'This is torture': Elvin Ng details gruelling experience with prosthetic makeup for new drama

Before the cameras rolled on the set of new drama The Spirit Hunter, local actor Elvin Ng would usually be found in a chair having his makeup done. On top of a wig, heavy eyeliner and coloured contacts lenses, at times the 44-year-old would also have dried glue stuck to his skin.

Elvin's first villain role Ah Lin Ta is an all-powerful monk who stays young by transforming during solar eclipses, and he told AsiaOne in a recent interview that his character could even be an 80-year-old man who looks young.

He added: "(To appear old) I had to puff up my face and put glue, a lot of glue, and cool it so it becomes wrinkled, then I have to do it again."

The makeup team applied multiple layers of glue to enhance the wrinkles and this was done eight to 10 times.

In The Spirit Hunter, Hong Ling plays protagonist Tian Nana, a 20-year-old girl burdened to carry a toy sword infused with the spirit of Jian Ling (Richie Koh), which curses her to see supernatural entities, like Ah Lin Ta, that she must defeat.

For his first shoot with prosthetic makeup, the application process took two to three hours and he had to arrive on set earlier than most of his co-stars.

"I was like, 'This is torture'," he recalled.

"We were doing overnight filming, and the weather forecast said there would be a thunderstorm throughout. I arrived at 3pm to do makeup for three hours, and I felt like I wasn't going to be able to film anything," he added.

Elvin's situation continued to worsen. "When I went on set and it was raining, I ate noodles and because of the glue, I couldn't move my mouth very big," he said. "So I was in quite low morale because of the makeup."

Luckily, the rain stopped and Elvin managed to film some scenes. "At least I didn't spend three hours doing makeup and then shoot nothing, that would be very demoralising," he said.

He also noticed the heavy makeup and glue affected his skin.

He shared: "There were also fighting scenes and a lot of sweat. So the glue would come off and (the makeup team) would have to add more glue with all the sweat. When I went back home that day from the first day of filming, there were six big pimples on my forehead.

"I never really had this problem before. Then I was like, 'Along the way how?' But then after that, my skin sort of got used to that glue."

Still, Elvin shared he always looked forward to removing the prosthetic makeup. Once it was confirmed he would have no more scenes to film that day, he would immediately peel it off.

"It was both a bit painful and pleasurable at the same time, a bit sadistic like this character."

Despite his dislike for the application process, the look played a huge part in one of his most memorable scenes.

"While I'm recuperating and getting young, I get attacked by Tyler Ten's character. So I'm super angry because I'm also vain. Like, 'What the heck, now I look like that. I'm going to kill you.'"

The Spirit Hunter, also starring Ferlyn Wong, is available on demand for free on Mewatch and on Channel 8 on weekdays at 9pm.

liv.roberts@asiaone.com

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