'Money and fame no longer tempt me': Ex-TV star Jason Oh joins Terence Cao's livestreaming business for 'fun'

Jason Oh was once a familiar face on local television, acting in drama series such as Around People's Park with Xiang Yun and Cynthia Koh and telemovies such as The Matchmaker's Match alongside Fann Wong.

These days, Jason, also known as Qin Wei, is more commonly seen in local actor Terence Cao's livestreaming business Sibay Shiok.

Speaking to AsiaOne in an interview recently, Jason shared that he left showbiz more than a decade ago to join his family in their shipping business and to continue pursuing his interest in art.

"I have been painting since young but then I became a full-time artist around 2010," he said.

When asked why he left showbiz all those years ago, the 56-year-old, who shared that he is an introvert, said: "Portraying characters doesn't satisfy me anymore, because I had to follow the scripts and I had to mingle with people, such as the producers and scriptwriters. I loved it, but it doesn't satisfy me anymore."

Despite that, Jason is grateful for his time there.

He elaborated: "I learnt a lot of things; I learnt about life and how to build my character. I appreciate my days there, because it brought me to who I am today."

About venturing into becoming a full-time artist, Jason added: "I went into arts because in arts, I am the director, screenwriter and actor… This is how I enjoy my life."

He shared that he "paints everything", from contemporary to pop art to colours. So where does his inspiration come from?

"Everywhere," he said.

He added: "In life, everything can be an inspiration. From the leaves falling from the tree to people's behaviour… Meditation is another. Anything can be inspiration but most importantly is when the inspiration comes, how we capture it and keep it."

Jason also started his own Facebook page Art Live, where he shares his artworks and other pieces that he is interested in with his followers and collectors.

Maybe 30 per cent passion for acting, 70 per cent passion for art

Jason still accepts some acting roles over the years when invited, sharing that it's fun to get out of his art sometimes. One of his projects was the local movie Untold Secrets, which was filmed earlier this year.

"For acting, you've got to mingle with people. You've got to have movement and your heart has got to be moved. As for arts, you have to become very calm, as calm as possible, so it is a good contrast," he added.

When asked if returning to acting has reignited his passion for it, he said he still has "30 per cent passion for acting, 70 per cent passion for art".

"Money and fame no longer tempt me," Jason said, adding that he hoped people would recognise him through his art pieces instead.

'We must always be positive and support each other'

While Jason is recently seen in Terence's Sibay Shiok sales livestreams and director Jack Neo's Pa Pa Zou walking livestreams, he said that it was all "just for fun".

On Pa Pa Zou, he said: "Jack contacted me and told me to come and show my talents, sing songs or whatever and make these people happy and encourage them to exercise.

"But after I went for the first time, I felt that it wasn't that I entertained them, but that they brought happiness to me, so I just continued to go… I mingle with them and I feel really good vibes. That is fun for me."

Jason also shared that the Sibay Shiok quartet, comprising actors Peter Yu, Collin Chee, Terence and himself, started from a Chinese New Year gathering last year at Peter's home.

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He said: "Terence and I have known each other for over 30 years. He was from the ninth batch of drama class, while I was from the 10th batch. Peter was from Star Search. We played together, partied together and got to know each other in and out."

Jason added that Terence invited them to join his livestream.

He shared: "I didn't know anything about livestream. So the first time we tried, Peter, Terence and I did one about my paintings and had about 30,000 to 50,000 viewers.

"Later, Terence brought in Collin and we did a livestream at a pasar malam in Johor Bahru and surprisingly the viewership hit over 100,000. Terence was surprised because he thought that it was a weekend or something. So we tried again several times and all of them hit over 100,000, so he decided to form the group with the four of us."

When asked if he foresees himself doing livestreams with the team for a long time, Jason shared: "It's hard to say, but we must always be positive and support each other. To me, it's just for fun. If I can contribute something, I'm okay. It depends on my time."

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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