'I slowly forgot I'm actually that wild-spirited': Elvin Ng on finding back his 'unrestrained' self

When local actor Elvin Ng went to study acting for film in New York last July, it was the first time in his 18-year career that he felt a new sense of freedom.

Speaking to AsiaOne in an interview recently for his new long-form drama, My One and Only, the 42-year-old said that he has been embracing his free-spiritedness since coming back from New York.

Elvin said: "Last year, when I was not filming and away on my own for five weeks, just going to classes and not knowing anybody, it was a crazy time because I only had to care for myself.

"Over here, it is work and family. There are a lot of things that I have to care about and it is always to fulfil something. Over there I was like, 'Wow, I am so free. I just need to breathe and go out and enjoy the world'."

It was also through this avenue that he found his own true self, something that had been set aside all these years since he entered the entertainment industry in 2005.

"This whole time, coming to this industry from university, I have been taught that you must be this and you do this, so you try to be what people want you to be, then I slowly forgot that I'm actually that free and wild-spirited.

"If I am not here, I think I will be totally unrestrained," Elvin shared.

In My One and Only, Elvin plays interior designer Wan Defu, who has an eccentric personality and runs the firm How Luck Renovation with Hao Haojian (Brandon Wong). Haojian's wife Ma Limin (Zoe Tay) is determined to change her life for the better and founded the real estate agency with the titular name after putting in a lot of effort to get her licence as a real estate agent.

Baoyou (Ya Hui) and Defu first met as friends, and their friendship had developed into something more while working at a production company many years ago. As Baoyou wanted to focus on her career then, she rejected Defu's feelings. When the both of them meet again years later, they find that sparks still exist between them but Defu is now hesitant. As they go through ups and downs in their careers and lives, they slowly find their way back to each other.

The drama also marks Elvin's comeback since The Heartland Hero in 2021, and he shared that the one-year break has been a "good recharge".

He added: "I am really excited to be back. I hope that absence makes the heart grow fonder… probably the audience will be missing me for a bit, so I am back. I hope that is the case."

'Just have fun and do crazy things, whatever'

In portraying Wan Defu, Elvin shared that his newfound free-spiritedness is also reflected in this character.

He said: "I feel that to portray Defu, a lot of it is not systematic and not organised. It is more random and spontaneous. So initially when I just came back for filming, the executive producer said, 'For this character, just get out of your head, be unplanned, just be spontaneous and let go, just have fun and do crazy things, whatever'."

Despite that, Elvin said that portraying Defu comes with its own set of challenges as he has always been someone who "does [his] homework" and comes to the set prepared to perform.

"Continuity is an issue because in the show, when they are doing two-camera shooting, I will just do whatever, I don't even know what I am doing, I just do. But that is also a problem because there is still a system in filming, so when they need to reshoot, I am like, I don't know what I did at this point," Elvin shared.

Elvin added that they are still in the midst of filming the 130-episode drama and he is still getting the hang of being "unstructured", but it's all good, as he treats it as a learning experience.

He said: "At the same time, I am enjoying this fluidity, this thing that wants me to be not prepared, unsure, to be spontaneous, unplanned, whatever. It is difficult but also something fun."

'I just want to deconstruct and take away boundaries'

Elvin is also looking forward to expanding his boundaries to portray different roles so that he can display his capabilities.

He said: "When I was in New York, I studied acting for film. I was thinking I should have done theatre instead because it is more relevant. When I was there, I went to many theatre productions and the people there could sing, act and dance.

"I feel like whatever people have seen of me or whatever they think of me is not about me anymore. So whatever comes my way I would like to do it... I'm open to anything actually. I would like to be as different as I can. I was actually really embracing this [free-spiritedness]." 

Besides showing his capabilities, Elvin also believes in learning about characters that are completely different from himself and what he is used to portraying.

He said: "Whether it is a psychopath or [other characters], there are all these roles which are so extreme and actually they may be the most fun to do because they are different [from] how people would see you to be.

"The more varied it is, the more fun it is to experience. Maybe at the beginning it is a challenge, but I think you will always find something in it.

"It's just whether the opportunity comes or people offer you that opportunity. I really just want to deconstruct and take away boundaries and hope anything can come my way and just be open."

My One and Only is available on demand for free on meWATCH now. It will also be broadcast on Channel 8 on Mondays to Fridays at 7.30pm from July 27 onwards.

ALSO READ: 'It's only 1 month of lessons': Back from New York, Elvin Ng plays down expectations of acting improvements

yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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