My Reelity

Just a couple of days ago I saw Ace’s profile pop up in Facebook’s “People You May Know” thingy which got me wondering why he looked so familiar.  I then remembered he was the director who directed the ad that never was.  It was also then I realised it has been, goodness gracious me, a decade since I’ve last did that ad.

Going through the blog archives, I relived once again, the elation of landing something that could have been the breakthrough I’ve been looking for, as well as the utter disappointment of knowing the ad would not be aired.  I also recalled how I had the whole cast and crew in stitches when I did those scenes and how I almost broke my wrist performing the stunt for the final scene.

It was a good memory.

I have, in the years to come, incorporated part of the ad into my showreel, but was ever careful to remove the twist from the clip.  I guess I still harbored hopes of the ad seeing the light of day, and didn’t want to lessen the impact of the ad by revealing the twist before it gets the chance to be aired. I’m not sure why I’ve never subsequently re-edited the showreel to include the twist; maybe some small part of me still harbored that hope.

10 years on, I think its time to put that hope to rest.

Just did my taxes.

For the first time, my acting income dipped below the 4-digit mark.

So there it was, The Sign, blinking and flashing brightly indeed.

“I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes, I saw the sign
No one’s gonna drag you up to get into the light where you belong
But where do you belong? Oh oh oh”

So my doctor just called me up all of a sudden to tell me that he saw me on telly last night.

Apparently, they did a rerun of my Incredible Tales episode last year in a brand new rehash series called “The Best Of Incredible Tales”.

He told me he didn’t know it was me at first; in fact he was drawn to the episode because he thought the lead actor was acting very well. He was intrigued and wanted to know who this actor was, and as he watched he gradually found him more and more familiar. So he purposely waited until the credits rolled and lo and behold, much to his amazement, it was yours truly!

He told me my acting was very natural and that I’m really a good actor. Needless to say, by the end of the conversation, he had me beaming to the skies.

Audience appreciation, at a time when I’m at my most jaded, couldn’t be more timely I guess. But to be honest, I don’t know if this is enough for me to stay the course.

But more on this subject another time. Right now, I just want to bask in the moment a bit.

On another note, I guess this should prove beyond a shadow of a doubt I can do non-villiany roles. 😉

We were introduced one night at Wala, prior to the screening of Nose Job, and I don’t think we spoke long enough for me to make any lasting impression.

But I guess I made enough of an impression for her to recognise me on screen, cuz when she saw me again tonight she blurted out “OMG are you that actor?” and started quoting my lines from the show.

I’m glad she found that role funny. Heck, I even wasted a couple of plasters on my nose just to watch her laugh even more. Which kinda led to an airing of armpits incident in front of a fan later.

Good ol’ wacky fun.

I’m reminded of how I got into this in the first place; making people laugh.

At first I thought she was going to ask me if I wanted any beer, and since she saw me ordering another drink from the kopi-boy, I’d just smiled at her.

She walked past me, then returned half a minute later and asked if I had been on channel 5 before.

I think this is the first time I kenna recognised by a beer lady.

On another unrelated note, I think I found my gym muse. Friday evenings will never be the same again. 😀

Last night, in the midst of my dinner, the Woh Hup ad came on, and was displayed in all of its 54″ glory.

It was quite a surreal moment, as my abject horrored face gradually turn to one of affected nonchalance.

I think its safe to say no one recognised me. But I finished my dinner in a hurry anyway.

Off to do my first shoot in months.

Like an athlete that hasn’t trained in months, I too feel the sluggishness of it all. The role isn’t difficult; but yet I do feel a bit of a struggle at some part. The lack of practice is beginning to show.

Still, I’m grateful for this stint for stopping the rot.

A concerned Jaywalk msned me to ask how the consultation went. I told him its been rescheduled to Sat but I’m not going to be too optimistic about it.

Afterall, its the lack of 桃花运(literally translated as peach blossom luck) that led me here in the first place.

Jay tried to be encouraging and suggested that things might not be so bad; maybe some charbor will have bad luck and since I don’t have 桃花运, I’ll then have my chance.

I had to explain to the poor confused chap that he was very much mistaken. Girls need to have good luck to meet me; if they have bad luck, they will never get to meet me. To meet me, one needs 福气.

To which the poor confused dude asked me if I was like Good Luck Chuck.

Sheesh. Of course I’m not.

I’m way better.

Women don’t need a good luck fuck from me… because when they meet me, they have good luck liow.

The good fuck is a bonus.

That’s why I’m better.

So yeah I guess the cat’s out of the bag now.

I’m Good Luck Ruok. 😉

While doing some last minute shopping for my new year clothes, I came across this sales girl who greeted me with an enthusiastic “Hi!”

Judging from her reaction, I half suspected she recognised me. My suspicions were confirmed later when she asked if I was an actor.

And so, minutes later, I became a proud owner of my first pair of designer jeans.

Which was quite timely as my current pair now have a big whopping hole in the pocket…

It was nice meeting you too, Maria.

Gotten my first lead role for the year, which, incidentally is also my first role in the new year. 😀

Its docudrama again, and I’m back on Incredible Tales, after a 4 year hiatus.

I just had a quick look at the script and I’m loving it already. Best part is I get to be on a yacht! How cool is that?

The only downside is the punishing filming schedule, but, what the heck, I get to be on a yacht!

And in case you are wondering, this IS a non villainy role. 😀

Not a bad start to the year, I say, not a bad start at all.