Because he couldn't afford big-name actors, Chang strategically used people who came from backgrounds similar to the characters they were playing. For instance, Chiou Hsiou-min, who plays the mother, is in real life a singer for a kangle troupe. The grandfather actually plays nanguan and beiguan music on his suona horn at the gate of a Keelung Temple.
由於無法付出高額演員費，張作驥「策略性」地選用身分背景和故事角色接近的人物參與演出，例如飾演媽媽的邱秀敏本身就是康樂隊的歌手，會吹嗩吶的阿公就在基隆廟口吹南北管。