‘You’re no longer playing the third party, the mistress, the prostitute’: Rebecca Lim’s dad was pleased with her role on The Pupil

Doctor, banker, lawyer.

Stereotypical Asian parents may want their kids in these prestigious positions, but Rebecca Lim’s parents saw the potential in her to pursue acting as a career.

The actress told radio DJ and host Jean Danker on the latter’s R U Okay? podcast that after graduating, her strict parents surprisingly convinced her to “try acting full time.” 

With Rebecca getting her first major role as a law trainee in The Pupil (2010), her dad was glad that she was “finally playing a decent character”.

On the latest episode of the podcast, the 36-year-old said: “My dad was the one who said, ‘That’s great, you’re no longer playing the third party, the mistress, the prostitute.’”

Her dad reckoned the role somewhat fit with her education as well, with Rebecca having graduated with an accountancy degree, majoring in law.

Clarifying that it was not a double degree as is often claimed, she laughed and said: “Let me set the record straight, I’m not that intelligent.”

However, it seems that even her dad didn’t expect her acting career to last, with Rebecca saying that he told her to “just go and play for a year and find a proper job after”. 

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Over a decade later, the former Miss Universe Singapore contestant is still going strong, but that doesn’t mean roles simply get handed to her.

“I do have to audition for good roles that everyone wants, or roles for regional productions,” Rebecca admitted.

She recalled a particular role she “really wanted” that she auditioned for while she had caught Covid-19, and the challenges of having to act solo without having anyone to read lines along with her.

Not getting the role didn’t dampen her spirits however, as Rebecca felt that these rejections help her stay grounded.

And when she’s upset, there’s always chocolate ice-cream to help her feel better and “life goes on”.

“I never ever want to reach a stage where I think I'm good enough”

Even in the beginning of her career, Rebecca took her challenges head-on. 

Back in 2008, she acted in the Chinese drama The Truth, but her poor command of the language led to much criticism.

“I knew that I was crap,” Rebecca admitted. “I knew my Mandarin was not good, which is why I was taking Mandarin lessons at the side. 

“I knew I needed to improve my Mandarin if I wanted to go into this Mandarin drama market.”

She added: “The comments were hurtful, of course, but there was some truth to them, so I took it and improved myself.”

At this point, Jean, 44, remarked: “Ten years later, look where Rebecca is now!”

But Rebecca refuses to get complacent, thinking she still has “room for improvement”. 

“I never ever want to reach a stage where I think I'm good enough. I think that’s so dangerous,” she explained. “When I think I’m good enough, that’s when I’ll start to fall.”

drimac@asiaone.com