At the age of 79, Qin Han, the Golden Horse Award-winning actor, made his return to Taiwanese drama after many years of absence. He recently portrayed a role of a father with dementia in the Netflix Chinese series “Forget Me Not” directed by Sylvia Chang. Referring to himself as being in his “senior years,” Qin Han, during an interview alongside Sylvia Chang and Xie Yingxuan on May 6th, revealed his secret to staying youthful is by avoiding playing old and sickly characters. He has always maintained his youth by keeping up with his basketball hobby since his younger days.
“Forget Me Not” has caused a stir even before its release, with numerous elderly fans commenting enthusiastically, “I watched Qin Han when I was young, and now as a grandmother, he still looks handsomely aged!” In response to this, Qin Han mentioned that he has always steered clear of acting as elderly and ailing characters, emphasizing his own good health and aversion to hospitals.
When asked how to prevent dementia, Qin Han humorously remarked, “One must cultivate an interest in collecting things and losing oneself in them.” He shared that for decades, his life was consumed by acting, leaving him no time for hobbies or enjoying his favorite music. However, in recent years, he has devoted significant time to listening to various genres of music such as classical, pop, and jazz, finding pleasure in them. Despite delving deeply into hi-fi audio equipment, he realized it was a costly path and now opts for a more relaxed approach to enjoyment without overly indulging in material possessions.
Sylvia Chang disclosed that Qin Han still adheres to his daily routine of playing basketball, mentioning, “He even runs nine laps around the court beforehand, as he found ten laps too tiring and eight laps insufficient – nine laps are just right for him.” Qin Han chuckled and remarked, “To stay younger, one should try to do things they enjoyed doing when they were 18 or 20. I used to play basketball in my youth, so I continue to do so now. As long as I don’t look in the mirror, I find that everything remains the same.” He emphasized the importance of maintaining a youthful mindset.
Sylvia Chang further revealed that Qin Han often exercises under the scorching midday sun, which initially puzzled her, wondering if he wasn’t concerned about getting sunburnt. However, Qin Han’s rationale was straightforward – he strategically chooses to exercise at noon when most people are having lunch. Despite having retreated from the spotlight for many years, Qin Han, still radiating charm, prefers to keep a low profile to avoid attracting undue attention from the public.