PUBLISHED ONFebruary 22, 2023 10:02 AMByDrima ChakrabortyTimes may have been hard back then, but human thirst knew no bounds even in the 1940s.
At least that was the case for Lina Ng's character Zhang Cuicui in the 1997 historical drama The Price of Peace, which got the actress some light ribbing from her fellow cast members in the recent episode of the meWATCH show The Reunion.
The episode also featured actors Christopher Lee, Rayson Tan, Hong Huifang and Carole Lin.
Host Lee Teng asked the cast: "Did you fall under James Lye's spell? I heard he was quite brawny."
Rayson, 58, responded: "I didn't, but her character falls under his spell," pointing at Lina.
Former actor James played Chen Dacheng, a deserter of the Chinese army who flees to Malaya and gets into a love triangle with Cuicui, an opera singer, and Xiuxiu (Ivy Lee), a Japanese woman.
Stating that he had "video evidence" of the aforementioned brawns, Lee Teng presented a scene in which James bathed in a river.
"And you said you didn't check him out!" Rayson remarked to Lina as Cuicui sneaked some glances at Dacheng on the screen.
Christopher, who played traitor Xie Guomin, added: "Look at that broad smile!"
Teasing Lina further, Lee Teng pointed out that James initially had a shirt to hide behind but Lina's character immediately grabbed it from him and started washing it.
"The director wanted it that way," Lina, 48, protested.
Rayson retorted: "Was it the director or you? Did you ask to add that in, or was it the director's idea?" which Lina vehemently denied.
"She designed the scene with the director," Christopher, 51, joked.
Despite his cheekiness with his fellow actors, Rayson played the serious role of war martyr Lim Bo Seng in The Price of Peace.
On The Reunion, he donned a pair of glasses he wore in the drama, a symbolic accessory that was shown dropping to the floor and cracking as Lim was tortured by the Japanese.
Rayson has kept the spare pair that wasn't broken all these years.
Lee Teng read from his notes: "(Producer) Au Yuk Sing said [you were cast] because your facial features were delicate, with an elegant and refined temperament. Your face may not have resembled him, but your temperament did."
Rayson was grateful for the praise and said: "I loved this drama because I portrayed a historical figure, even though playing a martyr was very stressful for me."
"The most important thing when you play a historical figure is that you can't be too far off," Christopher added. "You must also give the audience the room for imagination, since the viewers have never met the historical figures either."
Rayson agreed: "You can't be too far off, and because his descendents are still in Singapore, I couldn't portray his demeanour sloppily.
[[nid:618193]]
"Thankfully, after the show aired, Lim Bo Seng's family said I got his demeanour right, his eldest son told me."
Rayson also had to rapidly lose weight to portray the hero, dropping 7kg in just three weeks. He wasn't the only one, as the whole cast had to fit the roles of people living through times of war.
"I was already skinny then, but I still had to lose more weight," Christopher admitted.
"I was already skinny too, but I still lost weight because the filming was so tough," Lina said. "I dropped from 45kg to 42kg."
[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/Co88DQNrKbY/[/embed]
ALSO READ: 'I more kan cheong than him': Lina Ng celebrates son getting A-level results
drimac@asiaone.com
No part of this story can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
