[Reporter Fu Mingyu/Reporting from Taipei] Kenna, a Taiwanese-African mixed-race actor who became popular from the show "One Half", was shortlisted for the "Lifestyle Program Host Award" at the Golden Bell Awards for the first time this year with "City Escape". He will compete with powerful rivals such as Tsang Baoyi, Ma Shifang, and Nie Yun for the award. When the list was announced, not only he himself couldn't believe it, but even his agent immediately thought they had the same name. Kenna admitted that he still hasn't completely recovered from his emotions, and lamented: "I never expected this to happen to me, but it happened suddenly."
Kenna was nominated for the 59th Golden Bell Awards "Lifestyle Program Host Award" for the first time with "City Escape". After learning the good news, he said frankly that he "didn't dare to hope". (provided by broker)
Kenna's father is Taiwanese and his mother is South African. Although he grew up in Taiwan, he went to South Africa to study for 6 years after graduating from elementary school. When he returned to Taiwan to develop his acting career, he was not fluent in Chinese. Adhering to the attitude of "dedicate 100% to what you want to do" and not let the production unit spend money in vain, he practiced hard in private by watching a lot of Chinese dramas. When he encountered new words, he would go online to check the phonetic notation, pronunciation, retroflex sounds and meanings of the words. From the early days when he was shy and introverted, to being so nervous that he couldn't speak when he took over the baton for the first time, he gradually developed his fluent eloquence by practicing on location.
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Talking about the turning point of hosting, Kenner admitted that he faced huge setbacks on "Whose House Should I Stay Tonight?" At that time, my co-star Li Liren was good at setting up the atmosphere and controlling emotions. One time, he was asked to share his experience after listening to the interviewee's story. Unexpectedly, his mind went blank and he blurted out: "Wow, brother, that mask of yours is so cool!" which instantly ruined the touching atmosphere. This mistake caused him to lose sleep for two days. He blamed himself and shouted: "Brother Li Ren threw the ball to me and I couldn't catch it. As soon as I opened my mouth, the quality of the program would be lowered."
Kenna, who is of mixed Taiwanese and African descent, made his fortune in "One Half Strong". When he first returned to Taiwan, his Chinese was not fluent. He relied on studying phonetic notation and retroflexion in private to practice fluent speaking. (provided by broker)
But this experience also made him realize that the key to hosting is listening and grasping emotions, and he regarded Li Liren as an important noble person. Kenna recalled that the location was very intense at that time, with 4 to 5 episodes having to be filmed in two days, doing everything from exposure to the sun, going to the fields, and doing handicrafts. Seeing that even though Li Liren, a superstar, was covered in sweat and mud, he immediately put aside his fatigue and went all out as soon as the countdown started, which shocked Kenner. He said to himself, "Superstars like Li In have already gone to work, what do I have to complain about?" and established a work attitude of "When others give us this opportunity and give us a job, we have to go all out."
Kenner took foreigners hiking to introduce Taiwan and praised the maintenance of mountains and forests for giving them a sense of security. (provided by broker)
This time in "City Escape", Kenna leads foreign friends to visit the mountains and forests of Taiwan, climbing from low altitudes to high mountains. Rather than the scenery along the way, what moved him most was Taiwan's emphasis on mountaineering environment and safety maintenance, including trail arrangement, dangerous road section notices and mountainous communication signal maintenance. He praised: "Even if I accidentally miscalculated the time and it was getting dark, I would not feel that my life was in danger." This deep affection for the land and solid location hosting skills were finally recognized by the Golden Bell Award.
