The BAD BOY that you don’t see
By Charlene Chua
December 22, 2009
THERE may be a new celebrity bad boy in town.
HEART-THROBS: Zhang Zhenhuan, Dai Yang Tian and Elvin Ng in the drama Together.
TNP FILE PICTURE
Bespectacled and soft-spoken MediaCorp star Zhang Zhenhuan has been touted by industry insiders as the next big thing.
After nerdy roles in Channel 8 dramas The Dream Catchers, The Ultimatum and the currently-airing Together, the China-born actor has been mistaken for a geek, with words like ‘shy’ and ‘quiet’ often being used to describe him.
But girls, sit up.
For the first time, his inner wild child surfaced in a recent interview with The New Paper.
We found out that the mild-mannered guy has a tattoo, wears an ear stud and has partied with transvestites.
Said Zhenhuan, 24: ‘People often have preconceived ideas about me because of the way I look and behave. I can be very introverted when I’m unfamiliar with someone.
‘I won’t call myself a bad boy and I’m not the reckless sort. But those close to me know that I can do unexpected things on a whim, like ask them to go drinking with me.
‘I once walked into a tattoo shop not knowing what design I wanted and picked my star sign on the spot.
‘I even used to go by the name Real when I was a model.’
The Zhenhuan we were used to had black hair, wore thick glasses and spoke in a barely audible voice.
Now, his handsome face is framed by a flattering auburn crew cut, he has embraced contact lenses and engages you when he speaks.
‘Actually the name I would like to give myself most is Michael, after Michael Scofield (the lead character in the US TV drama Prison Break, played by Wentworth Miller).
‘Yes, I know we share the same haircut,’ he said with a laugh.
New role: Flirt
The Pan-Asian look which he loves is for his latest role as a flirtatious photographer in the new Channel 8 drama New Beginnings.
As the runner-up of Channel U’s 2008 reality talent competition U Are The One, he signed a one-year contract with MediaCorp after graduating from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a civil engineering honours degree last year.
Zhenhuan had made his way to Singapore seven years ago when he won an SM2 scholarship. During his time at NUS, he was involved in basketball, handball and the dance committee.
He also beat 400 guys for the title of Temasek Hall King in a hostel pageant with teachers and model agency people as judges. It made him even more popular with girls, who often asked him out.
He met his most recent girlfriends, his third and fourth, in school. His first two relationships happened in China.
Zhenhuan, who describes himself as curious and a ‘deep thinker’, revealed that what he wants most is to step into other people’s shoes for a taste of their life experiences.
On his wish list of lives to experience?
A gangster, a death-row convict, a junkie and – yikes! – a menstruating woman.
Does he want to understand women better and be more forgiving towards womankind once a month?
No. ‘When I said that, I meant the physical experience of it,’ he said. ‘I’m always curious as to how things work. It sounds out of this world.’
Well, he did play a transvestite in Together.
Zhenhuan said he doesn’t see himself competing with his Together co-stars, Dai Yang Tian and Elvin Ng, although the trio are the It guys of the moment.
However, during the filming of the series in Malacca, whenever he lost at a computer game to buddy Yang Tian, Zhenhuan admitted that he would secretly practise on his own in their hotel room to beat him later.
He and Elvin became close through their love of food – apparently they can ‘eat for hours’ – especially durians.
In Together, Zhenhuan’s character has to ‘sell himself’ to help his father work off his debts.
So the broad-shouldered, 1.82m-tall actor had to wear tight-fitting clothes and walk in five-inch heels, something he felt he didn’t pull off well.
Zhenhuan said he was told that he looked like a King Kong Barbie Doll, which means he was very clumsy.
He added: ‘It didn’t help that I had sprained my ankle while jogging on uneven ground the week before we filmed that scene.
‘I was tottering precariously on the heels and the toughest part was when I had to ‘lose’ my wig in a certain direction. It took quite a few takes to get it right.’
If only he had hung out more with the transvestites he met at a club, he might have picked up some tips.
When he was still studying at NUS, Zhenhuan said he used to frequent the now-defunct nightspot Ministry Of Sound and cross-dressers would strike up conversations with him.
Indecent proposal
They would slap his behind and dance near him. He claimed he was fine with it as he found the overtures to be harmless.
But once, an overzealous transvestite popped an indecent proposal. Zhenhuan then tried to explain in English that he was living with a male roommate.
But instead he blurted out: ‘I’m sleeping with him,’ pointing to his hostel roommate.
He now rents the upper storey of an Upper Thomson shophouse with Malaysian actor Zzen Chong but is looking for a quieter home not so close to a main road.
His parents, both 56 and living in Sichuan, have been supportive of his academic and career choices.
When he showed them his ‘transvestite’ clip, they even said he wasn’t girly enough.
But, to be sure, girls have been on his mind.
‘Why don’t I have a girlfriend? I really don’t understand,’ he said with a grin.
Zhenhuan admitted that he was a ‘love-at-first-sight’ type of man and would chase a girl based on her ‘alluring X-factor’.
He added that the ‘sexy side’ of him emerges when he’s behind closed doors with his girlfriend.
With this tidbit, we had to ask the inevitable.
In an exclusive interview with The New Paper recently, Yang Tian confessed that he hasn’t had sex in three years, since splitting with his ex-girlfriend.
Then, Elvin followed suit and told the local Chinese media that he, too, hadn’t done the deed for three years.
Zhenhuan gave a surprising answer.
‘I’ll have to ask my ex-girlfriend (a Singaporean NUS faculty mate) first if she would allow me to reveal such things. To say it without seeking her permission is extremely disrespectful to her.’
So when did they break up then?
‘One year ago,’ he said simply.
The NewPaper