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Vogue Singapore
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue Singapore
Meet Richie Koh, the actor chronicling slices of Singaporean life on-screen
What does home look like on screen? In Richie Koh's roles, it comes pretty close. The 32-year-old actor has become a fixture on local screens, chronicling slices of Singaporean life with characters who feel at once grounded and familiar. 'Personally, the past month has been a very good break,' he shares. After two years of non-stop filming, the downtime offered a rare pause. But as much as it seems like a lull period, it's clear that the art of storytelling is still very much front and centre for Koh. Chuen Kah Jun He initially leaned into the distinct style of K-drama acting, but somewhere along the way, something shifted. 'After observing the Singaporeans in my life—friends, aunties, uncles, even people I pass by daily—I realised I wanted to portray characters who felt real. People with lifestyles and voices like ours. 'I really started enjoying the craft when I began taking on roles that were more relatable. The ones that reflect the people here and how we live.' Two recent characters stand out: Tian Cai, a youth with special needs that he played in the drama series Your World In Mine, and a drag queen in his upcoming movie, A Good Child. 'Sometimes, how I perceive a character might not be how the writer does. So the challenge becomes: how do we meet in the middle? That process of trying to connect, and understanding someone's perspective, even when it's far from your own—that's not easy.' But the results speak for themselves. His performance as Tian Cai moved many to tears and earned him widespread praise for its nuance and depth. He brings a similar care to every role, carefully studying gestures, behaviours and emotional textures to inject as much authenticity as possible into each portrayal. 'I really started enjoying the craft when I began taking on roles that were more relatable. The ones that reflect the people here and how we live.' When asked what success looks like to him, his answer is seemingly simple yet deeply rooted. 'It's about peace of mind,' he emphasises. 'To work hard, not cause any trouble, have a good dinner and be able to sleep comfortably at night.' That relatability is part of what has made his work resonate so strongly with local audiences, both on screen and online. Even his short-form content often captures everyday quirks with the punchy humour most, if not all, Singaporeans know and love. 'I try to keep it very Singaporean,' he says. 'Very authentic.' It's this realness, this honest portrayal of life here, that has made him such a natural representative of home. 'I'm happy to be someone who represents that,' he says. 'Even when I visit my usual dining spots and the uncles and aunties recognise me, sometimes they kindly offer to treat me to coffee—that's home to me.' Through every role, Koh continues to portray a melting pot of identities and lived experiences—each a reminder of how layered the idea of home truly is. Chuen Kah Jun So what's next? 'I'm working on a few new roles now,' he shares, hinting at more characters that stretch him beyond what he's done before. And as for what Koh is interested to explore in the future? 'Hopefully something different, maybe an action character. Or someone from another underrepresented group, like a person with disabilities or a completely different background from me. That would challenge me and help me grow as an actor.' But the star is in no rush. 'I always try to settle what's in front of me first,' he adds, smiling. 'One day at a time.' As Koh continues to evolve as an actor, his dedication to authentic storytelling ensures he remains a beloved reflection of Singaporean life, truly and tastefully illustrating home on the big screen. Photographer Chuen Kah Jun Stylist Lance Aeron Hair Eugene Ong Make-up Dollei Seah Photographer's assistant Danial Mirza Stylist's assistant Dickson Aw Vogue Singapore's July/August 'Home' issue will be out on newsstands from 13 July and available to preorder online.
