'Childhood repression can really affect you 30 years later': Leon Jay Williams recalls isolation and hardship in childhood

Everyone has their own colourful stories to tell and local actor Leon Jay Williams', particularly of his childhood, is not a happy one.

While he may be seen mostly playing rich CEO characters in idol dramas, his own childhood is vastly different from the characters he has played.

Speaking to Minister for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling in the latest episode of A Conversation with Minister 2023 which was broadcasted on Nov 21, the 47-year-old shared that he grew up in a single-parent family, where his mother had to work two jobs to make ends meet.

"I spent a lot of time alone at home. My mother had to go to work and was very busy. There used to be the term 'latchkey child'? I was considered one of them.

"The kindergarten I went to was on the ground floor of my home. My mum would leave a container of food and I would take it out to eat by myself," said Leon.

He also shared that they used to stay in a rental flat, but his mother bought it over later.

When Sun asked what his greatest worry was as a child, Leon shared that it was their financial situation which brought about another inadequacy in his life.

He said: "My father wasn't around and my mother had to work hard to earn money, so she didn't have much time and it was difficult for her to spend time doing homework with me. So I didn't do well in school. At home, even the lighting was not very good."

When asked what his most vivid childhood memories were, Leon shared that it was his reliance on toys.

"I didn't mingle much with my classmates. I was mostly accompanied by my toys… When some of my friends grew tired of playing with some of their toys, I would ask them if they could sell it to me," he added.

Leon also showed some of his Star Wars toy figurines and a toy plane that was slightly broken.

"I think I've had these for about 40 years. It's broken, but I can't bear to throw it away because these are my childhood memories," he said.

'I was actually quite isolated when I was young'

Sun also asked Leon if it was due to his lack of self-confidence or because he felt different from other children that he chose not to play with them then.

He shared: "I think it's both. If I played with other children, I would need to have some pocket money to go out with them. If you didn't play with other children since you were young, you would become very isolated. I was actually quite isolated when I was young."

Leon agreed with Sun that sometimes children don't know how to communicate and express their emotions to adults, which results in suppression.

He added: 'At that point, you would not feel that there is anything wrong. But as you grow older, you would realise, maybe I am this way now because that's how I was in the past. This childhood repression can really affect you 20 to 30 years later."

'I started working part-time when I was 12 years old'

Leon also shared that he did not continue his studies after GCE O-Levels and became a model, later switching careers to become an actor.

[[nid:659304]]

"I started working part-time when I was 12 years old. I don't know if this is legal. But at the time I wanted to help my mother reduce her burden and earn some pocket money. My textbooks were either second-hand or I used my pocket money to buy them," he shared.

Leon said that he would look for part-time work during his school holidays, such as giving out leaflets and being a waiter.

While he shared that he felt a sense of accomplishment from having experienced many different jobs before, he wished he had more time then to work on his academics.

Leon, who shares daughter Harper, eight, with his wife Joyce, hopes that she finds her own interest in life.

"I hope to be able to give her more chances to explore everything and find her interest," he said.

Episodes of A Conversation with Minister 2023 are on meWATCH.

ALSO READ: Cecilia Cheung plans Lego-themed party for youngest son's 5th birthday

yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.