Mediacorp actor Ayden Sng hopes to work with Chinese stars Sun Li, Zhou Xun and Zhang Ruoyun in the future

We’ve always thought of Mediacorp actor Ayden Sng as being mature beyond his years. Who knew the 29-year-old, who plays power-hungry He Jian Zhi in Mediacorp blockbuster All That Glitters, also has a child-like side to him?

When 8days.sg met Ayden at the drama’s press conference at GV Vivo’s Gold Class theatre, he was busy munching on biscuit piring wafers. Yes, those colourful frisbee-shaped snacks from our childhood. 

They had given those out during the press conference and we’re not exaggerating when we say the actor went to town on them. Like a kid devouring his Halloween candy.

Even when our cameras started rolling, Ayden wanted to continue eating the wafers because, according to him, it would be “like mukbang”. 

In stepped his manager, whom we could tell, wanted to yank those wafers away from him. She eventually had to assure him that the whole bag was his and that he could have it after our interview.

It was only then that Ayden, with a lot of hesitation, we must add, put his beloved wafers away.

And just like that, he snapped back into no-nonsense Ayden mode, with his thoughtful answers and deep dives into the machinations of his work. 

Now we wonder how the interview would have turned out if he had those piring wafers with him.

THANKS TO A COLLABORATION BETWEEN MEDIACORP’S THE CELEBRITY AGENCY AND CHINA’S HUANYU ENTERTAINMENT, YOU, CHANTALLE NG AND HONG LING WERE PICKED AS THE THREE LOCAL STARS TO BE REPRESENTED BY THE CHINESE AGENCY IN CHINA. DO YOU KNOW WHAT WAS THE SELECTION PROCESS LIKE? 

I was actually not privy to that but I was informed that the selection was done by the China side. I heard that they looked through our portfolio and selected those who would be a better fit for their company as well as the China market. 

YOU WERE THE ONLY GUY SELECTED. WHAT DO YOU THINK DIFFERENTIATED YOU FROM YOUR PEERS?

I’ve been told that my look is slightly more Pan-Asian, perhaps they feel that I’m more suitable looks-wise?

Something else that I’m very proud of is that I’m somebody who’s extremely passionate and involved in Chinese culture. I play the erhu and I love everything traditional. Maybe these things, if they were in the profile, would be traits that the Chinese representative found attractive? It’s great that I like Chinese culture and I hope this means something to them. 

IS THERE ANYONE IN CHINA YOU REALLY WANT TO WORK WITH?

I watch a lot of Chinese projects so the list is really long. Many of the actors there are professionally trained and studied at acting conservatories. I feel like seeing what their acting process is like or how they analyse a scene or their scripts will give me a lot of perspective into what are the steps I can take in order to improve my performance. 

I would love to just be involved in a project there, regardless of how big or small the role is. 

But since you’re asking me this question, I’ll set my hopes higher. I’d like to work with someone like Sun Li. I watched all of her productions. Or Zhou Xun or Qin Lan. They have very good shows and their acting is solid. There are also many male actors that I like, such as Huang Xuan, Zhu Yawen and Zhang Ruoyun.

WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO ACHIEVE IF YOU GET TO WORK IN A CHINESE PRODUCTION?

If I do have this opportunity, I hope to improve as an actor, that’s first and foremost. If I can get one foot in, hopefully, it leads to even more projects there. I think the biggest difference between the Singapore and Chinese market is that they have a lot more genres, like period dramas.

I think any actor would love to be part of a market where there is more to explore because that’s where you can perhaps find a certain niche for yourself. The types of projects we do here are rather limited due to budget and culture.