Hugo Ng says his good looks opened doors to leading roles but it's not necessarily a good thing

Even at 62, local actor Hugo Ng is still being praised for his looks.

It's not hard to see why when you catch a glimpse of how he looked like back in the day when he was filming local dramas in the '80s.

His boyish good looks aren't lost on him either, as he openly admitted that it helped opened doors for him when he moved to Hong Kong and joined TVB.

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During an interview on Be My Guest (hosted by current affairs presenter Tung Soo Hua), Hugo said that he got lucky in his career because of his looks.

"I can say that I was lucky. When I was still a newbie, my looks probably opened doors for me. But there is a flip side, too. If you're catapulted to leading actor or actress status, it may not be a good thing on hindsight."

He explained: "If you find yourself becoming an overnight sensation, people are eager to put you on a pedestal. Being young, you may take it for granted, not realising your fame is the effort of many people working behind the scenes. Think about it, we could be doing harm to the newbie instead. I've seen many living examples."

Having been in showbiz for 38 years, Hugo said that he has seen many young actors being undone by their meteoric rise to fame.

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Hugo was born here but his family moved to Hong Kong when he was just seven months old. He returned to Singapore only 21 years later to serve his National Service and when that ended, he started his acting career here in 1984.

The veteran actor also shared that due to the injury he sustained while filming the 1986 local drama Men of Valour, he decided to go back to Hong Kong.

Otherwise, he would have remained in Singapore.

"Life is all about choices," he remarked.

Indeed it is, as Hugo's star power has only increased since his move to TVB. And, though he has achieved great success, Hugo has never been a proud person; although some of his actions or behaviour "might have given others the idea that I was proud".

He said: "Why? I don't have a good memory. Additionally, in my 38 years as an actor, I've played many characters. Once I immerse myself into the role, I tend to neglect the things around me... you want to do your role justice.

"When you tend to ignore the people around you, they'll think you are being arrogant."

Bonding with son over video games

Considering the stigma that video games still have (albeit to a lesser extent), it's not often you'll find parents who indulge in the hobby with their kids.

But you might be surprised to hear that Hugo is one of them and it's a way for him to bond with his son Justin.

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"Children love to have their parents play with them. That's why when I'm at home, I'll do that," Hugo said, adding that his son was the one who first got into gaming and introduced him to it.

"Once I started, I got hooked. I became a bigger gaming addict than him... he has to remind me to stop."

According to Justin, this shared hobby only manifested after he recently introduced Hugo to his favourite game. It's unclear what game it is but it seems to have some element of co-operative play and PvP (player versus player).

Justin shared: "The game brought us closer, especially so in recent years where we share fewer common hobbies. This video game has become our bridge. We have something to talk about and something to complain about."

"We hate losing, and we'll blame each other for the loss," he said with a grin.

bryanlim@asiaone.com