After Rui En's sacrificial turn as a chubby auntie (she put on 4kg for the Channel 8 role), Jeanette Aw also dabbled in the dangerous yet award-baiting art of method acting and got so into character that she felt depressed.

Aw published this on her various social media accounts today (Jan. 14).

It was a long and arduous journey taking on #ZhaoFeiEr again in #zzsf2 . So many underlying currents that can't be spoken. It was a very lonely journey that few will understand. At the end of the day, what broke me down made me stronger but I can only say this because I recovered from it. I learnt so much about Depression and even experienced it myself, as much as I was aware of the changes going on within and trying so hard to keep my emotions in check. Even the strongest person buckle at times and most times the simplest act of concern from someone can be the pillar of support and strength during the most vulnerable moments. Depression does not hit only the weak but this is the misconception many people have and they belittle the sadness and label depressed individuals as weaklings. I hope for things to change. If you call yourself a good friend to someone, a family member, be sensitive to the loved ones in your life. Any moment, they could be silently reaching out to you for support, patience and understanding. #JeanetteAw

A photo posted by Jeanette Aw 欧萱 (@jeanetteaw_xuan) on Jan 13, 2016 at 11:24pm PST

TL;DR: During her portrayal as Zhao Fei-er – an actress who falls into depression after a series of setbacks and mishaps – in The Dream Makers 2, Aw experienced depression first hand.

It wasn't the first mention of the stress she had to endure playing that character though. The actress wrote on what looks like her blog back on Nov. 1, 2015 that her character's "mental and emotional state can be too overwhelming at times".

After close to 5 months of filming for The Dream Makers 2, I feel a huge load coming off my shoulders now as we have wrapped up. As much as I love Zhao Fei-er, her mental and emotional state can be too overwhelming at times. She’s cast an indelible shadow over me, she’s invaded my personal space, and she affected me in more ways than one.

Subsequently, in an interview with The New Paper on Nov. 20, 2015, she said: "It was emotionally gruelling for me because I would go into a dark place and find it difficult to control my emotions. One time, I actually broke down in the middle of a scene,and everyone was very shocked and worried about me."

Such dedication for a Channel 8 drama. What happened to work place safety, Mediacorp?

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Rui En takes method acting to another level, puts on 4kg for a Channel 8 drama

Top photo adapted from here

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