Romeo Tan on turning 40, 15 years in showbiz, growing up and learning to love himself
Since then, viewers have watched him grow from a young, aspiring actor who was all wide eyes and chiselled abdominals, to a bona fide leading man, most recently making audiences love to hate him as a villainous schemer in Peranakan-themed period drama Emerald Hill.
2025 is a milestone year for Tan. Not only does he celebrate his 15th anniversary of being in showbiz – 20, if you count the years before Star Search when he played bit roles as a part-time actor – he also marks his 40th birthday.
So, it's a significant year, if you enjoy the mathematical perfection of round numbers, as we do.
That's not all – at the upcoming Star Awards on Jul 6, he's also a shoo-in to win his 10th Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes trophy, cementing his All-Time Favourite Artiste coronation next year (barring any major upsets, of course. Knock on wood).
But, Tan looked mildly bewildered when we bandied these numbers about over iced Americanos in a cosy suite at The Standard, Singapore.
Turns out, they don't really mean a whole lot to him.
'I'm not sure why, but I still feel I'm very young and I still feel I'm very new to this whole thing,' he said, self-deprecatingly. 'Every time I receive a new drama, a new role, it's like hitting the reset button. There are a lot of new things to learn, and I have a lot of flaws to overcome still. I feel that I can do better. I'm always on a journey of learning new things.'
THE BIG 4-0
One of the new things he's learning is how to build terrariums and paludariums. What's a paludarium? It includes water features and live animals, he gushed.
It's a hobby that his 20-year-old self, who favoured going to the KTV for karaoke with his friends, would probably have looked askance at, he laughed.
New and arguably more 'uncle' pastimes aside, hitting his 40s didn't bring any sort of crisis, midlife or otherwise. He did not, in fact, buy a fancy sports car. 'Because I spent all my money on my condominium,' he chuckled.
For his big 4-0 celebration in April, 'I had a very good celebration with just close friends. That's all I need.'
He had a 'childish' Tom And Jerry themed party with his friends from secondary school, a gathering with his celebrity colleagues, a meal with his family and a surprise party at a hotel thrown by his travel buddies.
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Other than that, being 40 feels much the same as being 39.
'I'm actually not a very outgoing person,' he confessed. 'I don't like to hang out with my friends too much, except for special occasions. I don't drink that much, except for social occasions. I'm very happy just staying at home with my dogs and my Netflix.'
Terrariums, photography and his dog, 12-year-old Tigger, are what fulfil him outside of work.
"I think having a dog changed my personality a lot. Sometimes, you feel very jaded by human nature. So, whenever I feel tired, I just switch to all the animals that fill my social media feed!'
On the work front, though, he does have a new resolution.
'I told myself to take it slowly and not get paranoid over things,' he confided, sharing that he used to be quite the overthinker.
'I'd ask myself why I didn't get this, or why I wasn't doing that. In showbiz, you start to compare yourself to your peers.
'Now that I'm 40 years old, I think that I want to be more chill. That's the aim I've given myself.'
He mused, 'It might take a few years for me to actually transition to being more of a relaxed person. I just want to take it slow and enjoy life. Of course, career is important, but I think what's more important is my life with my family and friends, and travel.'
WHEREFORE ART THOU ROMEO
Looking back at his journey in showbiz, it's actually been a parallel journey of learning to accept and love himself.
As a child, he dreamt of becoming an actor when he grew up. But, 'I was fat back then, so I had very low self-esteem,' he said. It didn't help that his parents had named him Romeo – not, in fact, after the Shakespearean character, but after the car, which made no difference to the schoolmates who teased him.
At one point, he even told his parents that he wanted to change his name.
An aunt said that since his two brothers also had names the first syllable of which were 'Ro', she had a brilliant idea for his new name: 'Rocket'. 'When I heard that, I said, 'I think I'll stick to Romeo.'
