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After 27 years in showbiz, 50-year-old Brandon Wong finally won his first trophy at Star Awards.

Wong bagged the award on his first nomination in the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes category.

While the veteran actor was nominated in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories for seven times from 1999 to 2021, he did not manage to emerge victorious during those times, making his win in 2022 all the more precious.

In a rare show of support from Singaporean viewers, many have left positive comments about Wong's achievement, congratulating him for the hard-fought trophy.

Here's more about Wong if you've been sufficiently intrigued:

1. His "Star Search 1995" batch mates included Christopher Lee and Ix Shen

After graduating from the University of Technology Malaysia (UTM), Wong joined Channel 8's talent competition, "Star Search" in 1995.

He was amongst the top six male finalists, together with Christopher Lee and Ix Shen.

Shen clinched the Male Champion while Lee was placed as Male First Runner-up.

This batch also included Jacelyn Tay, who emerged as the Female Champion, and Phyllis Quek as Female Second Runner-up.

Seeing how these names went on to have successful careers in the local entertainment industry, we must say it's been a long time coming for Wong.

2. Cried backstage before his Top 10 win

Wong was highly emotional when he went on stage to accept his Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes award.

After all, it's his first time accepting an award on stage at the ceremony.

However, it wasn't the first time that he wept that day.

Earlier before the awards ceremony, he had his first emotional moment when Mediacorp announced the winners of the backstage My Pick! awards.

One of the awards was the Most Hated Villain award, for which Wong was nominated for his role as Qian Nanhua in "Recipe of Life".

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A post shared by Brandon Wong 黄炯耀 (@brandon_wong_jy)

Unlike the main awards, the newly-launched My Pick! awards were announced exclusively during the live backstage commentary.

The results were fully determined by online public voting.

3. Used to deliver newspapers before school when he was six

Growing up in Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia, Wong started working "part-time" from as early as six years old.

He would distribute newspapers every morning at 4:30am.

After that, he would change into his school uniform and head to school.

His work does not end there, as he would help out at his father's store after school.

4. Groped Joanne Peh in "The Last Madame"

Wong got to grope local actress Joanne Peh in M18 television series "The Last Madame".

For research purposes, the scenes occur in episode 10.

Before you get too excited, Wong told 8world that it might look like both of them were groping each other but there was a "protective layer" over their intimate bits that allowed them to act without reservations.

Wong plays villain Lou Seh, the leader of a secret society.

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A post shared by Brandon Wong 黄炯耀 (@brandon_wong_jy)

According to Shin Min Daily News, Wong was aware of such saucy scenes in the production but did not discuss them with his wife before agreeing to act in the show.

Fortunately, Wong's wife trusted him enough that he didn't get into hot water for keeping her in the dark.

The actor candidly shared the challenge of acting in such scenes, specifically how he might be misunderstood for taking advantage of his female co-star if he overdoes it, but holding back isn't going to cut it for the scene, either.

Peh had encouraged him to approach the scene with a "no-holds-barred" attitude and reassured him about her professionalism and the protective measures in place so he could act with peace of mind.

5. Hesitant about taking a pedophile role out of concern for his sons

Despite his familiarity with playing onscreen villains, Wong revealed that he was hesitant about taking on a particular role.

He was referring to 2019 television series "Daybreak," where he acted as a paedophilic tuition teacher who preys on a 10-year-old girl.

As a father of three sons with his eldest son aged 10 at that time, Wong was concerned that his sons' friends might not be able to differentiate him from his role and mistake him as a pedophile.

He was worried their friends might react negatively, which would then affect his children adversely.

To tackle this issue, Wong said that he would talk to his children to help them understand that the role he plays is a villain, and also taught them how to explain and cope with their schoolmates if they find themselves a target of criticism.

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Top images via Mediacorp.