Her name won’t ring a bell, but if you’ve watched enough TVB dramas, you’ll probably find her familiar.

Hui Pik Kee has been acting for 30 years. And she only started acting when she was 60, but more on her late career start later.

The 90-year-old has played many granny roles in her three decade-long career as a calefare. Her most common role is that of a ‘cardboard granny’, an elderly scavenger who roams the streets of Hongkong collecting cardboard. The image is so ingrained in viewers’ minds that she often gets mistaken for a real cardboard collector.

While some image conscious actors may snub such roles, not Pik Kee. “How dirty can it be? I think it’s fun. I don’t think it’s gross. Others don’t want to do it, I’ll do it all,” she said.

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She got a very late start to her acting career

Pik Kee only started acting when she was close to 60 because she was… bored. "I happened to see an ad recruiting actors in the newspaper,” said the mother-of-four. “Although I don't know much, I think I know how to act because I watch a lot of dramas. I can watch a movie three times." 

Her job as a TVB extra has given her the opportunity to work with stars like Andy Lau, Stephen Chow, and the late Cantopop diva Anita Mui, and she would always take a photo with them after each job.