PUBLISHED ONOctober 09, 2025 6:06 AMBYYeo Shu HuiFamilial love involves accepting and supporting your loved ones for who they are, and that is one of the themes in local director Ong Kuo Sin's Golden Horse-nominated new film A Good Child.
Speaking to AsiaOne recently while promoting the film, Kuo Sin, along with the cast Hong Huifang, Richie Koh, Cheryl Chou and Charlie Goh revealed how they received career acceptance from their family.
Kuo Sin said he was expected to help manage his family business but chose to pursue his passion as a director in showbiz.
The 51-year-old shared: "I think I disappointed my dad a lot, because I was supposed to come and 'play' in this industry for two to three years before giving up, to go back and be a filial son and help run the business.
"I guess I disappointed him for a good 20-odd years, but I think he has come to terms that this is my career. I think acceptance needs both ways, I know I will be a very bad businessman. He might have a greater disappointment if I fail badly, so I might as well do something that I'm confident in and can do well so as to not let him down."
A Good Child tells the heartwarming story of drag queen Jia Hao (Richie) who returns home to care for her mother Ju Jua (Huifang) who has dementia. As Ju Hua's memories begin to fade, Jia Hao alters her perception to make her believe that Jia Hao is her daughter and unknowingly confronts Jia Hao's childhood traumas along the way.
Richie, who was recently nominated for Golden Horse's Best Leading Actor for his performance in the film, shared that when he first expressed his desire to enter showbiz, his parents were most concerned about his livelihood.
The 32-year-old, who debuted as an actor in 2017, said: "My parents were more direct and asked me if I would be able to make money in my career. If I can't, then I shouldn't waste my time here. But I told them to give me a few years to try out."
He added that while his parents didn't express their acceptance, they told him the "harshest truth", which was that he would have to face the consequences if he did not achieve anything from his choice of career by the time he turned 30.
Richie won Best Actor at Star Awards in 2023 when he was 29, after playing Zheng Tiancai, a young man with autism in local drama Your World in Mine (2022).
"They accepted [my career choice] when the story and the role are good and meaningful, and that was the point where they really started to think this is a meaningful job, because I was able to provide a voice [to the community]," he said.
Huifang shared that her parents accepted her career choice because it was a job with a stable income at the time.
The 64-year-old, who debuted in local showbiz in 1982, said: "My parents only wanted us to be fed well and as long as we did not do anything illegal, we are free to do what we wanted."
She added she was not academically inclined and studied in a Chinese school, so becoming an actress, where she could work in a Mandarin-speaking environment, was more manageable for her as a career.
"As long as we are able to earn a living for ourselves, that's good enough. I think in a way, it also allowed me free rein to decide what I want to do, as long as I'm going the right way," Huifang said.
For Cheryl, who joined showbiz after being crowned Miss Universe Singapore in 2016, her parents were also concerned about her livelihood at first.
The 29-year-old said: "I remembered hearing this, not from my father directly, but from him telling one of my aunts to tell me to 'Stop dreaming about becoming a star'."
While she believed her father did not have any ill-intent or thought she was a disgrace, his comment "stung quite a fair bit" and for a period of time, she was "resentful".
However, over her years in showbiz, her father eventually saw the hard work and dedication she had put into her career. While they didn't have a conversation about what happened before, Cheryl shared that both are on good terms now after they bonded during the Covid-19 period.
Charlie told us his parents have always been supportive of his decisions.
"I'm very fortunate in the sense that my parents didn't want us to suffer at all. They want us to be able to lead our life doing what we wanted to do, and they didn't want to be a burden to us," the 37-year-old said.
A Good Child is inspired by the real-life story of Christoper Lim, who is more commonly known as drag queen Sammi Zhen.
When asked why he chose to adapt his story to screen, Kuo Sin said Christopher was a consultant for his Golden Horse award-winning film Number 1 (2020) and they became Facebook friends after that.
He said: "There was once he told me his mother had dementia and over time, he sensed that people looked at her in a very different light."
Christopher added that his relatives had told him how "troublesome" it could be to care for elderly people with dementia and suggested he hire a helper for his mum or send her to an elderly care home.
Guo Sin also remembered something Christopher said during their conversation which made him want to tell his story: "Christopher said something along the lines of, 'It take someone like me to be able to take care of someone like her.' Because in a certain way, he had been handling people who looked at him very differently. So at that moment, I asked him if I could tell his story and he was very cool about it."
On seeing his story on screen: Christopher quipped: "I think it's exciting, at least it's not Crimewatch. I guess it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I am very proud of what they did."
Richie shared that he met Christopher twice over dim sum to talk about the latter's life story and career and whenever possible, he would go to his shows.
"Christopher would bring me backstage and share his accessories, clothing and makeup. It's an eye-opening experience for me to understand what he is doing and feel the crowd's energy. I think that's important so that when I am performing, I will be able to manage the audience," he said.
And the best piece of advice Richie received from Christopher?
"Just be hiao (vain) only," he laughed.
A Good Child opens in cinemas today.
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