Christopher Lee goes from marriage material to 'public enemy of wives' in new role

Christopher Lee is a doting husband in real life, to the point where he initially decided against having kids after seeing how much stress his wife, local actress Fann Wong, was under.

However, the Singapore-based Malaysian actor plays a different role in reel life and has recently been jokingly named the "public enemy of wives".

In HBO Asia Original drama series Workers, Christopher, 48, plays Ming Qi, a Taiwanese ironworker who comes up with get-rich-quick schemes in order to provide his family with a good life, and is often regarded as a daydreamer.

To finance his latest plans, he 'borrows' his son's allowance and even takes the house title deed to the pawnshop late at night. As such, Ming Qi is scolded by his wife every day in the show. 

Christopher joked to Mirror Media: "I felt like I was shot by a machine gun and had a painful death. And after every scene with my on-screen wife Meifeng, I felt like my body was riddled with bullet holes."

Viewers have even dubbed him the "public enemy of wives" and "the type of men wives should divorce".

ALSO READ: Christopher Lee says everything he did was to make money

Christoper explained that he took on the role because of Ming Qi's personality.

"I think there are many interpretations to his character — he's hateful, despicable, and cute. Even if he's done something you dislike and you're angry with him, you'll still love him anyway," he said.

Christopher also admitted that it was a tricky role to play because he had to be mindful of finding the right balance as Ming Qi is very talkative and has a lot of gestures.

He explained: "If you act too much, it might look exaggerated. But if it's too little, then it's not funny. It's quite difficult to grasp [the balance]."

He added that he watched the premiere of Workers alone because both his "wife and son were asleep", and while he was too embarrassed to grade his acting, he enjoyed the gleeful atmosphere of the show and had a good laugh.

bryanlim@asiaone.com