October 07, 2021, 12:33 PM
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By now, most Singaporeans would have heard of Chantalle Ng.
Family matters aside, the 26-year-old actress has been on everyone's radar since her role in Channel 8 series "My Star Bride" as a Vietnamese bride in Singapore.
Despite being in the industry since 2013, it was this role that helped her transition from being known as the daughter of veteran actress Lin Meijiao to come into her own.
"I am really very happy it ['My Star Bride'] happened. I feel that we're all waiting for opportunities and Fang Cao was the one for me. It really helped me in my career and people are starting to know me as something more than Lin Meijiao's daughter," she said in an interview with Mothership.
Still not used to seeing herself on news
Since her breakout role, the media has been reporting on Ng's every move—even a seemingly ordinary (albeit scatterbrained) moment where the actress had to take the MRT to Mediacorp's campus at 11pm to retrieve her car, after forgetting that she had driven to work in the morning (uh, you can read it here because we wrote about it as well).
While she appreciates the attention (she takes it as a measure of success, she told us), seeing her name on headlines still turns her into a bundle of nerves.
Displaying no airs, Ng said: "I still get a bit nervous whenever I see my name on an article. Yeah, I'm still trying to get used to it."
While it may seem only natural for Ng to follow in the footsteps of the people around her and enter showbiz, she stressed that it has always been her choice.
"No lah, I was never pressured to join the industry. But I think growing up in this environment, I was always inclined to join."
Surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the entertainment industry, she was always encouraged by the people around her to try her luck and submit short audition clips for smaller roles.
After clinching some roles, she realised her interest in acting and decided to pursue her passion after graduating from university.
Recognising her privilege as a veteran actress's daughter, she feels that it is especially important for her to have a positive attitude when it comes to work.
"[My mother] always emphasise on my working attitude. I think it's very important to be professional on set, like, we're expected to be on time, to memorise our scripts and just be respectful of the people working with us.
And I think that applies to any job, not just in showbiz."
Almost didn't get to sing on TV
After she proved her acting chops in "My Star Bride", the bubbly actress has several projects lined up for her.
One of them includes Channel 8 series "Live Your Dreams", where Ng plays a shy trainee at an entertainment company.
Since it is a girl group-themed series, the episodes are filled with singing and dancing segments.
Ng told us that the production team had half a mind on getting someone else to sing her parts since she didn't have a background as a singer, apart from being part of her secondary school choir.
However, the actress insisted on doing her own singing parts, especially since she loves to sing.
Ng said: "I really tried to fight for the chance to sing on my own so they said ok, if I really want it, then I had to go for lessons and they'd decide after I pass the lessons."
The singing lessons with local music producer Lee Wei Song (who, along with his twin brother, discovered Stefanie Sun) seem to be worth the while, since Ng eventually got to do all of her singing parts on the show without any dubbing.
Surrounded by former K-pop stars
When it comes to dancing, however, she admitted that she's not very good at it as compared to her castmates.
"Live Your Dreams" also stars Tasha Low, Ferlyn Wong and Cheris Lee, all of whom are former K-pop stars.
So it goes without saying that they are much more experienced when it comes to performing for the camera.
"Every time when it comes to dancing, I will refer to them and follow their dance moves. So it's very obvious if they dance wrongly, because I will also dance wrongly," she admitted.
But that didn't intimidate Ng. Instead, it made her appreciate their friendship as well as all the help and encouragement they have given her.
She added: "I actually have a clip of Cheris teaching me how to dance [behind the scenes] and I'm just imitating her while the camera is on."
Already living her dream
So what does her mother think of her talents?
Ng revealed that Lin (who is her daughter's number one fan, of course) is always a spectator to the many "mini-concerts" that she holds at home.
"She'll always listen to my singing! She's very supportive and thinks I can sing," Ng said.
However, she can't say much about Ng's footwork though.
"No comments from her yet," she said.
At least she's gained more confidence in her moves since she started filming the series.
"After the show, I think I still cannot dance. But at least I've learnt how to look confident faking it."
Since the series is called "Live Your Dreams", we thought it was only apt to ask what is her definition of living the dream.
Her answer: "I feel like I'm already living my dream."
The rising star reasoned that she's simply content to be making a living from doing what she loves.
"I am very happy to have found a spot in my life where I enjoy what I do and am able to make a living out of it.
Most importantly, I'm surrounded by good people, like my family and friends."
"Live Your Dreams" is now streaming on meWATCH.
Top image from @chantalleng on Instagram.
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