10 questions for Nicholas Tse

Las

t year, actor and singer Nicholas Tse was convicted for letting his driver take the rap after Tse slammed his sports car into a guard rail. Still paying his debt to society, Tse tells TIME's Kate Drake about his fortnight in the slammer, what happened to that famous Ferrari and why he is still the baddest boy in Canto-pop.

You seem less confident since the accident. You used to come across as a little cocky. Have you changed?
I've learned that it's even—to put it your way—more cocky if you don't say anything. It's like Muhammad Ali (and the rope-a-dope strategy he used against George Foreman in Zaire)—that kind of cocky. I think he won more impressively doing that than if he'd come out swinging and KO'd Foreman in two minutes.

Do you still have your Ferrari 360 Modena?
Well, I used to—that's the one I crashed. Actually, the 360 was a present from my company. They told me that since I accounted for 56% of their revenue, I got the car. Now I wish they had just given me the cash.

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Local papers made you sound like a sissy when you were in Jail, saying that you claimed you shouldn't be there because of asthma.
I heard a lot of that stuff. But the funny thing was, the people in the facility saw the papers, and then they realized how much crap people talk. One of the rumors during that time was that I was smashed in the head with a guitar. The guys were, like, 'what the hell? We don't even have a guitar in here!'

Did you make any friends in there?
There were guys who helped me out in terms of just being there when I felt down or whatever. When all the legal stuff is over—the appeal stuff—I will go back and pay them a visit. This time I'll see them from the outside.

Do you think your image needs improving since the accident?
No. I was a rebel, but I'm not anymore. Not because I've changed but because back then, I was the only (entertainer) speaking out, saying it straight. But now it's not only me, there are a lot of other guys who will do the same. I might have been one of the first guys, but I'm not a rebel, I'm just a truth speaker. All those people who don't tell the truth suck.

I was told that Coca-Cola terminated your contract after the accident.
Actually, we're re-signing it now. I have seven commercials on hand, and I'm going to produce songs for Twins, Karen Mok and a few other guys. I also have 12 movie scripts. What's funny is that the money that's going to me has gone up—by 40%.

What kind of music do you want to make?
My music. Comfortable music. The music that rightly expresses where I am at that time and place—unless someone cuts me a check for $80 million and says, 'please write me this type of song.'

People say that you let down your fans with the accident by not being a perfect role model
Who's perfect? You shouldn't curse, you shouldn't say s--- or f---, right? Sorry, I do that. You shouldn't smoke, right? (He taps his cigarette.) I do that. I don't drink because of asthma. I've never been that perfect-idol guy. For me, there is no perfect. When you get a piece of bread, you find out there's toast. When you get toast you find there's butter, then peanut butter, then jam. Oops, then you find smoked salmon. Then someone passes you a club sandwich. Do you think that's perfect? No. You clear the whole damn table and someone says 'there's caviar.' There's always something better.

What do you want to improve about yourself?
Everything. I want to reach a higher level of thinking. If you don't have that mental discipline to improve you won't push yourself harder and harder.

How do you discipline yourself?
I don't.