From where he is today, 'I would give myself a pat on the shoulder and say, 'Well done – from an ugly, fat pig, to who you are right now,' he said.
In the past 10 years especially, 'I've gotten to know myself better and to be in a very comfortable state.'
And, 'I think my biggest achievement so far is to give a lot of support and be a role model to many others,' he said, especially for supporters who struggle with their own weight or dream of achieving big things.
'Sometimes, I receive message on Instagram saying, 'I was fat back then, too, but I want to be like you. And, some part-time actors and extras say that as well, because we all want to fulfil this dream of being a good actor. 'Romeo was also a part-time extra back then, so if he can do it, why not?''
Because he was once in their shoes, 'I feel the pain on set whenever I see a part-time actor being scolded by a director for things they don't know. I've been there, done that. So, I go and have a small chat with them and say, 'Hey, don't worry. You're doing fine. Just focus a little bit more and ignore all the noise.''
Having worked his way up from extra to supporting and then to leading roles has made him 'more grounded' and 'sensitive to people around me', he opined. 'Zooming out, it's been a dream come true. Maybe people might compare me to other actors and say, 'You've not gotten a Best Actor award yet.' It's okay. In my own pace, within my limitations, I feel that I've achieved more than I could have. Because, if I wasn't in showbiz, I really don't know what work I would be doing or what kind of lifestyle I would be leading.'
ZERO TO HERO AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
In secondary school, to earn extra pocket money, Tan took on his first job at McDonald's, clearing trays and cleaning toilets. His next job, before National Service, was fixing modems. He recalls casually admiring a chair in someone's home, only for the homeowner to say, ''Yeah, if you earn more money in the future, you can buy one'. That sentence, back then, made me feel so small,' he said.
National Service resulted in his toned physique, and, after playing a bit part in the 2010 drama The Best Things In Life as Phyllis Quek's younger brother, veteran actor Chen Hanwei advised him to apply for the Star Search talent competition.
'When I filled in the application form, I told myself, 'If I can get into the top 40, I'll be very happy.'
He eventually placed fourth. 'But, I was the first contestant to be given a role right after Star Search, so that's something memorable.'
One career achievement he says he's proud of is having co-starred with 'all the 'Seven Princesses'' save for Fiona Xie, who bowed out of Mandarin dramas before he started out. Among the 'Eight Dukes', he believes he's the only one to have done so.
Looking back at the time he was named one of the eight up-and-coming young actors to watch, 'It was really good exposure, but at the same time, there was a lot of comparison and competition,' he said. 'To constantly being compared – 'Who's doing well, who's doing better?' – was quite sick. But I feel that that period was when I forced myself to grow up and accept the reality that this is showbiz.'
Negative feedback about his acting also affected him. 'I did quite badly in the period drama The Journey: Tumultuous Times,' he recalled. 'I had a crash course with a dialogue coach and I didn't have enough time to digest it, so when I delivered the lines, it seemed too forceful. That was my first time seeing so many negative comments. I took two or three months to get over it. And during those months, I even asked myself whether I should leave showbiz. Like, 'Maybe this is not meant for me'.'
But, opportunities continued to come his way, and producers gave him their support and encouragement. The popularity awards came fast and furious, too. 'Yes, I think it's very hard to get so many awards in such a short span of time,' he acknowledged in agreement.
Emerald Hill was a bit of a full-circle moment: Another period drama, but with vastly different results. 'I got a lot of good feedback. Recently, people have come up to me to say, 'Hey, I watched Emerald Hill and I really loved your character. And, on the plane, I've seen people watching Emerald Hill!'
In his next project, he reunites with longtime screen partner Jeanette Aw for Highway To Somewhere, a drama about a couple who embark on a road trip to try to save their marriage. 'It's time for me to move on to do more mature roles,' he quipped. 'I've played a lot of boyfriends, wealthy young heirs, Mr Nice Guys.'
So, it's on to the next challenge and full steam ahead, at least until his 50th birthday, lah.
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