S’porean actor Ryan Lian opens up about dealing with depression & his public kerfuffles

In a recent podcast episode of "Rise ‘n Shine" posted on Jan. 30, Singaporean actor Ryan Lian opened up about his mental health struggles following two public incidents in the past year that he was involved in, which were reported in the media.

In September, he was accused of tampering with a Telok Blangah home's digital door lock.

In late November, he was allegedly slashed on the face multiple times in Serangoon.

Handling depression

Host Luke Chan spoke with Lian about how the actor encountered stress while on the job.

Chan then asked why Lian had decided to share his struggles with depression and what sharing it with the public has been like.

Lian, who is 40 years old in 2025, explained:

“The main objective is there’s a lot of people like us. All of us have a little bit of depression. It’s just how serious you are. I wish to encourage people [to not] be shy and don’t be afraid to voice it out.

If you keep it in your heart until one day [it] explodes then [it’s] no good for you also. And the worst thing is [it’s] bad for your family.”

Lian also said that in light of all the “stupid things” that have happened to him, he wished to let his audience know that they are not alone.

Chan then expressed his support for Lian, sharing that it must have been difficult for the actor as people are unaware of his mental health struggles.

Handling difficult situations

Another host, Simonboy, brought up the slashing incident Lian was involved in.

Simonboy recalled how Lian was very affected by the online comments surrounding the incident and asked how he handled them.

Lian responded that he is going into 2025 with a new mindset.

Since he has experienced these incidents, he said he believes that he must encourage people who are going through tough times.

He then encouraged others not to give up, to pray, and to give themselves a chance because life is still good:

“Enjoy all these small things. If I didn’t have these two things happen in [my] life, till now, I [would] still be chasing for career and personal achievements.”

“[After] these two things happened already, I cherish every moment.”

Watch the full video on YouTube here.

Timeline of Ryan Lian’s incidents

Lian was involved in two incidents in 2024 that made the rounds in the press.

Lock-breaking incident

Back in September 2024, Lian was allegedly involved in a lock-breaking incident in Telok Blangah.

On Sept. 15, 2024, Lian was caught loitering outside a Housing and Development Board (HDB) unit.

He appeared to be opening the gate that was secured with a digital lock.

He was apprehended under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act.

Knife attack outside a shopping mall

On Nov. 22, 2024, Lian was allegedly stabbed in the face outside NEX shopping mall in Serangoon.

The alleged perpetrator was 21-year-old Aaron Samuel Yukon.

Following the slashing incident, Lian was apparently mocked by online commenters, some of whom used laughing emojis to respond to Lian's predicament.

The actor then took to Instagram on Nov. 26 to express his frustration about the insensitive online comments.

Who is Ryan Lian

Lian is a local actor best known for his various roles in Jack Neo’s films.

He has acted in films, such as “Ah Boys to Men 4”, “Long Long Time Ago”, and “Take 2”.

Top image from Rise 'n Shine YouTube.