UNLIKE in Painted Skin where she played Pei Rong (the wife of a general during the Qin Dynasty), in the sequel, Vicki Zhao Wei portrays a princess who is madly in love with General Huo Xin (Chen Kun).

However, the princess’ face is ravaged by a bear during a hunting excursion. Thinking that Huo Xin will not love her anymore because of her disfigurement, the dejected princess decides to trade her heart for the beautiful face and skin of the demon Xiao Wei (Zhou Xun).

Asked about her character at the preview of the movie at the Shanghai International Film Festival recently, the 36-year-old actress said she had to wear a golden mask that covers half her face throughout the shoot.

“The mask is very expensive and is one of the highlights of the movie. I guess many viewers would put on something like that as a fashion statement after watching the movie,” she quipped.

Vicki Zhao Wei, as Princess Jing, in her very expensive gold mask.

After a two-year hiatus from acting and giving birth to her daughter in 2010, Zhao Wei returned to the silver screen starring in Love as a single mother.

In March, she started directing her first movie called Zhi Wo Men Zhong Jiang Shi Qu De Qing Chun (loosely translated as Until We Finally Lost Our Youth).

Director Wuershan said Zhao Wei would become a successful director.

“She has told me some of the things in her film and asked for my advice on how to handle certain things. I think she has a lot of potential as a director as she knows how to express her thoughts through her works.

“She helped the actors on the set interpret their characters and deal with their acting as well,” he added.

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