Carrie Wong On Why Showbiz Is A “Cruel Place” To Grow Up In And How She Learned That The Hard Way

It's easy to forget that Carrie Wong is only 28.

She made her showbiz debut in 2014 when she was just 20, coming in third place in varsity beauty pageant Hey Gorgeous the year before.

Carrie has since become one of Mediacorp's brightest stars and has already portrayed a number of iconic characters, namely The Journey: Tumultuous Time's Tang Shui Mei and A Quest To Heal's Luo Mingyi. Some actors go through their careers without playing any character vaguely memorable.

Not bad for someone who has only been in showbiz for eight years. 

When we had the opportunity to meet Carrie at the press conference for Mediacorp drama Soul Detective, we sought to find out what it was like for her to grow up under the watchful eyes of the public.

8DAYS.SG: Is there pressure to only show the best version of yourself to the public?

CARRIE WONG: Actually, no. I am pretty much myself all the time. Of course, being in showbiz for so many years, there’s a certain image [I] have to put forward. I used to be a very “no-filter” kind of person, but I think there’s pros and cons to that. After many lessons learnt, I feel that I have changed in a way where I now know how to behave in front of other people. 

So you’re more reserved now?

I think I’m still myself, but maybe I have also matured a lot. My thoughts are very different from [how they] used to be. I feel that this industry, this environment, is a place that will force you to grow up regardless of whether you want it or not. Yeah, so it’s a very cruel place, I feel. 

Was it tough having to grow up in front of everyone?

Yes, actually I never really liked it, even until today. I don’t like how even tiny things in life get magnified a lot, both good and bad things. I don’t really enjoy this [aspect of it] but I enjoy my work a lot. I like to perform, I like to act, I like to decipher my scripts and build my character. This is something that I really enjoy, and I have made a lot of good friends and learnt a lot of good lessons. So at the end of the day I don’t feel like I regret it 'cos it's a good life.

I never wanted to be an actress, and I didn’t sign up for [Hey Gorgeous] as well. I was just scouted randomly when I was in school, so I didn’t expect that the competition would lead me to where I am today. It’s like fate to me. I feel that it's been one hell of a journey.

Is it important that you put forth a public persona where you don’t get criticised by others?

(Almost immediately) Regardless of what you do, you will always get criticised by others. Even if you don’t do anything, you will still get criticised. The online world nowadays is crazy.

However, I feel that I do have to maintain a certain image, because a lot of my little fans follow me and treat me as a role model, so there are certain things [I] have to teach them and educate them on.

Also, I feel that I have a very default 'resting bitch face'. (Laughs) So when I’m not doing anything, maybe I’m just scrolling my phone, a lot of people will think that I am unhappy. They think I'm angry or unhappy over something, so I get misunderstood a lot. [People will ask me] ‘What happened?’, ‘Why so angry?’, ‘Why are you so sad?’. But to me I’m just spacing out and I can’t help it.

I have also always been a straightforward person. Since I was a little girl, I would voice out my thoughts without a filter. After I entered this industry I realised that ‘Eh, actually words can hurt a lot’, even when it’s unintentional. The other party that is listening to it may not feel the same way as I do, and this is something I have come to realise. 

One of the most important lessons I’ve learnt is the way I speak is important. I would get into trouble because I used to think that it was okay to voice out my thoughts. I thought [it was fine since] different people think differently. 

But I realised not everyone reacts to things [the same way] and I now know how to present myself and communicate better with people.

If you come across unglam pics of yourself online, would you ask to have them removed? Or would you photoshop them before reposting them on social media?

I’m totally okay with unglam photos. My fans love to take unglam photos of me, and they love to send them to me.

But here’s something that I jwant to say, which is yes, most of the time we show people our glamorous side. Like during Star Awards, we are there, receiving awards, wearing pretty clothes. But when you strip that off, we are just like anyone else, you know. We have our own lives, we cry, we go to the toilet (laughs), we have times we don’t feel good, we feel insecure, we feel terrible and then there are times when we have a breakout (chuckles). We go through all the “normal stuff”.

So whenever I see any unglam photos of me I laugh at it lah. I will just tell my fans “OMG so ugly, next time can take prettier anot”. So it is normal to me and I’m totally okay with it.

In Soul Detective, you play a cop who struggles to believe in the existence of a netherworld. We hear that you’re really afraid of ghosts. Was filming this drama challenging for you in any way?

Not really because… I'm scared of ghost movies, you know like horror movies. For example The Conjuring or even Train to Busan. I’m scared of zombies [and] I’m scared of everything that is horror. But I feel like this [drama] is not really horror, it's just like spirits and they’re not even scary, their faces are not distorted or whatever. They also aren't any jump scares so it’s fine.

This is more like a detective show where spirits are involved so I feel like it’s still okay. 

If you had the chance to appear in a production that is similar to The Conjuring, would you do it?

Maybe when you are shooting it, it would be different as there are so many people on set. [I will] know that [I’m] not alone there and it is just acting. Although a lot of people say that when you’re filming [scary scenes], spirits love to watch and crowd around. But it’s less scary when you think about how there are so many people around.

I feel like I will still try if there’s an opportunity. Maybe acting in it will be less scary, compared to watching it in a theatre.

You previously worked with Bryan Wong in A Quest To Heal, is there anything you’ve learnt from him?

When we were filming A Quest To Heal, I loved to listen to Bryan's story about filming in China many years back. 20 years ago, they [the older artistes] said they always had the opportunity to travel to film dramas, but nowadays [we don’t really do that] anymore.

When we went Hengdian to shoot the drama, Bryan shared about his past experiences filming there, and he has got fans there! There were people who recognised him in dramas he acted in many years ago!

But to answer your question, Bryan is a very professional actor, so one doesn’t have to be afraid of emotional [scenes] when filming with him because he always gives his best, regardless of whether the camera is on him or not. He can have 10 or 20 takes and he will still manage to go back to his original emotions. He is a very helpful veteran actor that will always do his best to help juniors like us.

Soul Detective airs on Channel 8, weekdays, 9pm. Catch Soul Detective on meWATCH here, or watch the first episode below.

Photos: Mediacorp, meWATCH, Carrie Wong/ Instagram