CHINESE actress Kitty Zhang Yuqi is a woman of many faces.
You probably know her as the demure teacher in Stephen Chow's alien film CJ7, or the sweet, cheongsam-clad waitress in the new Japanese film Shaolin Girl.
But Kitty can also be sexy - evident in earlier paparazzi photos of her appearing in a hotel swimming pool, clad in a cleavage-spilling red bikini.
After all, she was known as the Shandong Bo Ba, or busty lady from Shandong in China, when she was first picked from an audition for CJ7 two years ago.
STRAIGHT TALKER
And she admitted this in a phone interview with The New Paper, from Beijing: 'I'm a sexy little girl... Sexiness is the highest compliment that you can give to a woman.'
Sexy, yes, but coy she isn't.
Instead, she came across as frank, straightforward, and as one who doesn't mince her words.
Her throaty laugh is endearing, and unlike most shy and reserved newbies, she had no qualms responding to sensitive questions, like a recent rumour about her and Hong Kong actor Stephen Fung.
Never mind that she didn't leave any strong impression when she was here with Chow in February to promote CJ7.
Chow was the undisputed star and commanded all the media attention.
But Kitty has progressed since, scoring three more prominent projects after the phenomenal success of CJ7.
There's Fung's hip-hop dance flick Jump, Tsui Hark's female-centric Women Aren't Bad, and Shaolin Girl - her first foray into the Japanese market with Chow watching over her as the film's executive producer.
In more ways than one, Shaolin Girl is the sequel to Chow's hugely successful Shaolin Soccer, albeit set in Japan this time.
It opens here on Thursday.
Kitty, 21, had fond memories of filming in Japan and learning how to play lacrosse - a racket and ball game that is somewhat like hockey.
And she fell in love with the game.
'It's a team sport like basketball, and it's exciting to train for it because it's full of energy. But you'd get hurt easily. The balls hit some of the girls' faces and it was quite painful.'
Her own face was unscathed, but she pulled some muscles during filming.
'Kou's injuries were more serious than mine,' she added, referring to the lead actress Kou Shibasaki.
Kou plays a Chinese Shaolin-trained Japanese girl who returns home to promote Shaolin gongfu, but joins a lacrosse team instead under the influence of Kitty's character.
Kitty said Kou was concerned about her and asked if she could adapt to filming in Japan.
But it wasn't too tough for Kitty, who had the company of two Shaolin Soccer alumni - Lam Tze Chung and Man Tin Kai from Hong Kong.
They reprise their roles as Shaolin disciples in disguise.
Despite the obvious communication barrier, Kitty said the crew took very good care of her and other actresses.
'They're so attentive. Once we were shooting in the field and it was really hot, and they held umbrellas to shade us from the sun.'
While all was nice and rosy in Japan, Kitty did face some criticism back home in China and Hong Kong.
Reports said she was too blunt and arrogant for a newbie, but it didn't seem to bother her.
HUMBLE
'I'm still like that. I don't know how to be diplomatic. When faced with a problem, I'd rather be direct than beat around the bush.'
As for being labelled arrogant, she added: 'If I hurt anyone, I apologise and re-examine myself, see if I'm really like that.
'But my answer is, I'm still very humble,' she added with a laugh.
Humour is also her way of fending off sensitive questions.
When asked about rumours that she's dating Fung, she laughed and said: 'That's so ridiculous! It's just that we're about the same age and we play and have fun together.'
She also finds it 'ridiculous' that she should be labelled Xing Nu Lang (Stephen Chow Girl) after CJ7.
'We don't even know how (the term) came about. Are you automatically called Xing Nu Lang because you work with him?
'But I think it sounds good, it's bright and loud,' she added.
Given her sense of humour, no wonder her Shaolin Girl co-star Tze Chung said she was quite a joker.
When asked by The New Paper to pick his dream girl between Kou and Kitty, he chose Kou for her big, expressive eyes.
'Kitty's eyes can speak too, but it's more like they're joking with you.'
