Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
Mediacorp actor Benjamin Tan, 30, hopes to do his late mum proud with this year's Star Awards.
Tan, a relative newcomer to the industry, is in the running for the Most Popular Rising Stars award—a (sort of) new category of up and coming artistes with less than six years of experience.
The actor started off as an influencer and took on acting in 2018, according to his bio on Mediacorp's website.
This year's list has 39 nominees vying for just three spots, and some other names you might be familiar with include Ayden Sng, Cheryl Chou, Richie Koh, and Joel Choo.
In light of the good news, Tan took to Instagram on Mar. 6 to canvass for votes, saying that he's "touched beyond words."
"Would hope that I get to be on stage this year! Would really appreciate the effort," he added.
Tan went on to share how this year's awards will be different for him, as the following week would be his mum's death anniversary.
Tan's mother went into a coma after being hospitalised on July 4, 2020, and doctors later found out that a blood clot was pressing against her brain stem.
She passed away on Apr. 16, 2022.
Tan went on to clarify that he was not seeking sympathy votes, but that he really wanted to do his mum proud with his career's progress.
In 2021, his role in "My Guardian Angels" got him a nomination in the Best Newcomer category, although the win eventually went to Star Search 2019 winner Zhang Ze Tong.
Speaking to 8world late last year, the actor candidly said that he still misses his mum.
While engaging an animal communicator for their pet dog, they discovered that the canine would often sit in the living room and stare at the sofa.
Tan continued,
"The animal communicator said that Toki [their dog] could see mum sitting there, so it would stare at her. The communicator also said that mum seemed to be looking after the family, and it made me emotional.
[...]
The silver lining was that she gave us time to prepare ourselves for her departure during the two years [in a coma]. If she had left us just like that, the blow would have been bigger. At least she let us adapt to life without her first, although we still miss her a lot right now."
Related article
Top image via Benjamin Tan's Instagram page