They've been paired onscreen many times, but it took their most recent film, The Storm Warriors, to inject new life into their working relationship.

Charlene Choi, actress and one-half of Hong Kong's popular Canto-pop gal duo Twins (the other half is Gillian Chung), was talking about the dynamics between herself and her Storm Warriors co-star, Ekin Cheng.

The 28-year-old has starred with Ekin in no fewer than six movies since 2002.

"I like working with Ekin very much,” she said in a phone interview with FiRST from Hong Kong.

"We've acted together on many, many occasions, but this time round, the feeling was really different."

Giggling, she explained that Ekin, 42, used to treat her "like a younger brother".

"I guess it's because we acted in mainly comedies, which required our roles to be wacky and goofy," she said.

"He saw me as a little boy."

In The Storm Warriors, which opens today in theatres, however, Charlene sports long, willowy locks – a stark contrast to her usual cutesy, teenybopper appearance.

She plays Second Dream, the love interest of Ekin’s Whispering Wind.

"Tenderness is a trait I'm not usually associated with, especially in movies," said Charlene.

"But my character, Second Dream, is extremely gentle.

"For the first time in my acting career, Ekin finally treated me like a real woman."

She added jokingly that it was an "improvement" for her.

All womanly now

Indeed, local reporters have heard nothing but good feedback about her portrayal of Second Dream from her co-star.

Ekin, who was in town last month with fellow Storm Warriors leading man Aaron Kwok, and directors Oxide and Danny Pang, shared with the press then that he "liked how Ah Sa (Charlene’s nickname) looked and carried herself in the film".

"She is all womanly now," Ekin said with a grin. "Some people have commented that in The Storm Warriors, both of us look alike, like the way some husbands and wives do (have that compatible look)."

But in real life, it's strictly business between the two good friends.

Charlene is attached to singer-actor Ronald Cheng, while Ekin is dating TVB actress Yoyo Mung.

Although Charlene enjoyed the role of Second Dream, she admitted that "it's a pity that the female roles in the film are very minor".

"Actually, I've told the directors that it would be great if the number of romantic scenes could be increased," she said.

"But they wanted to stay true to the spirit of the comic book – The Storm Warriors was adapted from comic series Fung Wan – so eventually, the focus remained on the action and special effects."

The gutsy actress hopes to make some changes though.

"I've told them that should they want to shoot the sequel later, I would be part of it if the relationship segments are expanded," she said.

"If not, I don’t mind doing the fighting scenes."

Charlene is aware of the male dominance in the Hong Kong film industry.

"It’s a fact that in today’s movies (in Hong Kong), men are still featured more prominently than women," she said.

"For example, movies like The Warlords and Curse Of The Golden Flower have a lot more leading men than women."

However, Charlene said she was "never daunted" by the reality.

"Basically, I'm not the sort to turn down roles I'm offered, unless I really hate them," she said.

"I always choose my scripts based on (how I feel about them), not because it's a major character, or because it can win me awards."