Actresses with mascara while filming sleeping scenes: Chen Hanwei calls out fellow actors who aren't 'real' enough

If you've ever stopped to ponder why actresses wake up with perfect hair and a face full of makeup, you're not alone.

It's a pet peeve for local veteran actor Chen Hanwei, and he has called out his female co-stars before because it doesn't look natural, he told host Quan Yi Fong in the latest episode of the meWATCH talkshow Hear U Out.

"I can't accept actresses who wear mascara while filming a scene of them sleeping. Or if they have lipstick and their hair is set beautifully," the 51-year-old said bluntly. 

"When I lie next to them [in the scene], I'll tell them, 'I really can't sleep next to you' and suggest that they remove their makeup."

Another thing that gets on his nerves? Actors who smile while doing household chores for a scene — because, seriously, who smiles while doing housework in real life?

When it comes to his craft, it's clear that Hanwei — a six-time Star Awards Best Actor winner — is all about keeping it real and natural, and he has no tolerance for actors who act for the sake of it.

In the episode, he also called out those who do over-the-top crying scenes.

He elaborated: "I can't accept those who cry [during a scene] and don't wipe their tears just because they're scared the audience can't see their tears — and their mucus is dripping out of their nose."

He's not just criticising for the sake of it, though. As he reasoned to Yi Fong, when normal people cry, they only show their tears to those they're close to. If they're crying in front of strangers, they would most often wipe their tears so people won't know.

However, he pointed out that some actors would simply refuse to clean their tears just to show that they're really crying.

"Their tears are flowing all the way down [the face to the neck] and even to the bottom of their feet and they won't wipe it," he added. 

Hanwei explained the reason he's tough on these actors is that these are mistakes he has committed before and he doesn't want others to repeat them.

ALSO READ: Chen Hanwei stole a box of toy trains as a kid, and years later, was worried about Mediacorp finding out

He also shared that while acting in the drama series SuperDad, where he plays a father to local actor Shane Pow, he felt that the latter was sticking to the script and it didn't feel natural.

Hence, Hanwei didn't feel connected to Shane as a father would to his son — although he clarified that Shane can act.

"I told him, 'My lines will be different, I'll be saying what a father would to his son'. I realised that the more natural I became in my acting, the more it rubbed off on him and he became super natural [in his acting]. He even added in things [to the scene] that young people would do or say," Hanwei added, affirming that Shane was a "really good acting partner".

bryanlim@asiaone.com