After over 10 years away, Vincent Ng took a week of filming for new movie to get used to acting again

Can you teach an old dog new tricks? 

After over a decade away from showbiz, actor and martial artist Vincent Ng admitted he felt “a bit awkward” on his first day of filming for Zheng Geping’s new action movie Deleted.

Despite having been a full-time actor in the past, getting back on set made Vincent feel “distanced” and like “it was something new” in the beginning.

“For the first week of filming I was like, ‘Man, being an actor is a really tough job,’” he admitted in an interview with AsiaOne yesterday (Nov 2). “The meetings, remembering the script — all these things that I had done before felt tougher this time around because I used to be so seasoned at it.”

Calling it his “conditioning period,” Vincent, 46, said it took him about “one to two weeks” to get used to the proceedings on a film set.

At this point, Geping interjected, “What about the dieting?”

Despite being an athlete, Vincent was dismayed by the diet he had to stick to as an actor.

“The first day, the assistant was ordering food and asked me what I wanted to eat,” he recalled. “I looked at what Geping da ge (big brother) was eating, and I said, ‘Okay, I’ll just follow him.’

“Wah, it was tough, man!” he lamented. “Every meal was so bland, with almost zero oil. We had boiled chicken for almost every meal. Even the drinks — plain water.”

Vincent could only find “relief” in drinking coffee.

“That’s the only thing with a bit of taste,” he said. “Coffee without sugar some more!”

A former Wushu world champion and three-time SEA Games gold medallist, Vincent set up martial arts school Wufang Singapore in 2004 and left showbiz two years later to focus on it.

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“I haven’t been involved in acting projects unless it’s to support friends and executive producers in small appearances or variety shows,” he added.

Recalling discussions about doing an action movie together years ago, Vincent said: “I feel very appreciated that Geping da ge treated me as a bro and remembered to give me this opportunity.”

Geping, 58, is an executive producer and actor on Deleted.

The movie follows disgraced Malaysian former detective Chia Zhongyi (Geping) who infiltrates a human trafficking ring to locate his daughter and Singaporean police commando Vincent Yong (Vincent) as he leads a raid against a trafficker.

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Originally wanting to do an action movie on undercover agents, Geping felt that the initial “message was not strong enough” and that the story development had to be better. 

“I did a few interview sessions with a former Interpol director, the police force and nine different non-governmental organisations,” he revealed. “Most of us have heard of arms trafficking and drug trafficking, but human trafficking is a very serious crime globally.”

Deleted releases in cinemas on Nov 3.

drimac@asiaone.com

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