April 02, 2023, 11:37 AM
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Singaporean actor Joel Choo is no unfamiliar face in the showbiz industry.
He's acted in a number of local dramas and is a TikTok content creator.
Oh, and you probably recognise him as the younger son of veteran actor Zhu Houren.
Mothership recently spoke to Choo, who plays Ah Hock in the spin-off season of Channel 5's "Titoudao: Dawn of a New Stage" to find out more about his thoughts on show's new season, content creation and his family.
Surprised by announcement of "Titoudao" spin-off
By the end of the first season of "Titoudao", Choo thought that he would be leaving his character Ah Hock behind for good.
After all, he had already journeyed through the character's 20s to his 40s.
Thus, there was no doubt that the announcement of the spin-off season came as a surprise for him.
"I was surprised at first... [I] wasn't sure if I was happy because I think I said goodbye to the character already," Choo shared.
Then came the news that the second season was to be a spin-off of the first season, which made him excited to introduce a time period that was not shown in the first season.
With the two seasons filmed three years apart, Choo had quite a lot of adjusting to when he returned to set as Ah Hock.
In season one, Ah Hock had matured from an immature young hawker to a family man who was more grounded and sure of himself.
The latter was what Choo last recalled when portraying his character.
With the spin-off in place, he found himself taking a while to backtrack to return to the "old Ah Hock".
Another change he had to do was to lose weight, for continuity reasons.
Choo weighed 75kg when filming for season one ended, 5kg more than what he weighed before filming for season two commenced.
"Back then, Ah Hock wasn't well-to-do, so I tried to lose some weight for the role," he explained.
"[I] ate less [and] exercised more... I tried my best to lose some weight but I don't know... The audience will tell," he laughed.
Started making TikTok videos during pandemic
Choo also has another hustle – content creation on TikTok.
He first began using TikTok in 2020 as a means to entertain himself during his free time.
"During the Covid [pandemic], I had a lot of free time on my hands. So I started making a lot of [TikTok] videos to entertain myself and from then on, I realised that I can use all these ideas for clients," he shared.
Fast forward to three years later, Choo's TikTok account has over 49,400 followers and almost half a million likes.
He has also involved his father in some TikTok collaborations with various brands such as BMW, Marks & Spencer and CPF.
Balancing his acting and content creation gigs has been "manageable", but there have been instances where filming and deadlines clash, resulting in him and his manager having to work overtime after filming to meet the client's deadlines.
"But I enjoy it lah," Choo said, affirming his passion for both acting and creating content.
He also shared how dabbling in both of his hustles allows him to be more versatile:
"I think in Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia, we're quite unique in the sense that our actors also have to do content creation. I think it's for them to be more versatile. Especially because Singapore [is] so small, there're so [few] acting jobs, you have to look for other sources of income as well."
All in the family
Being in showbiz seems to be a thing with the Choos.
Choo and his father are actors and his brother Jonathan is a director.
This has allowed him to seek acting advice from two different perspectives — one from a veteran actor and another from a "detail-oriented" director.
"[My brother] gives me a different perspective... A director's perspective. Like, why is the script written [in a certain] way. He brings up all the nuances and details and explains it to me. As for my dad, he's experienced. He knows how to act in a way that's good for TV," he explained.
Conversations about showbiz stays within the three men at home as Choo's mother is mostly "clueless" about the technicalities of acting and directing.
"My mum is just at the back supporting everything," he continued.
Of course, having a veteran actor as his father has also led to him being compared to his father countless times.
However, Choo takes it in his stride:
"Even up till now, people still know me as my father's son, which is completely fine. I think it's a very good way to put myself out there.
But in the same way, I'm also trying to [establish] my uniqueness, which is [through] my social media platforms.
I'm happy with where I am now in terms of how I am trying to put myself out there. I think what I could do better is to try more acting roles and try to have a signature character.
Maybe something like Ah Hock but a little more unique to solidify [my place] in the acting industry."
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