American model and actor Rich Ting will have a very busy year in Vietnam, he said in a recent interview with Tuoi Tre.

Rich Ting and Angelina Jolie in “Salt”.

How many times have you returned to Vietnam since the “Venus Fashion: Secret of the Night” fashion show in Saigon last year?

The fifth. Compared to the last four times, when I only stayed for 5-6 days, this is the most special because this time I will work in Saigon for a long time to take part in two TV series produced by Vietnam.

Could you disclose some information about either series?

In the first TV show entitled “Nguyen and Tran”, I will play a Vietnamese American who returns home to work. This film is produced by the Han-Viet Film and centers on the competition in the motorbike business between two companies of the Nguyen and Tran families. This film has 40 episodes and I will join it from the 10^th episode. This project will start in March.

The second film is a big project of a famous producer in Vietnam. I can’t talk more about.

You are a model for many renowned fashion firms and an actor in the US. How did Vietnamese producers know about you and invite you to join their projects?

Before joining these films, through my agency in Saigon, I went to Vietnam several times to participate in fashion shows and to take photos for fashion magazines. Through these, I have built good relationships with Vietnamese models and actors.

Once, I received an email from a Vietnamese film producer offering me a role in his project. Perhaps they know me through my Vietnamese friends. We agreed to cooperate after approving the contracts.

Are these film projects attractive?

For me, it is important to work and act. As a professional actor, I think it is very good to cooperate with big Vietnamese producers.

Your characters in the two films are Vietnamese or an overseas Vietnamese. Is that difficult for you?

Of course, my characters will be dubbed, but I still try to learn Vietnamese with my interpreter. This is the best way to better understand the scripts.

Vietnamese is my fifth foreign language, besides the languages that I can speak fluently – Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Spanish.

So perhaps you will be “grabbed” in Vietnam for a long time with these film projects?

I always have well-designed short and long-run plans. 2010 will be my “Vietnamese year”. After being known more widely by American audiences, since last year I planned to expand my career in Asia, with Vietnam as my “strategic destination”.

In the interval between the two films and fashion shows in Vietnam, I will go to Beijing to be in films.

I decided to develop my career in Vietnam not because of the two films. I’m close to your country for another reason: my father and my uncle are doing business here. In my recent two months in Saigon, I welcomed the first Vietnamese Tet holiday and received “bao li xi” (New Year’s present).

I’ve worked in China and Thailand before, but when I work in Vietnam, I feel really happy.

I have also had opportunities to discover your unique traditions. I love them. I especially like Vietnamese women in ao dai!

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre