PUBLISHED ONOctober 03, 2026 11:30 AMBYEsther LamWhile local actor Desmond Tan's weight transformation for his new movie Pace may have turned heads, the 40-year-old said it was only the tip of the iceberg.
The bigger and less visible challenge was getting into the mindset of his character.
Desmond spoke to the media recently about the film, in which he plays Malcolm, a former drug addict trying to rebuild his life and looks for purpose in his late brother's passion for running.
For the role, he gained 15kg and later shed 20kg within a span of three months during filming.
He told AsiaOne: "I think a lot of people are focusing a lot on the physical transformation. That, to me, is just the smallest part of the entire transformation for Malcolm."
He expressed gratitude towards the many people, including fellow cast member Simonboy, who were willing to share the journey and struggles they faced with substance abuse.
"I'm very thankful to talk to a lot of people who are willing to share their story. ... It drives me to want to play Malcolm even better because I feel that there is this voice that is not heard by many people, and I want to use Malcolm as a vessel to speak this story."
Besides conversing with former addicts, Desmond said he conducted extensive research online and also relied on YouTube interviews of people talking about their experiences.
He said: "There are a lot of people who share their drug abuse journey, how they come back, their guilt and how they feel they didn't do justice to their loved ones. I think this guilt is so strong.
"In many of the interviews, (a lot) of this guilt cannot be corrected because the loved ones have passed on and they have to live with it forever."
He felt it's not that they necessarily chose to do drugs but rather, some go down what he described as a "wronged" or misguided road and ultimately spend years or even decades seeking redemption.
"Some people, unfortunately, never get a chance to actually reclaim that freedom and save themselves again," he added.
He also did research to understand the effects of meth, the main drug used in the film, which he described as a "very scary drug because it basically zombifies someone".
"When looking at the person, like some of the snippets (in the film), they're unrecognisable already, and I think the person using it has lost themselves during that period of time as well."
Desmond said that he was "attracted by this whole idea" as it is very rare for a local film to touch on topics such as the consequences of drug abuse.
"These are things that we read (in the media), but we don't really talk about it that much. And then there are things like redemption and second chances," he said.
When he read the script, he was very touched by Malcolm's story and felt that many people, not just ex-drug abusers, would be able to relate to it.
He explained: "We do make mistakes in our lives, we seek for forgiveness, we seek for a chance to kind of reset and run a new race altogether."
Pace also stars local actors Zhu Houren and his son Joel Choo, Taiwanese actress Elaine Jin and content creators Simonboy and Zaki Hussain. It is directed by Houren's older son Jonathan Choo.
Desmond said he considers it an honour working with veteran actors Houren, who plays Malcolm's estranged father, and Elaine, Malcolm's quiet and supportive stepmother.
Having watched Elaine's previous works, Desmond described seeing her in action on set as akin to "attending a masterclass" and left him feeling he still had a lot to learn.
Although he has worked with Houren before, Desmond said their onscreen dynamic has since blossomed into a real-life bond and that the film helped him find "another father" in Houren, adding that he still refers to the latter as "Dad".
With Houren's sons also involved in the film, Desmond joked that it sometimes feels as though he's acting as Jonathan, albeit without Malcolm's troubled past.
Pace is supported by the Singapore Film Commission and the Infocomm Media Development Authority, through the Media Talent Progression Programme Long Form Content Grant and Yellow Ribbon Project. It is set for release in local cinemas on Oct 8.
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