After six years of focusing on her movie career, mainland Chinese actress Vicki Zhao (趙薇) will return to television with her upcoming drama, Tiger Mom <虎媽猫爸>.

Vicki’s last drama, An Epic of a Woman <一個女人的史詩>, was released in 2009. After that, she turned her focus to the film industry, receiving an MFA from Beijing Film Academy and even directing her own movie, So Young <致我們終將逝去的青春>, which came out in theaters last year.

Many fans wondered what sparked her sudden return to television, especially since acting in movies is considered an easier and more lucrative route in the Chinese entertainment industry. Vicki shared that she was drawn to the cast and screenplay of Tiger Mom, both of which she thought were very strong. She also felt that the quality and content of current Chinese dramas are superior to that of previous years.

However, Vicki acknowledged the challenges in transitioning back to television projects, admitting that “filming this drama felt like [I was] filming 50 movies.” She also denied that she had collected a 35 million RMB paycheck for Tiger Mom, adding that her pay was “within a reasonable range.”

Despite portraying the titular tiger mom, Vicki said that, in real life, she is not particularly strict with others or with herself. In fact, in her household, her four-year-old daughter is the one who possesses the tiger-like qualities, with Vicki and her husband listening to her demands.

“I spend too much time on work and don’t have many opportunities to spend with my child,” Vicki explained. “I don’t want our short interactions to leave a bad impression on her, so my position in the household is lower.”

Tiger Mom is inspired by the controversial parenting book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom, written by Chinese-American lawyer/professor Amy Chua. The drama also stars Tong Dawei (佟大為) as the tiger mom’s husband and Dong Jie (董洁) as an education specialist whose teaching philosophy clashes with that of the tiger mom.

Source: QQ.com

This article is written by Joanna for JayneStars.com.