E-Junkies: 'I don't even have any mood to plan for my wedding', says Rebecca Lim about difficult role in new drama Third Rail

Rebecca Lim may want to get married but she's already got prior commitments to her job.

In a recent interview with AsiaOne, Rebecca Lim and Andie Chen spoke about their roles in the new Mediacorp English drama Third Rail and how taxing filming had been on both of them.

"[Filming] is very tiring, it's so draining that I don't even have any mood to plan for my wedding — that's how draining it is," Rebecca, 36, admitted.

Hearing this, her co-star Andie, 37, began wagging his finger at her disapprovingly.

Correcting herself, Rebecca laughingly said: "I mean, I have the mood, I just don't have time."

Elaborating on the filming, she also said: "The last few episodes were extremely challenging for me. I had a very tough time filming this production not only because of the atmosphere, [but also because it is an] emotionally draining drama series."

The Third Rail is a drama set in a fictional train run by KMRT. A regular day is disrupted when hostage-takers hijack and threaten to bomb the train when it travelled underground, resulting in raw emotions bursting forth as passengers realise their true personalities.

The train film set was created using two actual decommissioned train carriages and computer-generated images. A 'tunnel' was also created from scratch. There was little air ventilation and air-conditioning in the carriages during filming, which took a toll on cast and crew.

Rebecca plays Geri, one of the hostages in the situation, who is also the "heroine of the entire cabin", she explained.

A nurse by training, Geri tries to help people who have sustained injuries, but as tensions run high and not everyone can be saved, her "dark secret" comes to light.

Andie plays John, a hostage-taker. 

Oddly, Andie claimed that John is a "kind soul" and also a father, juxtaposing his villainous role in the show.

"I don't think he's a bad guy to begin with although he's doing bad things for sure," Andie admitted. "One of the reasons why the script really attracted me in the first place was because he's not a two-dimensional villain.

"There is a lot of depth, a lot of struggles and a lot of real, sincere relationships he shares with hostages even…  I would be happy if there were audience members who root for the hostage-takers."

The film set, as magnificent as it looked, was physically uncomfortable for the actors.

"Most of the days we were seated on the train floor for about 12 to 14 hours. Quite a lot of [actors] had very bad heat rash and our buttocks would hurt at the end of the day," Rebecca said during the tour of the set.

"So we would hide tiny cushions under us while we're filming just to give ourselves some support — because, you know, we're not 16 anymore."

'I didn't know that it was real blood, I thought it was makeup'

In the interview, Rebecca also recalled an anecdote of how she sustained a "very deep cut" on set but didn't even realise it till much later.

She recounted: "There was this accident where I was actually cut by a real piece of glass and it was a very deep cut."

Pointing to the fleshy part of her palm just under the thumb, she pointed out to reporters that the cut was still there.

"I didn't notice until I got home because I was already covered in 'blood' in the show so I didn't know that it was real blood, I thought it was makeup.

"When I ended the shoot and washed my hands, I wondered, 'Why is my hand so painful?'"

It was then that she realised the injury.

'This could be historical, even'

Despite how exhausting the process was, both Andie and Rebecca agreed that there is something about this show that makes giving their all worth it.

"Honestly speaking, I think [filming this drama] was quite an impressive feat by everybody. Just accepting that this is going to be the norm… But then you do it and you survive one day after another," Andie said.

Looking at the playback also gave them the feeling that all they had done was worth it, Rebecca added.

Asserted Andie: "I think there is something in everyone that knows that this is special. To me, personally, I think that this could be historical, even, so there is that which drives you on."

The Third Rail also features prominent local actors like Nurul Aini, Gerald Chew and Benjamin Heng.

The drama will be available on meWATCH from Oct 17 with two episodes released every Monday, and on Channel 5 on Mondays at 9.30pm beginning Oct 31. It will also be available on the Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube channel from Oct 25 with new episodes every Tuesday.

Watch our video for the full interview with Andie and Rebecca and a tour of the set, given by Rebecca herself.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com