More S’poreans in Hollywood a ‘distinct possibility’: Ng Chin Han
The next time you watch a Hollywood movie, keep a look out for Singapore actor Ng Chin Han.
Acclaimed by CNNGo as one of the 25 greatest actors in Asia of all time, this home-grown star is acknowledged to be Singapore's first actor to make it big in Hollywood.
From humble beginnings in theatre, spending his evenings in university rehearsing at Theatreworks and performing in plays such as Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, the 41-year-old is well known for his role in the first ever local English drama series, Masters of the Sea, in 1994.
However, his film debut came in 1998, in Blindness, a film which attained an Official Selection at the 2nd Hollywood Film Festival. He later starred in Alter Asians, which won the 2001 Asian Television award for Best TV Movie of the Year.
Today, he boasts an impressive line-up in his Hollywood filmography, including The Dark Knight and 2012, and has two more films that will be released this year -- Restless by Gus Van Sant, and Steven Soderbergh's Contagion.
In conjunction with ScreenSingapore, Yahoo! Singapore catches up with the very friendly and personable Chin Han.
From what you've seen and experienced working in the States, what can Singapore's film industry learn from Hollywood?
I think the Media Development Authority has done a great job of developing the infrastructure of the film industry in Singapore. But what can be learned from Hollywood is that the craft of scriptwriting is ultimately very crucial as the engine of growth in this particular industry.
And it's not only the writers--film is a director's medium, so the development of good directors is equally crucial to the development of the film industry. I was fortunate enough to also work with very good directors--auteurs like Christopher Nolan and very interesting and innovative filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh, who play around with form as much as they do--and I would love to see more of this kind of work, and directors of similar ability, coming from Singapore.
Do you feel that budget is a strongly limiting factor, given that the scale of film budgets is vastly different between Singapore and Hollywood?
Ultimately, there is a big difference, but at the end of the day, there aren't that many $100 - $200 million movies made in Hollywood, relative to the $5 - $10 million ones, and the latter can be made in Singapore. We're not at the point where we're going to make Transformers for $200 million, but I think we could do Little Miss Sunshine; I think we could do Juno. I think we could even do Black Swan with the kind of production houses and post-production houses we have now.
Do you think our country possesses the acting talent to break into Hollywood, in the way you have?
I think it is always a combination of opportunity and preparedness. In terms of preparedness, there is no lack of opportunity for actors to practice their craft in Singapore. You can practice in theatre, television or film. The preparedness is there, now it is a question of opportunity, and a question of coming back to the right scripts as well. I think absolutely, there is a distinct possibility of more Singaporean actors breaking into Hollywood!
On your roles in the upcoming Restless and Contagion -- how did you feel while working on these two films, and how were they different from your previous roles?
I enjoyed the "quietness" of Gus Van Sant's movie (Restless). I found it very meditative and therapeutic to be there, especially after two noisy, very big action movies. It was very far away from Hollywood machinery.
With Contagion, Steven Soderbergh was very interested in the process. With him, I felt a very great degree of collaboration, in terms of being able to exchange ideas and talk about 'how we can do this scene', for example -- he works it into the whole process of film-making, which I found very fun... it's very exciting for an actor -- you feel his hand print all over the movie because of how involved he is in many aspects of the film.
Now that you're living in Los Angeles, what do you miss most about Singapore?
I hate to say it, but you can't get away from the variety of food -- stuff I grew up eating like cai tau kueh (Chinese fried carrot cake) and really fresh, live seafood, things that you just can't get in the U.S. I miss the food a lot. I also have a very tightly-knit family -- recently my brother and sister had a lot of kids, so I now have six nieces, two nephews on the way, and I miss them. So it's the food, and my family.
I try to come back at least once a year so the kids don't forget who I am (laughs). I love the time spent back here; it's always a luxury when I come back to have everybody here, just to spend that time together.
Your siblings have been busy (laughs), and you? No plans of finding a life partner, marriage, children?
The travelling obviously makes it a little tricky. It is kind of an occupational hazard, but the joys I get from travelling and being on those sets (make being single) a price I'm willing to pay at this time. I don't know what it's going to be like in a year or two from now, though, maybe I'll change my mind (laughs).
Do you feel more American or Singaporean?
I think at heart, I will always be a Singaporean because I grew up here, but there are obviously things I have learnt from living in the U.S., especially in terms of modes of communication, like on big sets, where you have to be direct. In that way, perhaps, I have become a little American, but otherwise at heart I'm still a Singaporean.
You've come a long way since Masters of the Sea. In your retrospective view, how have you grown from then till now?
I think I've become calmer; I think I enjoy the process more now. In the past, when you're younger, there are all kinds of worries, and things like opening night would always be so nerve-wrecking for me, but these days I tend to just go along with the ride, and just kind of enjoy it, with a glass of champagne in hand (laughs). I love being on set now, and I enjoy myself a lot more practicing the craft of acting. In the past, there would be a lot of anxiety and worry because you just want to get it right; now I'm more comfortable with occasionally getting it wrong--but hopefully getting it right more often than wrong, you know? (laughs)