AsiaOne
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
'I don't really go for fame': Richie Koh on what his Star Awards nominations mean to him, Entertainment News
In a career under the spotlight, it's natural to bask in fame. But for local actor Richie Koh, it's his passion for his work that comes before stardom. In a recent interview with AsiaOne, the 32-year-old spoke to us about what matters most to him in this year's 30th edition of Star Awards. A nominee in four awards — two performance-based and two popularity-based — he shared that it's the craft of acting he values above all. "I don't really go for the fame route, but I want to go for performance — that's number one. If you're a singer, you definitely want your music to be listened to. If you're a dancer, you want to dance forever in your life." 'I want to tell people's stories' For his role as Xiaoming in Coded Love, Richie has been nominated for Best Actor and The Show Stealer in this year's Star Awards Performance categories. The character is also in the running for BYD Favourite Male Character, and Richie for Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes, which he was also nominated for but didn't win last year. Regarding popularity awards, he remarked: "I always think that if you're known for something you do, it's great. But if you're known for something that you do particularly fantastically, I would be very honoured to be seen for that — this is something I've always hoped for. I want to tell people's stories, right?" He previously received acclaim for his lead role as the intellectually disabled Zheng Tiancai in Your World in Mine (2023), which earned him two performance awards at Star Awards 2023: Best Actor and Favourite Male Show Stealer. His portrayal also landed him a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2022 Asian Television Awards. Richie, then 29, was the youngest Best Actor in 26 years since Christopher Lee's win at age 26 in 1997. [[nid:719279]] The Spirit Hunter and A Good Child Richie was speaking to us at the press conference for his new fantasy drama The Spirit Hunter and talked about his dual roles as Gouli Ge and Jian Ling. In the drama, Jian Ling's soul is infused into a toy sword wielded by the jaded Gouli Ge. When the latter dies, 20-year-old Tian Nana (Hong Ling) becomes the next swordbearer, which curses her to see supernatural entities she must defeat. Every time Jian Ling is summoned by Nana, his clothing would change and so Richie was given close to 20 different outfits. "When I'm in costume, I'll try to imitate the way [my costume's archetype] speaks, so sometimes people on set won't understand me and they'll be like, 'Hahahaha...' "So in one scene I was wearing a full British suit. And you know Peaky Blinders? I tried to speak like Tommy Shelby for that scene and I wanted to light a cigarette, then Nana made me disappear," he laughed. "So it's little things like that which I put into different scenes [to make Jian Ling more fun]." Another interesting role he will be playing is transgender drag queen Jia Hao in the film A Good Child, which will premiere in December. He shared that the film's director Ong Kuo Sin had personally approached him to take on the role. [[nid:683358]] "The director and I had been talking about A Good Child since 2023. He had the script and asked me if I would be interested to explore this and I said, 'Yes, of course.' "He told me that this whole story is based on a real person's life — it speaks her story, about dementia, about the LGBTQ+ community, but in a good way when you reflect on parent-child relationships. "Then, I met up with this person and followed her to work. So [performing] is all about that — the hard work you put in, understanding people and characters, and telling their stories." The Spirit Hunter will be available on demand for free on Mewatch from June 30. It will also premiere on Channel 8 on July 3, airing weekdays at 9pm. [[nid:719451]] No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
AsiaOne
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
'You worried about us too much': Tay Ying has heart-to-heart talk with mum Hong Huifang before marriage
In an Instagram Reel uploaded yesterday (June 5), local actresses Hong Huifang and Tay Ying sat down together to have a heartfelt talk about their relationship as mother and daughter. It's just in time before Tay Ying's wedding to celebrity chef Wu Sihan, which will be happening this month. Using a mini gacha machine to draw out questions, Huifang, 64, asked Tay Ying, 29: "What is one thing I didn't do well as a mother?" After a moment of contemplation, Tay Ying replied: "You don't love yourself enough. When we were younger, you worried about us too much — and then you forget about yourself. So I think in this season of life, it's time to love yourself more." "I think I will, because I left not too long anymore," Huifang joked, drawing a loud "Aiyoh" from Tay Ying. Huifang and her actor husband Zheng Geping, 61, also have son Calvert, 25, who's a singer-actor. When asked to share their proudest moments of one another, Tay Ying talked about her mother starring in Singaporean-South Korean film Ajoomma (2022). It was when Huifang attended a gala screening and many people in the showbiz industry gathered around her in applause. "In that moment I also felt so proud of myself," Huifang reminisced. Her proudest moment of Tay Ying is knowing that she's about to get married. She said fondly: "I'm so happy you finally found the man of your dreams." This left Tay Ying sighing: "Done so many good things in my life as a daughter but this is the only one." Huifang added: "This is your happiness. It's most important. I spent the first half of my life taking care of you and now someone else is taking care of you in my second half." Thereafter, Tay Ying asked Huifang: "Is there ever a moment where you wanted to leave your relationship?" Huifang incredulously said: "No." Advising the soon-to-be wife on maintaining a relationship, she said: "Both parties grew up in different environments — his and your habits are bound to be different, and so will your tempers. If you plant a tree, you must water it. You can't leave it there. Otherwise, it'll die. So you have to manage [your relationship] for it to last long." She also revealed when she found that she and Geping's spark has gone out, she suggested they go "find some spark", such as going on vacation together. Tay Ying also asked Huifang on what her biggest fight with Geping was, which happened to revolve around teenage Tay Ying. Mum explained: "Papa spoiled you a lot, and I wanted to beat you because you did something wrong. I didn't in the end, even though I wanted to — I couldn't bear to do it." Huifang is starring in the upcoming film A Good Child, which stars Richie Koh and Cheryl Chou. Tay Ying has been nominated for Star Awards 2025 in two categories: Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes and BYD Favourite Female Character. [[nid:718802]]
