Yeo Yann Yann: Director Anthony Chen thought my TV series 'sucked' and didn't want me

The impeccable pairing of Malaysian actress Yeo Yann Yann and local director Anthony Chen has spawned award-winning works like Ilo Ilo and Wet Season.

One could even argue that those films catapulted Yann Yann into stardom when she snagged the prestigious Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress (Ilo Ilo) and Best Actress (Wet Season).

However, Anthony didn't take to Yann Yann initially like how Tim Burton took to Johnny Depp.

In the recent episode of meWATCH talkshow Hear U Out, the 43-year-old actress told host Quan Yi Fong that Anthony didn't want to work with her after their first collaboration — a short film titled Ah Ma — as he didn't like her acting in local TV dramas.

Back then, Yann Yann was impressed with the way he approached her character in Ah Ma, and thought the film was "really well-shot". Anthony was heading overseas to study at that time, and Yann Yann texted him to indicate her interest in working with him again when he returned.

However, that did not happen.

She recounted sheepishly: "He told me later that he had actually asked everyone else before asking me (to work with him). I asked him why, and he said that my television series sucked."

According to her, Anthony "doesn't like melodrama" and television series tend to lean towards that. "He prefers a more nuanced drama. He doesn't think that life is so dramatic," she explained.

Difference between filming for television and movies

Yann Yann also recounted another incident with Anthony that seemingly underscored his preference for more nuanced performances. During her audition for Ilo Ilo, he made Yann Yann redo her performances but told her to "tone it down a little" each time.

Anthony didn't specify what needed to be toned down, but Yann Yann thought he wanted her to be "more reserved and not express everything openly".

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The cycle repeated and it came to a point when Yann Yann was confused and told him that if she toned it down further, there won't be anything left to act. In response, he said that was exactly what he wanted. However, Yann Yann didn't know what he was looking for specifically.

She only figured out what he meant once filming started and a similar incident occurred.

She filmed two takes of the same scene and Anthony praised the second take, saying it was "very good". Wanting to know what he defined as "very good", Yann Yann went to the monitor to take a look at what they just filmed but she couldn't get it.

"And he told me, 'Think about this. We watch movies on a huge screen. People are blown up to a huge size. Every little action, be it the blinking of an eye or the raising of an eyebrow is shown clearly,'" she explained.

"Everything is blown up on the big screen so the viewers can see all your small actions. But they might not notice the small details on a TV screen, which is why you can be more expressive (on TV)."

bryanlim@asiaone.com