Latest news with #AhLinTa
AsiaOne
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
'This is torture': Elvin Ng details gruelling experience with prosthetic makeup for new drama, Entertainment News
Before the cameras rolled on the set of new drama The Spirit Hunter, local actor Elvin Ng would usually be found in a chair having his makeup done. On top of a wig, heavy eyeliner and coloured contacts lenses, at times the 44-year-old would also have dried glue stuck to his skin. Elvin's first villain role Ah Lin Ta is an all-powerful monk who stays young by transforming during solar eclipses, and he told AsiaOne in a recent interview that his character could even be an 80-year-old man who looks young. He added: "(To appear old) I had to puff up my face and put glue, a lot of glue, and cool it so it becomes wrinkled, then I have to do it again." The makeup team applied multiple layers of glue to enhance the wrinkles and this was done eight to 10 times. In The Spirit Hunter, Hong Ling plays protagonist Tian Nana, a 20-year-old girl burdened to carry a toy sword infused with the spirit of Jian Ling (Richie Koh), which curses her to see supernatural entities, like Ah Lin Ta, that she must defeat. For his first shoot with prosthetic makeup, the application process took two to three hours and he had to arrive on set earlier than most of his co-stars. "I was like, 'This is torture'," he recalled. "We were doing overnight filming, and the weather forecast said there would be a thunderstorm throughout. I arrived at 3pm to do makeup for three hours, and I felt like I wasn't going to be able to film anything," he added. Elvin's situation continued to worsen. "When I went on set and it was raining, I ate noodles and because of the glue, I couldn't move my mouth very big," he said. "So I was in quite low morale because of the makeup." Luckily, the rain stopped and Elvin managed to film some scenes. "At least I didn't spend three hours doing makeup and then shoot nothing, that would be very demoralising," he said. [[nid:719451]] He also noticed the heavy makeup and glue affected his skin. He shared: "There were also fighting scenes and a lot of sweat. So the glue would come off and (the makeup team) would have to add more glue with all the sweat. When I went back home that day from the first day of filming, there were six big pimples on my forehead. "I never really had this problem before. Then I was like, 'Along the way how?' But then after that, my skin sort of got used to that glue." Still, Elvin shared he always looked forward to removing the prosthetic makeup. Once it was confirmed he would have no more scenes to film that day, he would immediately peel it off. "It was both a bit painful and pleasurable at the same time, a bit sadistic like this character." Despite his dislike for the application process, the look played a huge part in one of his most memorable scenes. "While I'm recuperating and getting young, I get attacked by Tyler Ten's character. So I'm super angry because I'm also vain. Like, 'What the heck, now I look like that. I'm going to kill you.'" The Spirit Hunter, also starring Ferlyn Wong, is available on demand for free on Mewatch and on Channel 8 on weekdays at 9pm. [[nid:719716]] No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
AsiaOne
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
'I finally get to be a psycho': Elvin Ng's unconventional role in new fantasy drama shows his different side, Entertainment News
Local actor Elvin Ng got to tap into a crazy and more rebellious side of himself for his latest character, a flirtatious and witchcraft-using psycho monk. After being cast mostly as a "boy-next-door" for the past 20 years, he told AsiaOne in a recent interview: "I felt like I've been in prison." Elvin acknowledged he's in a transitional phase where he's no longer cast in the youthful roles he once played, but not yet stepping into older characters either. While he described it as an "awkward situation", he also saw it as a welcomed shift that brings more balance to his career after years of intense, non-stop work. So when he got his first-ever villain role Ah Lin Ta in the new drama The Spirit Hunter, he felt his "other side came out". "There's actually a very dark side to me that I wanted to bring up, a bit crazy, a bit more rebellious," he said. "I love the anti-hero more than the hero." The 44-year-old shared that he auditioned for other roles in the drama but was looking forward to Ah Lin Ta the most. "I felt like it was more fun, more complicated and just more fluid," he said. In The Spirit Hunter, Hong Ling plays protagonist Tian Nana, a 20-year-old girl burdened to carry a toy sword infused with the spirit of Jian Ling (Richie Koh), which curses her to see supernatural entities that she must defeat. Ah Lin Ta is an all-powerful monk who stays young by transforming during solar eclipses. He's also an escaped magician who creates illusions in battle, making many people — including Nana — question reality. "I finally get to be a psycho," Elvin said. "I was super excited." He revealed the scriptwriter and producer summed up his character in two words: "Flirtatious" and a "killer". Elvin imagined his character being entertained through the chaos he creates, explaining: "Because if not, what entertainment is there for him, if he's already so powerful?" He added: "The more confused people are, the more fun he has." Inspiration Elvin shared he was inspired to play his character in a "crazy" and "I don't care anymore" manner thanks to the Joker from The Dark Knight, adding he loved the chaos and anarchy that the latter brings. Eventually, he told the producer he wanted his character to be bigger, louder and crazier, more than just the "crazy monster" that the character was initially described as. "To only label him as a crazy monster is very one-dimensional, and too loyal to one definition," he explained. Elvin added that it was tougher for him to prepare for Ah Lin Ta. In his previous roles, he just needed to "continue with the flow" according to the character's emotion at that point. However, because Ah Lin Ta's personality shifts so drastically and unpredictably, Elvin initially didn't know how to approach the role. His late theatre teacher Jonathan Lim helped in the process. "When I worked with Jonathan, we started with how he walks. He's a bit serpent-like." He also chose a song for the character — in this case, Titanium by David Guetta — and listened to it for around three months. "I chose that song because it feels like it takes me out there somewhere very far away," Elvin said. "When I started, it wasn't acting anymore. It was just me, being him, playing him, and having fun. So I think it changed me." When asked whether he would consider playing another similar role, Elvin said: "I'm in that period, that era, where I just want to be fluid and fun and I can't care too much anymore. For a while, I've been caring a bit too much." The Spirit Hunter, which also stars Ferlyn Wong and Tyler Ten, 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:719279]] No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
