Channel 8 star Edmund Chen shares the highlights of his acting career and talks about his latest artistic drawings for limited edition suitcases
[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ost television viewers know Edmund Chen, the ever youthful-looking veteran actor, but do you know he is an artist?
Edmund Chen is famous for starring in countless Channel 8 drama series since the late ‘80s, including “Star Maiden” and “Patrol”, in which he met his wife, the screen legend Xiang Yun. In 2013, his other talent gained renown when his artwork “Designs by Edmund Chen” was awarded the Guinness World Record for “Longest Drawing by an Individual”.
Edmund shares with Weekender the highlights of his acting career, and how he became interested in drawing.
You gained fame through Chinese drama series on Channel 8. Which was your favourite?
I have several that are very close to my heart. The first would be my maiden project, “Sunshine after Rain”, which launched my career and provided the gateway into this exciting industry.
The second would be “Patrol”. This project made me a uniformed man for the next ten years and, of course, brought me a wife since we acted together. This is followed by “Darkest Hour”, where I played my first villain role, and “Man at Forty” and “Zero to Hero”, where the roles were much deeper with more diversity in character development.
After acting in so many dramas, who is your favourite co-star? [You don’t have to say your wife.]
I enjoyed working with most actors but if I have to name a few it would have to be Liu Qian Yi (Richard Low), and Andrew Seow for “Man at Forty”. We became best pals following the shooting of the drama serial.
What’s the most difficult situation you’ve been put in while acting?
Haha, there are many, like having to shower under the icy recycled studio water in front of the entire crew, waking up at 4am and having to fight like a dragon (when you are exhausted), looking fresh and remembering all the lines after four days and three nights of non-stop filming, and I was doing two different dramas at the same time.
Another situation was jumping into the kelong’s fishing net filled with fish, in the open sea, in the middle of the night. The worst was to act “laying dead” in the coffin at the Mandai crematorium. As you can see, an actor’s life is really not all that glamourous.
What’s the funniest incident that’s happened to you on set?
It was when I played a gynaecologist and most of the time my patients had to hold a light between their legs to shine on my face… As you can tell, I literally never failed to see the light after each ‘delivery’.
If your children want to become actors, what would you say to them?
I will encourage my children to follow their dreams and aspirations. Both children were invited for some projects, and both of them were involved in my movie project and they enjoyed it very much.
As a parent I believe that so long as my children can manage their lives and are content to deal with the processes that come along with it, it is fine by me. I want them to be happy and see the world and envision the very best for their lives as children and later as adults.
When did you start drawing or designing? What inspired you to go into that?
Growing up, I did not come from a well-to-do family. I visited my schoolmate one afternoon after school, and fell in love with the aquarium in his house. As we could not afford one of our own, I decided to draw the aquarium so that I could keep it as a memento.
I drew the fishes in the aquarium and would look at it every day. Later, I found out from my schoolmate that the fishes had died and they did not have an aquarium anymore.
It was then I realised that even though the aquarium was gone, the memories of the fishes remained steadfast and strong in my drawing. It was at that point that I discovered my love for drawing.
Drawing is also a family-bonding activity for me to get closer to my children, and a tool for self-expression among us.
Your artwork “Designs by Edmund Chen” was awarded the Guinness World Record for the Longest Drawing by an Individual in 2013. What inspired you to do that?
My initial thought was simply to spread and share the message on cherishing the moment of our lives. I chose to draw about it as it was one of the better ways that I could express myself.
How did you decide to collaborate with Samsonite to design the limited edition “Cherish” collection?
My first luggage case – a borrowed one as I could not afford one back then – was a Samsonite, and as my current luggage case is getting a little worn, I was hoping to get a new one and went to a friend that I know from Samsonite for some good recommendations.
We chatted a bit and stumbled across the idea to have my artwork emblazoned on it. It has been a great honour to be working with Samsonite as they are very supportive of my commitment towards social good.
Only a limited run of 100 pieces in two sizes of the Spring design is available for sale individually. There are only five exclusive sets of the entire Cherish collection, comprising of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter available for sale, with full proceeds going towards Thye Hua Kwan Hospital in support of dementia patients.
This is a social cause that is very close to my heart as I have a relative suffering from it.
What is the best travel experience you’ve had with your family?
I have enjoyed every single holiday my family and I have made, and the places we have been to. For me, it is always the journey and not the end destination that is important to me.
Interview by Lester J Wan
The “Cherish” designs in the four seasons by Edmund Chen on Samsonite suitcases are available in limited quantities in Samsonite stores.
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