Rui En's advice to Chantalle Ng: Stay you, don't get chewed up and spat out by the industry

Sitting down with a local celebrity for a heart-to-heart talk is all the rage these days.

You've got meWATCH's Hear U Out, Channel 8's The Inner Circle (all 10 episodes have aired) and now, even local actress Rui En is getting in on the action.

She had previously filmed a cooking video with local DJ Dennis Chew and recently sat down with starlet Chantalle Ng for a chat.

In an Instagram video uploaded yesterday (Dec 5), Rui En can be seen longboarding with Chantalle, 25, before asking her about acting and dishing some advice.

The 40-year-old shared that Chantalle is about to take on a role that was very different from her usual bubbly and "blur blur" personality and wondered if she had given more thought to it.

Chantalle said: "For me, I will have a sense of how I want it to be. Then I'll try to go and understand the background of the character. Like maybe the childhood. It really makes a difference."

She added that most of the time, she will need to "act a few scenes first" in order to grasp the essence of the role.

Rui En said: "The thing that I really appreciate about her (Chantalle) is that she has a lot of innocence.

"She will just be like 'Look, I want to do this role well' but she won't get herself into a tizzy and get completely caught up in her own head about it, which is something that is very good and something I hope you'll be able to maintain.

"Don't overthink things, keep it simple. You may not relate to the role but I think you're a good enough actress to make it work."

ALSO READ: I learnt to ask for help: Rui En on her 'stressful year', admits she doesn't have a plan for Instagram

The veteran actress also had some pretty wise words for the budding artiste in her Instagram post. She revealed that the moment they enter the entertainment industry, they are "advised to see our peers of the same sex as rivals in a life or death battle".

Rui En wrote: "That has never sat well with me. Yes, the Singapore market is small, but that doesn't mean we have to be petty, selfish and step on others to get ahead. In a world of women being pitted against each other even outside of the industry, I choose to rise above that to uplift other women.

"Little sister, resist with all your strength being changed, chewed up and spit out by this beast of an industry. Stay you. The you with all the sunlight, innocence and joy. Your big sister will always be here for you."

bryanlim@asiaone.com