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If you're wondering what it's like to film a supernatural series, perhaps you could imagine a perpetual Halloween party.

At least, that's what local actors Qi Yuwu did while filming "The Ferryman: Legends of Nanyang".

"The Ferryman" is iQiyi's first Southeast Asia original series.

It is a horror and thriller series that also stars Lawrence Wong, Jeanette Aw, and Kate Kinney.

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Qi plays the role of Zhao Li, a grim reaper who guides the deceased to the afterlife.

In reality, however, the 44-year-old isn't the biggest fan of horror or thriller films, because he doesn't like to scare himself.

But since his character is used to seeing supernatural spirits, he would imagine the scary parts of filming as a Halloween party so that he remains unfazed.

He told Mothership,

"I just treated it like a Halloween party because seeing their makeup on set is very scary. It’s easy for me to be immersed into that scene at times and I would tell myself to treat it as a party."

Another actor spat on him

Meanwhile, the scariest part of filming for Tay Ping Hui was a little more comical.

Tay plays the role of a taotie, a human-eating Chinese mythical creature.

In one of the many scenes he had with fellow castmate Wong, this one takes the cake as the most memorable one he has had in the series.

"[In the scene,] he needed to overcome my powers so he spat a mouthful of hot, warm liquid on my face. It was scary but funny at the same time."

We were assured, however, that it was just water and that extra safety precautions were observed, because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Filmed during pandemic in Malaysia

The show was mainly shot in Malaysia and began filming last year.

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This also meant that the actors had to be away from home between two weeks and six months.

Being homesick was a "miserable" feeling for Qi, who has two young children with actress Joanne Peh.

He shared,

"As we were filming in Johor Bahru, which is very close to Singapore, I thought I could return any time. But who knew that upon arriving, I had to wait for the entire show to be filmed before I could return to Singapore?

At that time, I felt quite miserable. Despite seeing the bridge in the distance, I just couldn't cross over."

Given the Covid-19 situation, Qi said that he did not dare to venture anywhere apart from the shooting locations and the hotel.

Besides, he shared that the cast couldn't really roam freely with the previous lockdowns in place.

For Tay, on the other hand, filming across the border during a pandemic was an eye-opening experience.

He said: "It was the first time that I drove to Malaysia and there were absolutely no cars on the highway, no jam or nothing."

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It was also a welcomed experience to work on a regional project, since most of his recent works were filmed in China.

"It's nice to be so close to home," he added.

Offer joss sticks at locations

So did the cast have any pantang (superstitions) that they adhered to while filming this spooky series?

According to Qi, they didn't really do anything special out of fear of any uninvited supernatural incidents.

Instead, he and Wong would joke around on set to lighten the mood.

While Tay concurred, he did say that he would give some offerings like joss sticks at several locations—not out of fear, but rather, as a form of respect.

Personal spooky encounters

Since they are starring in a supernatural series, we were curious to know if they've personally had any supernatural experiences themselves.

Thankfully for Qi, he has never experienced such encounters.

However, he has heard some hair-raising tales from colleagues and friends when they were in hotels abroad, including feeling something pressed against them and sudden shortness of breath.

And it probably didn't help that Qi lived in a hotel room alone while filming the series in Malaysia.

"If it happened to me, I'm not sure how it would be," he said in relief.

Like every other Singaporean Son, Tay's experience with the unknown of course happened during his time serving the nation.

He said that he was on a mission with his other mates in the middle of the night when he heard the sound of a woman singing.

At first, he got upset thinking it was the mischief of one of his men.

"I went up to each one of them, smacked their heads and told them that they shouldn't be making noise at this point of the mission," he said.

However, all of them denied making even the slightest sound.

"It was really weird because I was positive that there was no one else around. So we kept quiet and didn't talk about it until we went back to camp. Apparently, my other guys in the same platoon heard it. We never knew what it was."

Spoooooky.

"The Ferryman: Legends of Nanyang" is now streaming on iQiyi.

Top image from iQiyi.

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