PUBLISHED ONJuly 19, 2022 5:23 AMByKhoo Yi-HangHe might be able to find his way to your heart easily with his stellar acting, but this actor couldn't find his way around Mediacorp.
After two years away from Singapore due to the Covid-19 pandemic, veteran Mediacorp actor Yao Wenlong got lost inside the broadcaster's vast office compound, he admitted in a recent interview with AsiaOne.
"I got lost when I first came back [to Mediacorp]," the 51-year-old Malaysian said. "I even called my manager and asked, 'Hey, where's the lift in this place, how do I go up? I forgot how to!'
"Eventually they told me, 'Wenlong, I also forgot!'"
Wenlong explained his manager had been working from home and hadn't been in Mediacorp for a while.
Before the pandemic, the Star Search 1993 winner was able to travel freely between Singapore and Malaysia for work but when Covid-19 regulations made travel between the two countries impossible, he chose to stay in Malaysia with his family.
However, he felt compelled to return here when he was offered the role of Zheng Jianqiang in Your World in Mine, a new Mandarin 20-episode drama.
Jianqiang is the father of three children, the youngest of whom is the intellectually disabled Tiancai (Richie Koh) who plays a key role in the series.
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The unique role piqued his interest but Wenlong was also aware that he might be a little unprepared to return to acting.
Noting this, he made sure to do some practice for his performance before heading over to the set for filming.
"Of course, I was a little nervous on the first day," Wenlong said. "But after five to 10 minutes, I was okay."
Having been an actor for 30 years, it was expected that he would recover quickly, Wenlong added.
Aside from the preparations he made on his own, he also worked with his co-stars and the production crew to create backstories for their characters.
About a month prior to filming, the actors started thinking about their characters' pasts, down to the nitty gritty of things like when the characters were born and how they reacted to obstacles in their lives.
"All these weren't in the script," Wenlong explained. "Each actor created these stories and weave them into a backstory after discussing with the others."
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Wenlong shared a conversation he had with actor Zong Zijie, who plays Jianqiang's second child Tianwei.
"During the discussion, I said, 'Son, when you were 12 years old, you quarrelled with your younger brother over toys. I scolded you but you ignored me, so I slapped you very hard and you bled.'
"I gave Zijie this scenario and he would need to listen, because when I scolded him [during filming], he must recall the previous instances when Tianwei was hit and think, 'I was 12 when you hit me, I'm 20 now, you shouldn't be hitting me anymore'."
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This meant that Zijie's acting would be "supported" by Wenlong's scenario and his facial expressions would tell the same story, Wenlong said.
He added: "A single utterance by any character entails 99 different thoughts that went into that one sentence.
"Just by looking at our characters' expressions should be enough to tell you everything — or at least, that's what we hope to achieve."
Your World in Mine premiered on July 18 and is telecast on weekdays at 9pm on Channel 8. It is also available on demand for free on meWATCH. The drama also stars Huang Biren, Xiang Yun, Hong Ling and Desmond Ng.
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khooyihang@asiaone.com