Carrie Wong Had To Put In Official Requests To Her Dad Whenever She Wanted Him To Buy Her Things As A Kid

8 DAYS: Your character in Sisters Stand Tall forms a sisterhood with two women who have the same name as her. Since you’re an only child, have you ever wanted a sister?

CARRIE WONG: Actually, no. If I were to recall my childhood, I’ve never asked my parents if I’m going to have a sister or brother. I enjoyed the attention and love a lot. Because at that age, you wouldn’t think that someone is here to share [the] love with you. You just basically have everything to yourself, nobody to share your toys, clothes, TV and computer. It's why I never thought about it before.

These days though, I sometimes think it would be lovely to have a good older brother. Maybe in some way, it’s a fantasy, because when you watch shows, there’s always this overly protective brother that takes care of their younger sister. But plenty of people who have brothers tell me that’s not the case (laughs). So yah, I’m good by myself.

Does your dog Gege make up for the lack of a sibling?

Totally, she made up for everything.

Who would you consider your ‘sisters’ in showbiz?

I don’t really have best friends in this industry. If I have to think of someone who I’m closer to, there’s Jasmine Sim. (Ed: The two co-starred in meWATCH drama VIC.)

Is it because friendships in showbiz are harder to maintain?

I don’t find it hard to maintain friendships. I mean, after all these years, I just find it unnecessary. Because I have my own friends whom I grew up with the past 15 years. When you grow older, you will realise you don’t need to have too many close friends, just one or two who really know you and who have been there for you through your ups and downs. I think that’s good already.

But I do have good friends who I can talk to, eat and drink with and have fun [in showbiz], but I just feel that you don’t need to intentionally take the friendship to another level when it is already comfortable like that.

Your co-stars Jojo and Yang Zi are from Malaysia and China respectively. Is there anything you learnt about their countries from them?

I feel that I picked up more from Yang Zi. Jojo is very similar to us Singaporeans, as she is from Malaysia. We have shared cultures, and we understand each other easily. It’s just that Jojo speaks fluent Malay, which really impressed me because I can’t even understand it. She told me that she even filmed a Malay movie back in Malaysia and I was like "Wow". She speaks English, Chinese, Malay and Cantonese fluently.

[My conversation with] Yang Zi on the other hand, is different. We’re both interested in how production works in China. I told her I went China to shoot [Mediacorp drama A Quest to Heal] before and wanted to know more from her.

We talked about how the production set in China is generally bigger, and how while most people must take up more than one role in their position here, companies in China have specific departments that only focus on one production aspect, mostly because they have more resources though.

Would you want to work in China again if given the opportunity?

I feel… yes. I don’t know (laughs), must be able to come back lah. But I am always looking forward to overseas opportunities because you have to connect and try to experience different cultures, especially those that are out of your comfort zone, to make you learn more and grow into a better actress.

In that case, have you ever had a penpal?

No, I don’t write letters (laughs). The only time I recall writing letters was to my father.

Last time, when I was in school, if I needed anything from him because my allowance was not enough, he would require me to write a letter to ask for it.

Like an official letter, signing off and everything?

Yes! I would have to tell him the reason I needed the item. Then he would read it and consider whether he would buy it for me. For example, I remember in primary school where everyone in my class owned a stapler and I needed one. So he asked me to write him a letter.

I wrote “Daddy, everyone in my class has a stapler, and I’m the only one without. It will help [with] my homework so I can staple everything myself”. (Laughs) I had to write this letter, put it in an envelope and pass it to my dad. It’s a very fun memory ‘cause my dad was the one who made me write the most letters.

We guess it’s a good thing you don’t have siblings then! Otherwise, your dad would have many more letters to read.

Yah, I guess it wasn’t easy for me at all, even if I was an only child. Because during my childhood if I wanted something, I must really fight for it and give a valid reason for it.

Since Sisters Stand Tall is about three women with the same name, have you ever thought about having a different name?

I never thought about this before… I love both my English and Chinese name. If you were to ask me what I would name myself as a guy, I would know, but as a girl I wouldn’t know.

So what would you call yourself if you were a guy?

Ace. I’m a very big fan of the Japanese anime One Piece, and he is one of my favourite characters. He died in the show already, and I cried so much when it happened! So yes, actually… if I have a son in the future, I would consider naming him Ace.

Photos: Carrie Wong/ Instagram

Sisters Stand Tall is now available on demand for free on meWATCH. It premieres April 15, weekdays, 9pm on Ch 8.

You can watch the first episode here: