SINGAPORE: Some call it method acting while others view it as a necessary breakthrough in showbiz. Whichever way you look at it, going for a dramatic makeover has become the latest fad in MediaCorp.
Host-actor Ben Yeo is following in the footsteps of actors Chen Han Wei and Cynthia Koh and undergoing an ugly transformation for his latest role in upcoming Channel 8 telemovie ‘Eye of the Beholder’.
Yeo, better known for his hosting gigs, will shed his ‘boy-next-door’ image (even though he is already a father) to don prosthetic teeth and an unsightly birth mark on his face for his role as a successful cosmetic product researcher.
His unpleasant image drew stares from his colleagues and veteran actress Lin Mei Jiao even laughed at him and instructed him to stay away from her when they left the make-up unit.
“It is definitely my ugliest character to date,” said the host-actor-entrepreneur who has previously gone for smaller scale makeovers when he had to impersonate different roles in variety shows ‘Paris and Milan’ and ‘King of Thrift’.
“It is quite different from what I did on ‘Paris and Milan’, where I had to cross-dress. It’s more about acting here and this set of prosthetic teeth is giving me some problems,” said Yeo pointing to his protruding upper jaw.
The prosthetic teeth which were custom-made for him, are causing him to mispronounce words especially those beginning with the letter ‘F’.
“Initially, I wasn’t able to read out words like ‘chi fan’ (eat rice in Chinese). The tongue is being obstructed by the teeth and it’s causing some problems,” explained the 31-year-old.
Apart from the speech impediment, the teeth were causing much discomfort and Yeo admitted that he was still getting used to it.
“It’s still a bit painful for the first ten minutes as it’s cutting into my gum. I’m slowly getting the hang out of it,” he said.
What’s with this increasing trend of uglifying our artistes?
According to Managing Executive Producer Winnie Wong who is in charge of the series of telemovies which are set to air during the Lunar New Year period, dramatic makeovers will enable viewers to understand a character more easily.
“By going for a makeover, viewers will naturally be attracted to their image which enables them to understand the personality of the character quicker. It is effective as it saves us a lot of time on story-telling and explaining the character,” she said.
And she doesn’t plan to stop just here.
“After Ben, I’m now thinking of who shall be my next target,” she smiled.
As for Yeo, he doesn’t rule out going down the unglamorous route again if the storyline calls for it.
“If for instance, the guy is very manly but he likes to wear female clothes for no reason, it doesn’t make any sense right?
“However, if the character has a psychotic problem, then there is some logic behind it. In that case, I find it okay,” he said.
But his dream role would be to play a character similar to Tony Leung’s or Andy Lau’s in ‘Infernal Affairs’.
“I want to do a character that appears to be a bad person but turns out to be a kind-hearted person, something like ‘Infernal Affairs’,” described Yeo.
Channel News Asia