Maggie Cheung still enjoys acting, but not life in studio

Photo: Maggie Cheung still enjoys acting, but not life in studio

Maggie Cheung, Cannes best actress winner, said in her rare public appearance Thursday she's cut down her output because she doesn't like life on the set.

"I don't take on that many movies these days because I don't miss the set. I enjoy the moment when I'm acting, how to immerse in character, figuring out how to portray something with my colleagues ... but sometimes waiting on the set for six hours is very common," the Hong Kong actress said after attending a promotional event for bank HSBC.

"Sometimes I think, 'Six hours! How much I could have done. How many friends I could have seen. How many movies I could have watched,"' said Cheung, who hasn't appeared in a movie since 2004.

Cheung said she's in talks about several movie projects and has met with directors Tsai Ming-liang of Malaysia and Jia Zhangke from China, but hasn't committed to any roles.

She said she wants to stay away from heavy roles.

"At this moment, I don't want to portray characters that are too heavy," Cheung told reporters, adding she enjoys the break from tragic characters.

"Because I haven't made any movies recently, I don't have to think, 'I need to cry in this scene. I need to be emotionally immersed,"' she said.

Cheung won the best actress award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in "Clean." "Clean" and another 2004 movie, Wong Kar-wai's "2046," are the last movies she appeared in.