More than just a pretty face(2)

Her other cameo was in Iron Man 3, and Fan's brief appearance was featured only in the Chinese edition of the Hollywood movie. What was intended to appeal to Chinese audiences was instead viewed as something of an insult, because Fan's scene was cut from all screenings outside China. "Foreign filmmakers do not care about Chinese actors. They care about the Chinese market," Fan says. "They put Chinese faces into their work to achieve better box-office results in China. It's very passive for us actors."

However, Fan treats such roles as a learning experience — "to broaden my horizon and to understand their work processes and technology". Fan is to play Blink, an unstable mutant with the ability to teleport in the upcoming installment of X-Men, another Hollywood franchise.

Back in China, Fan is concentrating on star vehicles that seem to be tailor-made for her. In 2009, she appeared in a supporting role in Eva Jin's debut film Sophie's Revenge. "Eva came to me before she wrote her follow-up to that film and asked me if I would mind playing an unmarried pregnant woman. She assured me that the character would be kind and lovable. She has strong feminine sensibilities," Fan explains.

One Night Surprise, Eva Jin's new film centered around Fan's character, is a cross between Hollywood films Knocked Up and The Hangover, but it is a chick flick which ends not only happily, but with traditional Chinese values unchallenged. Fan gets to show a range of expressions, moods and emotions. "The role is close to that of a modern woman in China," she says. "Even though I've not been pregnant, I can totally relate to her."

But One Night Surprise, which opens on Aug 9, is just one of the type of films Fan Bingbing loves to do — "the fun movies that are embraced by the public" as she puts it. The other kind tends to deglamorize her and portray her as an ordinary woman. Lost in Beijing, Buddha Mountain and Double Xposure were all directed by Li Yu, another female filmmaker, and show Fan in a different light, nabbing her many awards in the process. "These have more depth and more impact on me," she says.

That duality may explain why Fan chooses Black Swan and Malena as the kind of dream projects she would love to jump into in the future. Natalie Portman's role in Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller has a dark side that may seduce many serious actresses. And Monica Bullucci has such allure in Giuseppe Tornatore's romantic drama that a walk down the street is enough to conquer the cinematic world.

"It would be wonderful to have a Chinese boy steal looks at a mature woman in an old Chinese town," says Fan. Perhaps she is aware of the futility of trying to shake off the siren image, so she's ready to riff off of it.

Fan Bingbing wants to be known not only as an idol, but as someone who can act. "I hope to have the hallmark of actresses of this generation." She defines it as inheriting the good qualities of her parents' generation — her father used to be a singer and her mother a dancer — and also absorbing the new things from the younger generation.

"We are lucky to be active at a time when China's film industry is booming," she says.

But she says the older generation achieved great things, despite living in a non-commercial era and not fully realizing their potential.

"My parents gave me art in my genes. I set my eyes on the goal of becoming an actress when I was around the age of 11 or 12. I would use my mom's white scarf and play the role of Madam White Snake and have my schoolmate play my sidekick. I wanted to look beautiful and things of beauty would fascinate me even back then," she recalls.

Now, people are talking about who would be the next Fan Bingbing. Yes, beauty helps, but it takes much more than beauty to have a career like Fan's.