PUBLISHED ONOctober 16, 2026 8:45 AMUPDATED23 minutes agoBYYeo Shu HuiWhile filming the new supernatural thriller film The Mage, Hong Kong actress Josie Ho's performance as a mentally unsound scavenger who sees ghosts "surprised" director Danny Pang.
The 60-year-old joked to AsiaOne during a recent interview that Josie has "split personalities that no one knows about".
He vividly recounted a police interrogation scene they filmed, where Josie, who turns 52 in December, improvised the delivery of her very long lines.
Danny shared: "When I wrote the script, it was a scene of the character explaining she's not a murderer but a saviour... But when I watched Josie perform the scene through the monitor, I realised she selected some lines to say to the police officer opposite her and there were some lines she spoke to herself.
"And what was horrifying was there were also some lines she said to the aggrieved soul behind her. As I watched it, I thought, how could this person give this layered performance in a long shot with three cameras? So, I believed it could only be this person has split personalities."
Danny, together with Josie, her actor husband Conroy Chan, as well as surgeon-turned-actor Iman Taheri, were speaking to AsiaOne in Bangkok, Thailand, for The Mage media event, held in conjunction with the Bangkok International Film Festival in September.
Directed by Danny and his twin brother Oxide, who are collectively known as the Pang Brothers, the film centres on Lan Pui Ching (Josie), an eccentric woman who collects garbage from the streets and becomes a suspect when she repeatedly appears at crime scenes involving deaths.
While police officer Wong Ming (Carlos Chan) initially believes she is mentally unstable, he soon discovers Pui Ching's ability to see and communicate with the dead and the "garbage" she collects contains fragments of the souls of people who died unnaturally.
As they investigate the deaths together, dodging sceptical police superintendent Iman (Iman), they gradually uncover a sinister conspiracy to extend the life of a mysterious cult leader, and it is up to Pui Ching to overcome her inner demons to stop the next death.
The Mage marks the Pang Brothers' reunion after 12 years. They are best known for their The Eye movie franchise (2002 - 2010) and last worked together on Out of Inferno (2013).
This is also the first movie to be screened in Cantonese and Mandarin in Singapore cinemas, following the relaxation of rules on dialect film screenings announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during the National Day Rally in August.
On working with Oxide again after more than a decade, Danny said both of them felt very honoured and thanked Josie for the opportunity.
Josie's production company 852 Films, which she co-owns with Conroy, produced The Mage.
We asked if the brothers, who are known for their horror films, felt pressured to live up to their reputation.
Danny shared that they had thought hard about what they could offer the audience through their film: "What would make us want to watch it? This is very important and I think directors should first ask themselves this — why I should make this movie and not why I should watch this after I've completed it. If I don't want to make it or watch it, how do I ask the audience to catch it?
"The Mage satisfied my requirements, and I dare to say, in the 100-plus years of movie history, there hasn't been a film about a scavenger and one who shows emotions towards rubbish. I believe ours is the first. I'm motivated because of this and so I don't think it's pressure."
Josie's good performance extended even when the focus was not on her in a scene, as Danny recalled.
"Do you know, an actor is very powerful if the film editor feels compelled to add in your footage even when the focus isn't on you? Josie managed that," he said.
He explained that after filming Josie in the interrogation scene, he told the crew to adjust the cameras so that they could focus most of their shots on Iman and another actor with two cameras on them and one on Josie.
However, as Danny was editing the film later, he realised that while the focus wasn't on Josie and she didn't have any lines, she continued to perform.
"Josie continued muttering to herself... She was looking at the photos of the deceased, explaining something with micro expressions. I was supposed to edit in footage of the other two actors, but Josie's footage was too exciting so I added more," he shared.
He added: "This is what the most successful actors do — they make the editor unable to cut your footage out. I've shared this to many actors before — the editor can save and also harm an actor. As a film editor, I've met two of such actors — one is Shu Qi and the other is Josie."
Josie was appreciative of Danny's high praises, sharing that because she treasures his trust in her to play Pui Ching, she wanted to do her best for the role.
She said: "I believe that as an actor, we are chess pieces and the director is the player who controls the game. What I should do is to fully understand the director and screenwriter's vision and ask questions if I don't understand.
"I have been friends with Danny for a long time so we are very direct with each other. When I ask him what he expects of a scene, such as whether I should act crazy or angry, he wouldn't beat around the bush and would tell me directly what he wants, so we are able to able to film very efficiently."
Danny added: "I dare to say this, if Josie gets nominated or wins a best actress award, I'm 100 per cent sure it's because the jury saw the interrogation scene. It is a rare performance."
The Mage is now showing in Shaw Theatres with Cantonese and Mandarin screenings.
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