Acting with your idol can be exciting but also nerve-wracking.

Recently, AsiaOne spoke to Tasha Low at a special premiere of Mediacorp drama Oppa, Saranghae!, where she talked about which of her co-stars she idolised, her career aspirations and K-dramas.

The 29-year-old actress, who received the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste award at Star Awards on Sunday (April 9), admitted that her nerves tripped her up when she acted with Rui En, 42, who is her role model.

She shared frankly: "I idolise Rui En a lot, so in the first scene we worked on, when she looked into my eyes, my face was flushing and I couldn't control my emotions. I needed to take some time to cool down.

"When she is acting, she gets very charismatic. And also, she was acting as my fierce boss, so I got very scared too."

That was not the end of her admiration of Rui En.

The plot of Oppa, Saranghae! involves 40-year old career woman Qiqi (Rui En) pulling out a character from a K-drama she is watching. If Tasha could do the same in real-life, she would forgo the oppa for Rui En from The Dream Makers (2013).

The Dream Makers tells the story of a broadcasting company and stars Rui En, Jeanette Aw, Zoe Tay and Chen Liping. Rui En's character, Fang Tonglin, left a favourable impression on Tasha.

"I would like to pull out [Tonglin], because she is very positive, full of energy, and very cute. Having someone like this by my side as a sister will really brighten my life a lot," Tasha said.

In Oppa, Saranghae! Qiqi manages to find love with the character she has pulled out of her TV, Du Xiaojun (played by Kim Jae-hoon, also known as Kimkim) and is navigating her new relationship alongside her career and friendships.

The catch is that the heartthrob who portrays Xiaojun, fictional South Korean actor Cha Tae-woo, is also in Singapore, and is actually in a relationship with Qiqi's colleague Shine (Tasha).

Tasha shared that Shine is the opposite of her real-life character. While the latter is very outgoing and bubbly, Tasha is more introverted in real-life.

"[Playing her] requires a lot of my energy," Tasha said. "My energy level is quite low and I don't talk much. But in every scene, Shine is full of energy and passion, and she is also younger than me."

Tasha's most memorable scene involved a karaoke session in the first episode. While the call time was 4.30am, which was earlier than any other scenes, Tasha also found it fun as she felt she could be out of character for a while.

'I like how dramatic they are'

Since Oppa, Saranghae! is a story about a K-drama star, we also asked Tasha about her favourite K-dramas.

"I don't watch a lot of K-dramas, but I got hooked on The Penthouse (2020), which is about revenge and is very dramatic," she said. "It involved murders and finding out who the murderer was. I like those kinds of shows."

She added that she also likes The Glory (2022).

She elaborated: "I like how dramatic [these shows] are. The actors also played a huge part. They made it believable and I could learn a lot from them."

She mentioned that plots about murder or revenge are less common in Singapore, where we mainly have family shows, so watching such genres could help her prepare for similar roles in the future.

Apart from acting in a murder or revenge thriller, Tasha also hopes to play a character more similar in energy level and age to herself in real life.

"In the past I've always played characters with high energy levels, bright lively characters," she said. "I hope to play someone more mature, not so young."

'It's a privilege to put in our 100 per cent to perfect our craft'

In 2011, Tasha went to Seoul as a trainee for K-pop, debuted in 2012 as the leader of girl group Skarf. However the group disbanded in 2014.

By 2016, she found herself without purpose and an agency. Tasha then spent another three years as a trainee at a second agency, ending her contract there without another group debut.

She worked briefly as a sales manager for a Korean food company in Singapore when she returned in 2018, before deciding it was not for her and started acting with Mediacorp.

Recalling her experiences in South Korean showbiz, Tasha expressed gratitude.

She was thankful for the privilege to hone her skills specifically, and added: "In Singapore, I love dancing and acting but we don't have the resources to train as hard as we did in South Korea. So, it was a privilege to put in 100 per cent to perfect our craft."

Trainees were "cut off from the outside world" and the distractions that came with it, like social media, but "the good thing is that they could focus on their work," Tasha explained.

She added that, even though she would love to do so, she could not disconnect from social media in Singapore due to the nature of her work.

Despite her own experience, Tasha would encourage those who are keen on entering showbiz in South Korea to go ahead.

"It has shaped me into who I am now. People have to experience certain things for themselves in order for them to grow," she said.

Oppa, Saranghae! is currently streaming on meWATCH, and will be shown on Channel 8 from today onwards.

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jolynn.chia@asiaone.com

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