AsiaOne
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
'I broke down in tears every day': Emotional role in new drama leaves Cheryl Chou drained, Entertainment News
Local actress Cheryl Chou recently faced the toughest challenge in her acting career, playing a woman whose husband died just one month into their marriage. Speaking to AsiaOne recently while promoting her new drama Devil Behind The Gate, the 29-year-old shared it was the first time she played a character with heavy emotions. "I broke down in tears almost every day while I was on set," she said. Cheryl plays Fang Aixin in the series, who grew up in a wealthy single-parent family. Her head-in-the-clouds personality masks her loneliness and desire to seek dependence and affection. When art teacher Yuan Yingcai (Desmond Tan) appears in her life, providing her with comfort and support, she realises for the first time that she can be happy and loved. However, just a month into their marriage, Yingcai dies by suspected suicide. When his identical brother Yingjie (also played by Desmond) returns to Singapore from France to take care of his afterlife matters, he realises there is more to Yingcai's death than it seems, leading him to work in the art school to uncover the truth and finding out Yingcai's twisted and extreme nature in the process. While Cheryl admitted she is "quite an emotional person" in her private life, she is a tough cookie at work. "It takes a lot for me to cry, to show this kind of frustration and emotions," explained the winner of Miss Universe Singapore 2016. "I was very nervous [about performing this role], which was why I decided to engage a performance coach so she could guide me to 'melt' into the character and to make sense of what is going on in the scenes that I needed to do in the first week of production, which was very helpful." On her first day of filming last May, she acted in a scene where she had a total breakdown and the coaching that she had beforehand helped her to perform better. Cheryl had just completed filming the local film A Good Child prior to starting work on Devil Behind The Gate. To get into her role, she cut her waist-length hair to below her shoulders. She shared: "I wanted a change for myself and for the characters, so I did a massive chop [of my hair]... The transition [from one project to the next] was quite swift, which for me was quite unusual. Usually, I would have a couple of weeks to digest everything." She told her manager she would like to focus most of her time and energy on playing Aixin for the following three months of production and to reduce other work appearances. "That was the first request I made, which is quite out of character for me. But this was such an emotionally heavy show, especially for my character who faces many changes in her life, and she is not the most emotionally strong person. I told my manager I needed that period of time to do my homework and recalibrate myself after every filming day," Cheryl said. Theme song for the character To prepare herself for scenes where Aixin has an emotional outburst, Cheryl assigned a "theme song" — French composer-pianist Erik Satie's Gymnopedie No.1 — to herself to get into the mental state. "I felt that this musical piece basically captures the emotions and the mood of the series. When I did my homework on the script, I would include this piece and also play it in my mind while acting," she shared. To her, the composition and Aixin were so deeply connected that she couldn't listen to it again after filming the series without being reminded of what Aixin and Yingcai experienced together. "I didn't expect to fall so deeply into the character... I was just trying to wipe out everything that I am while playing Aixin," Cheryl said. 'Why did I sign up for this job?' The character's turbulent experiences took a toll on Cheryl, especially during the last month of filming last August. "There was one day I just felt unwell in my stomach, like I was going to throw up. There was a kind of uneasiness and I felt like I was sick, but I was actually not. It was just too much of an overload in my head," she shared. She also remembered going home physically drained. "There was one time when I returned home, I just laid on the floor and looked at the ceiling, thinking, 'What am I doing with my life? Why did I sign up for this job?'" she recounted. Despite that, after watching some clips from the drama and speaking to the producer, she was happy bringing her character to life. Coincidentally, Cheryl and her family visit her grandfather in Melbourne every September to celebrate his birthday, and she took the chance to unwind there for a week after filming wrapped. She shared: "It was a nice break from everything that had transpired the last three months [of filming]. I just let myself go and be there. I didn't realise how tired I was from this production until I got there. "The weather is colder there and I usually like to run in the park and reservoir. I brought my running shoes for the trip, but I didn't run once the whole time I was there. I just couldn't get out. It was nice to have that distraction, but at the same time, I just realised how exhausted I was." Devil Behind The Gate is now available on demand for free on Mewatch. It is also airing on Channel 8 on weekdays at 9pm. [[nid:717704]] No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
