PUBLISHED ONOctober 22, 2024 5:00 AMByYeo Shu HuiA fight broke out between local actors Tasha Low, Herman Keh and Zhu Zeliang in Batu Pahat, with the men getting their head smacked, hand stepped on, and even thrown to the ground.
While it was all for a scene in the upcoming blockbuster drama Emerald Hill, the blows were real.
"Actually, I was really scared," Tasha told AsiaOne when we visited them on the set in July.
The 31-year-old, who plays Zhang Xinniang in the drama, had to hit Zeliang, 27, on the back of his head with a broom, and she observed the bristles were actually quite "sharp".
"I didn't want to hurt them… so I was trying to hold back my strength. But the stunt director and the director told me to just use my full strength, so as to make it look real and to do it in one take. The boys were really nice, they communicated with me and let me know that it was okay to hit them. So I think communication is very important," Tasha said.
Recounting the smack, Zeliang, who plays Zhang Yaoliang, joked: "I would like to think she didn't use 100 per cent of her strength… I'm okay. Physically I'm here, mentally, I don't know where."
Jokes aside, the actors shared that they were taught their moves on the spot by Hong Kong actor-martial arts director Douglas Kung.
Herman, who plays Yaoliang's older brother Yaoguang, said the fight scenes involved a lot of "trial and error".
"Sometimes we might miss a few punches or we were afraid to hurt the other party, so we would hit softer. But actually it didn't look as good on screen so we had no choice but to [hit for real] sometimes," the 28-year-old said.
Zeliang agreed with Herman, adding that he punched Herman's watch by accident.
Tasha also recounted having to step on Herman's hand for real after rescuing Xinniang's cousin Zhang Yaozu, played by Nick Teo.
"Actually, I faked it a few times, and I realised it's a bit difficult because I kept losing my balance and it didn't look real. So I asked Herman, 'Can I just step on you for real?' and he said, 'Yeah, just go for it.' So I did, but the director mentioned not to put my full weight on him, so I did like half-half," she said.
The men did not bear all the punches, as Tasha also had her collar pulled by Herman — which she retaliated by grabbing the "hot" kettle in front of her and scalding her attacker.
Thankfully, there were no real damages and the four went for a group photo at the end of their filming.
Emerald Hill centres around Xinniang, who roams the streets with her adoptive mother Ah Zhu (Chen Liping), cheating others to survive.
When Xiniang is around 10 years old, Ah Zhu brings her to the wealthy Zhang family living on Emerald Hill and claims that she is Li Shuqin (Jesseca Liu) and Zhang Jinhe's (Hsiu Chieh-kai) long-lost daughter Anya.
As Xinniang (Tasha) grows up in the family, she secretly remains in contact with Ah Zhu, sometimes stealing things for her, unaware that Shuqin knows of her deeds and she is not the real Anya.
The drama also stars Zoe Tay, Aileen Tan, Chen Huihui, Dawn Yeoh, Chantalle Ng, Elvin Ng, Sheila Sim, Romeo Tan, Ferlyn Wong, Zhang Zetong, Jernelle Oh, Seow Sin Nee with Jeanette Aw reprising her role as Yamamoto Yueniang from The Little Nyonya. It is expected to premiere in the first half of 2025.
Watch our E-Junkies video for the interview!
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