Veteran actor Xie Shaoguang starring in Chinese drama Last Hurrah with Chen Hanwei, premiering in late 2025

A recipient of multiple Star Awards, Xie Shaoguang famously left showbiz in 2005 to take up Buddhist monkhood. During his hiatus, he also ran an animal sanctuary and cooked at a vegetarian restaurant in Malaysia.

“I was on a quest of spiritual rediscovery. I was burnt out,” he said in a previous interview with CNA Lifestyle.

Adding that the death of his family members played a factor in his decision to quit, Xie shared: “When I was acting and playing all these characters and dealing with the emotions, it was a good release. It helped me understand.”

However, work kept him from being fully in touch with himself.

“It affected my private life. The audience would say, ‘Oh, you did a good job’, but I don’t think I did a very good job in my private life…That’s when I found that a job is not everything.”

He shared in the previous interview that he decided to return to acting after being encouraged by his ex-manager, who currently heads Mediacorp’s The Celebrity Agency.

“Acting has always been my passion. She said, ‘Since you’re passionate about this, why don’t you come back?’”

“I hope my timing is right,” he said.