LIKE its title plainly suggests, 3D Naked Ambition is full of, well, actors in their birthday suits. It's a role that Hong Kong funnyman, Chapman To, took seriously enough to whip himself into shape for this reboot of the similarly titled 2003 adult comedy that starred Louis Khoo (who also has a cameo here) and Cantopop singer Eason Chan.

"The dieting was the toughest part; for three months, I only ate chicken breast meat, vegetables, egg whites and cut out oil and sugar totally," says To, via an e-mail interview. "On top of that, I had to keep to a strict three-hour exercise regime every day... I used Sylvester Stallone's Rocky character as my role model because he was not afraid of pain to get the body he wanted."

One can hardly blame To for wanting to look his best. The 42-year-old's co-stars include not one but seven real-life Japanese adult video actresses - Anri Okita, Maiko Yuki, Kana Yume, Nozomi Aso, Tsukasa Aoi and Yui Tatsum. "I was a little shy at first, of course, but after seeing how professional they were (even when acting with their clothes off), their courage rubbed off on me," adds the comedian, who shared many topless scenes with them.