From next week, Channel 8 viewers will literally be seeing double of local actresses Xiang Yun and Julie Tan every Tuesday.
Xiang Yun, 54, and Tan, 23, will play mother and daughter in back-to-back TV series.
The two actresses are starring in Peace And Prosperity, which is showing every weekday at 7.30pm. Xiang Yun plays the matriarch of a large family who owns a Chinese medicine hall and Tan plays one of her six daughters.
From April 12, at 8pm, they will share the small screen again in new weekly mini-series My First School. This time, Xiang Yun plays a naggy mum who constantly dissuades her eldest child, Le Qing (Tan), from teaching in a pre-school.
The series, which is about the challenges faced by pre-school educators as seen through Le Qing’s eyes, also stars Chen Liping and Aloysius Pang as Tan’s colleagues.
At the drama’s press conference yesterday, Xiang Yun and Tan told The New Paper that “audiences might be confused”.
“Our hairstyles are pretty much the same in the two dramas,” said Xiang Yun with a laugh.
“Also, coincidentally, I play a single mum in both shows.”
Tan said My First School was actually filmed first. Shortly after, the shoot for Peace And Prosperity commenced.
“We had only a week or so of rest in between the two dramas,” she said.
CHEMISTRY
Tan added: “Of course, my on-screen chemistry with Xiang Yun became even better the second time round.
“Though I think some viewers might be momentarily confused, they should still be able to tell our characters apart.
“The personalities of our characters in the two shows are extremely different.”
Xiang Yun said her character in My First School is “more auntie-ish and irritating”, as she is the type of mum who “doesn’t allow her kids to follow their dreams”.
Tan’s pre-school teacher character is bubblier and “less angst-ridden” than her character in Peace And Prosperity.
“I had to stay angry and agitated all the time in Peace And Prosperity. I think that’s why my old thyroid problem flared up,” she said.
Tan suffers from Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune condition characterised by emotional and weight fluctuations.
It reportedly developed in 2013 and she had to get an injection last month to treat it.
“Recently, I took a short holiday in Australia and I feel a lot better now,” she said.
To date, Xiang Yun and Tan have teamed up as a mother-and-daughter pair three times. Their first collaboration was in A Tale Of Two Cities (2011), where Xiang Yun played Tan’s stepmother.
Doing dramas together has drawn the pair closer.
Xiang Yun said that in real life, she treats Tan “just like my own daughter”, while Tan said working with Xiang Yun “has become more and more natural”.
Xiang Yun: Tan can win at Star Awards
Julie Tan has a high chance of snagging the Best Supporting Actress accolade at this year’s Star Awards.
That’s according to Xiang Yun, who has more than three decades of showbiz experience.
“Julie is very cute, very versatile, you can see her fit easily into any role,” Xiang Yun told The New Paper.
“She has immense potential to go very far in this industry. Plus, she is trained in theatre from Nafa (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts) and that gives her an edge over others.
“I believe she definitely has a good chance of winning.”
Tan is nominated for her role as the scheming Dong Zihuai in The Dream Makers 2. She is also up for a spot in the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artists.
Star Awards 2016 will be presented on April 17 and April 24.
When we asked Tan if she is confident of winning, she played down her chances.
“I try not to think about Star Awards,” Tan said with a grin.
“I just got well (from my thyroid flare-up), so I don’t want to stress myself over this.”
As for 25-year-old Aloysius Pang (inset), who also stars in My First School, he is “not setting any aim for himself” at Star Awards. Pang is a first-time nominee in the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artists category.
“The higher the expectations, the bigger the disappointment,” he said.
“At this point, I’m just happy that strangers have been coming up to me on the street to show their support. They’ll tell me, ‘Aloysius, I voted for you!’ I’m very touched.
“Last year, I was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, which is a tiny achievement. This year, I’m in the running for Top 10. In the future, I hope to be nominated in the acting categories and eventually win.”
keeyunt@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on April 9, 2016.
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