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25-year-old Singaporean Raynold Tan is in his final year at the National University of Singapore (NUS) — he's a psychology major, by the way — and just submitted his thesis.

Oh, and he recently wrapped filming for his first leading role in a drama.

In case you're wondering, he's Singaporean Chinese, but has been getting questions about his ethnicity since he was in Secondary One, when people started noticing that he looked a little different from your average Singaporean Chinese.

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One to watch

Tan first started out as a TikTok creator, but was later approached by local talent agency TCP Artistes.

He recounted to Mothership:

"About two years ago, my manager Sean messaged me on Instagram after seeing one of my TikTok videos, and he asked if I wanted to try acting.

Every kid had a childhood dream of being an artiste. It was just [a] fantasy. Now it's reality. So I thought [I'd] just give it a shot. "

The rising star recently became the first Singaporean to land a leading role in a boys' love (BL) drama in the Philippines.

Titled "The Day I Loved You," the Filipino web series explores the ups and downs of teenage romance through the lens of Nikko and Eli.

The latter is played by Tan.

Balancing act

While Tan enjoys acting, it hasn't come without its set of challenges, including his irregular work schedule, which ended up taking a toll on his  grades.

He explained:

"I think I mainly prioritised my time based on urgency. In order to be productive, you have to find those little pockets of time.

So let's say I have an assignment coming up and I have a show that I have a shoot, I'll wait and see which one is [more urgent]. Then I'll put more focus on that first before I work on the other."

At one point, Tan faced a huge dilemma: how to choose between his studies and career.

He mused:

"When I received news that I was offered a lead role [in "The Day I Loved You"],  I was about a month and a half away from my thesis statement deadline.

It was a tough decision. But I thought that since I'm graduating, this is a huge opportunity for me that I might not ever get again. So I went through with it.

I think my biggest regret is not being as hardworking. Because I think if I just spent a little bit more time doing my work when I had a bit of spare time, I would have [done] better."

@nova.mothership Bro’s chinese is better than mine 🫠 #fyp #tiktoksg #sgtiktok #BL #TheDayILovedYou #raynoldtan #raynoldtyr ♬ I Ain't Worried - OneRepublic

Big dreams

Although he now has a lead role under his belt, Tan acknowledged that he still has a long way to go in terms of acting.

"I always felt a bit of an imposter syndrome ever since I joined the industry, so there was a lot of pressure put on myself [to do well]," he said.

As a soon-to-be university graduate, Tan has considered getting a "real job" — as many would define as one where you draw a stable salary — but has shelved these plans, at least for now.

After weighing his options, he has decided to focus on his showbiz career until the end of his contract. When it ends, he will reconsider based on whether he has "made it".

Pausing to ponder our question of what he considers "making it", he concluded:

"I think the short term goal would be [getting] casted as a lead or supporting role in a local production.

In terms of the timeline of my contract, I think to say that I made it would be if I was recognised by the local audience."

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Top photos by Hayley Foong, Lee Wei Lin & Raynold Tan's Instagram