-chi
2012–2013
2014Crazy Idol Soap瘋狂偶像劇An-chi
2015 Crazy Television 3 瘋狂電視台3-來自地球的你
2016 More Than Words天天想你Hsu Man
2017 Crazy Idol Soap 瘋狂偶像劇An-chi
2019

Published works

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
2005 How's Life
200651st Asia-Pacific Film FestivalBest Actress
Chocolate Rap
2011 Invaluable Treasure 1949
2013Sanlih Drama AwardsBest ActressTwo Fathers
Best Kiss (with Weber Yang)
2014 Proposal
201550th Golden Bell AwardsBest Actress in a Miniseries or Television FilmThe End of Love
Sanlih Drama AwardsBest ActressBromance
202026th Hong Kong Film Critics Society AwardBest ActressFagara
39th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Supporting Actress

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 賴雅妍剪10年長髮 全為九把刀 - 娛樂新聞.
  2. Web site: 賴雅妍為戲削髮 帥氣滿點 - 娛樂.
  3. http://chinesemov.com/actors/Megan%20Lai.html Megan Lai at chinesemov.com
  4. Web site: 赖雅妍手袋当书包 读书演戏只为"爽"_影音娱乐_新浪网. ent.sina.com.cn. 27 January 2020.
  5. Web site: 赖雅妍学业事业皆得意 感情无依想找诚实熟男-搜狐娱乐. yule.sohu.com. 27 January 2020.
  6. Web site: 傑出校友 銘傳大學商品設計學系. web.pdd.mcu.edu.tw. 27 January 2020.
  7. Web site: 赖雅妍砸百万考取欧盟咖啡师 – 娱乐新闻. 中时电子报. 中时电子报. zh-Hant-TW. 16 June 2019.
  8. Web site: 8位出道前都曾上過《我猜》的女星美麗秘訣傳授:賴雅妍 / 安心亞 / HEBE田馥甄.... (特輯). VOGUE時尚網. 18 June 2019.
  9. Web site: 赖雅妍首张美形专辑《LOVE》听觉视觉双倍享受_影音娱乐_新浪网. ent.sina.com.cn. 27 January 2020.
  10. Web site: 赖雅妍代言化身蝙蝠女 自曝新戏扮足男人婆(图)_影音娱乐_新浪网. ent.sina.com.cn. 27 January 2020.
  11. Web site: 赖雅妍入围金钟奖视后 笑称要扮特别花瓶-搜狐娱乐. yule.sohu.com. 27 January 2020.
  12. Web site: 赖雅妍扮. 网易. 2 June 2012. ent.163.com. 27 January 2020.
  13. Web site: 只花10分鐘!賴雅妍被九把刀說服剪去長髮演女T ETtoday星光雲. ETtoday新聞雲. star.ettoday.net. 23 March 2014 . zh-Hant. 27 January 2020.
  14. Web site: Film review: 10,000 Miles – Sean Huang, Megan Lai in cliched drama. 1 January 2017. South China Morning Post. en. 29 October 2019.
  15. Web site: Sports film on melodrama steroids. hermes. 1 December 2016. The Straits Times. en. 29 October 2019.
  16. Web site: 赖雅妍、李淳双双入围金钟 开心受访 – 娱乐. 中时电子报. 中时电子报. zh-Hant-TW. 29 October 2019.
  17. Web site: 比阿不思還帥!賴雅妍新戲化身白馬王子哭:其實想變回女生 娛樂星聞 三立新聞網 SETN.COM. 三立新聞網. 2 September 2015. www.setn.com. zh-Hant-TW. 27 January 2020.
  18. Web site: 賴雅妍、陳楚河好有愛 《哥們》見面會將開跑 – 娛樂. 中時電子報. 中時電子報. zh-Hant-TW. 29 October 2019.
  19. Web site: 賴雅妍演音樂劇謝幕淚崩 感動「我演回女生也蠻成功的」 娛樂星聞 三立新聞網 SETN.COM. 三立新聞網. 2 April 2016. www.setn.com. zh-Hant-TW. 29 October 2019.
  20. Web site: 第二十六屆香港電影評論學會大獎得獎理由撮要. www.filmcritics.org.hk. zh-hant. 27 January 2020.