SHOULD his claims of being best buddies with his son be true, Joe Ma could very well seal his reputation as every teenage boy's dream dad.

The tanned Hong Kong TV actor, 41, who was in town on Wednesday for a private StarHub Cable TV event, talked to The New Paper candidly about his relationship with his 12-year-old son, Zaixiang.

"I've treated him like a good friend since he was a boy," said Joe with a laugh.
"We can talk about everything under the sun."

Joe had nothing but praise for Zaixiang, whom he said was "very mature for his age".

He said: "It's partly due to the fact that my wife and I chose to enrol him in an international school.

"The environment is quite liberal there."

Strictly an act

Indeed, he seemed to prefer a laissez-faire approach when communicating with Zaixiang, who will begin his secondary education next year.

It also helps that Zaixiang understands his dad's profession and doesn't bat an eyelid watching Joe do romantic scenes.

Said Joe: "He is a huge fan of movies, so he knows that what he sees on screen is strictly an act."

A police officer and model before he carved out a career in TV, Joe will next be seen in the new 41-episode drama series, Born Rich.

The show, also starring veteran actors Anita Yuen, Roy Lui and Gallen Lo, will debut on StarHub Demand TV on 15 Mar.

Working with two-time Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actress Anita, 38, proved to be a "truly enjoyable" experience for him.

"Anita is an extremely smart lady," he remarked.

"Filming with her went so smoothly, we hardly had any bad takes."

Trouble

But the good chemistry between them didn't exactly manifest itself in the beginning.

Said Joe: "She later admitted to me that she did not like me initially."

Her impression of him as "someone who brought trouble with him wherever he went" was formed from the Hong Kong paparazzi's reports of him.

A few years back, Joe was a scandal-ridden celeb, his life plagued with speculation of extra-marital affairs with fellow TV actresses Sonija Kwok and Charmaine Sheh.

He has denied all the rumours.

He said: "It was only after we got to know each other well that Anita realised I was actually very humorous.

"We started cracking jokes to each other and had great fun on set."

This article was first published in The New Paper.