'I felt like it was the first day of school': Felicia Chin nervous starting new job

One of her most memorable roles was a character nicknamed 'Mermaid' in the 2005 drama Portrait of Home. Ironically, then and now, Felicia Chin felt like a fish out of water.

In a recent interview with AsiaOne for the new Mediacorp drama When Duty Calls 2, Felicia Chin revealed that her transition out of Mediacorp and into the faith-based platform Hai Hao Ma left her nervous, especially on the first day at her new job on Aug 1.

"The first day, I was a bit nervous," the 37-year-old actress admitted. "I felt like it was the first day of school for me — meeting new friends, a new environment, right?"

She added that on top of having to do her own hair and makeup herself now, there is a new "learning curve" that's challenging for her.

Said Felicia: "To be honest, as an actor, you do have your creation process, but it's with the script that you already have on hand, so it's a little different… And sometimes I think you don't have to think too much. But now that I'm on the other side [as a producer], my brain cells are burning."

When Duty Calls 2 is Felicia's last drama with Mediacorp as a full-time artiste for the foreseeable future. She plays Pey Jing Yu, a medic who's been transferred to the Singapore Armed Forces Medical Training Institute as an instructor.

Her new job in Hai Hao Ma is as a producer and presenter, where she is in charge of creating content and various pre-production processes, such as ideation. 

Although she did the bulk of getting accustomed to the new workplace herself, her fiance Jeffrey Xu also provided a little assistance.

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Said Felicia: "Jeffrey was really sweet, he came to pick me up and sent me to work, then sent me home after work as well. So that was really nice — I felt like I had someone with me.

"And my colleagues were really nice, too. I received a present when I went to the office and I was like, 'Oh, that's really sweet!'"

Her passion for the job certainly helped, as Felicia explained that she looks forward to having control over the conceptualisation and realisation of the stories in her heart. 

"I also looked back and thought that it's time to go onwards to a new season, take what I've learned and share these real stories with other people, [including the time] I was nearly bulimic — I felt like I was not good enough.

"I want to let other people know that we're all human and we're not perfect. I hope that might be something I can contribute back to society at this stage of my life."

Felicia told us she struggled with a lack of confidence around the same time she acted as Mermaid in Portrait of Home in her early 20s.

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Recalling her feelings, Felicia said: "I felt I wasn't good enough. I felt inadequate and I was affected by people's opinions. At the same time, I think I was being too harsh on myself."

During an episode of the meWATCH talkshow Hear U Out in March last year, Felicia explained that she had felt like a fish out of water as a newbie actress and said: "Sometimes, I simply couldn't understand and execute certain things."

She added she felt "very disappointed" and "useless" and took those emotions back home, consuming two bags of food from a convenience store every day after work. However, the binge-eating made her feel worse.

Now, she will be tackling the "new season" of her life alongside Jeffrey, 33, who proposed to her on July 29. The lovebirds intend to get married by the end of this year.

When Duty Calls 2, featuring other local stars such as Pierre Png, Desmond Tan and Paige Chua, is available on demand for free on meWATCH and on weekdays at 9pm on Channel 8.

khooyihang@asiaone.com