Ex SGAG Star Chiou Huey Decided To Be An Actress While Watching Star Awards; And Now Mark Lee Calls Her The Ah Jie Of His Media Company

As it turns out, Chiou Huey, who's the third of four kids in her family — she has an older sister and older brother, and one younger brother — has a strong entrepreneurial streak in her, something she says she gets from her businessman father.

“I’m working towards beating him,” she laughs, sharing that her dad's in automotive industry, while her late mum was a housewife.

Before she became an actress, Chiou Huey worked in her dad’s company and did freelance acting for Mediacorp, before joining SGAG. Some of the Mediacorp dramas she has had bit roles in include C.L.I.F. 4 and Mightiest Mother-In-Law.

We know what you're thinking. At 32, isn't Chiou Huey, or Chiou, as she's known to her fans on social media, older than your average new face these days?

Well, according to her, she has an edge over them.

"I think honestly, after you've reached a certain age, you start to realise that age and looks are not everything. And I'm more comfortable with myself now than I was maybe five or six years ago. I believe that I am actually valuable for my personality and my authenticity. I believe that things like superficial beauty will not last long. But if you have everlasting beauty inside, that's something that will go a long way,” she says.

Oh, and thanks to her three-year stint on SGAG, Chiou Huey is basically a self-reliant, one-woman production house. Are there any new faces capable of writing, directing, editing, producing and acting in their own short film? Didn't think so.

8 DAYS: Let's get down to the basics first, why did you join King Kong Media Production?
CHIOU HUEY: I joined King Kong because I feel like Mark Lee has a lot of experiences to share, and I really want him to mentor me as well. I think comedy is something that is not very easy to do. It's something that, other than having natural talent, you need to understand the pacing and the beats too. You need to refine it. Also, I feel like [King Kong's artistes, like Henry Thia and Marcus Chin] are Singapore's OG comedians, and I really love slapstick humour. My bosses have very good leadership skills, and foresight and I can learn a lot more from them if I joined.

Of course, a lot of people have been wondering...
[About] SGAG, right? (Laughs)

You haven't shared much about your decision to leave...
Yeah, my manager asked me to create a 'Why I Left SGAG' type of video...

A lot of people are curious about this, you know.
Really? I think I just wanted to leave the company to find myself a bit, and I wanted to do travel vlogging, but then COVID happened. I wanted to recalibrate my life, and think about stuff.

Did you wanting to be an actress factor into your decision to leave SGAG?
Actually, when I left SGAG, I had no dreams. I didn't have a forecast of what was going to happen. I actually quit when I was not really confident of even having jobs in the future. It was just that I felt like I needed to prioritise myself first, and just freelance and see how things go. See whether my savings can last me for a while. (Laughs) If it didn't, I would just go home to my dad's house every day to eat dinner.

I took a year to heal, and then, there were a couple of projects that I did with King Kong. Mark Lee and the other bosses kind of liked working with me, and they offered me a contract. I took a while [to sign it] ‘cos I was afraid of taking the next big step. But I’m very, very happy that I actually took this leap of faith. I can say that my experience with this company has been really great lah.

Why don't you talk about your husband more on social media?
Don't need to say lah (laughs). Just call him my partner, like I have a roommate. (Laughs)

He used to appear in some of your videos and posts, right?
Yeah, but he hates it. Last time, it was more of a bobian situation 'cos there was no one to act with me. He's private lah, my partner. Most of the pictures that I post [of him], after seeing them online, he would say: 'Eh, how come you post this?' And I would be like 'Too bad’. But now that I have a bit more [online] presence, he won't be appearing much on my social media anymore.

What sparked your love for acting? You mentioned that when you were in school, you were afraid to say that you wanted to be an actress.

'Cos last time, not very pretty mah. (Laughs) All those actresses you see in Mediacorp, they are all so pretty. They're lanky and skinny, and their features are... perfection. It's literally God telling you that 'Eh, you know, I've created perfection, and it's plastered all over them.' (Laughs)

So I think it's hard to hold yourself against people like that. And even though I love acting, I realised that maybe it's just a dream that is better kept to myself. Then at 25, I think I had a mid-20s crisis. I remember I was watching Star Awards, and when I saw the artistes walking down the red carpet, I was like: "Wah, I really want to be there one day".

So I thought, since I'm 25, just give it a try lah. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work lor, but at least I gave it a shot, there's no regrets.

Being a public figure also means becoming a target for hate comments. Have you received them before?
Oh... a lot. (Laughs) During my time with my ex-company, people just wanted to hate on you. But the way they did it was to just focus on your physical appearance. Like 'Oh, she's so ugly, she's so fat', this and that. But they don't talk about my acting.

At first I was very affected 'cos it's not very nice to hear negative things, especially when all you want to do is to bring joy to the world. So... it was a setback lah. But I realised that a lot of people just project based on how they feel.

A lot of times, when they're talking about your appearance, they feel insecure about their own appearance. Maybe when they lash out on you, they're having a bad day, so [I] don't take it personally.

I still like to check out the comments 'cos I feel that's the way to improve. The audience may say, 'Oh I can't feel what she's trying to emote'. So okay, that means my acting needs to improve. But if it's baseless comments about my looks and all, I mean, you can't please everyone. Maybe I'm just an acquired taste?

But I just want to say that people should always be kind to each other, and not leave nasty comments. Especially when you think that your identity is anonymous. You should have some social responsibility 'cos you never know if that comment might be the one that pushes someone over the edge.

Mark has mentioned that he sees a lot of potential in you, and that you’re the next Patricia Mok. Do you feel flattered or pressured by this comparison?
Definitely, when I hear things like that, I'm very happy 'cos it means that they see the potential in me. And I feel like I have a lot more to show as well. It's nice to have someone who sees more in you, and wants to bring that out. So I can't wait to work on more things to show him that I really have what it takes.

Have you worked with Pat Mok before?
No, but she's a legend, so being compared to her like that is very awesome.

Is there a local star you look up to?
Honestly, it would be Mark Lee, and also Irene Ang. These two veterans are so evergreen. Even when they're in their 50s, they still have the market. What they rely on is their personality, talent and skills, and that's something that I feel will never fade away. I aspire to be like them.

And other one thing they have in common is that they both run their own entertainment companies...
Yes!

Is running your own entertainment company something that you want to do in the future?
Honestly, Irene Ang is a pioneer in a lot of things. She's a leader in many, many ways. She once told me something that really resonated with me. She said: 'When you do something, you do it for purpose, you do it for the people, and you do it for...' Another P lah, which I forgot. But those two [points] really stuck with me.

But back to your question, if I was not in entertainment, I'd be a businesswoman 'cos I've always been a bit entrepreneurial since young. I had my own blogshops selling clothes and other businesses. Business is the way to go for me when I'm older. Right now, I just want to explore and see how far I can go [in showbiz].

Is becoming the next Ah Jie one of your dreams too?
I'm already an Ah Jie. (Guffaws) 'Cos Mark Lee said: "You're the only female artiste in the company, so you're automatically an Ah Jie." And I was like: "Okay, I like free things." (Laughs)

Jokes aside, I feel that you really need to have what it takes to be called an Ah Jie. You need to have respect from people. I don't want a title that's just given to you. I want to be able to earn the respect and the acknowledgment and I'm working hard towards that.

Photos: Aik Chen/ Mediacorp, Chiou Huey/Instagram, Mark Lee/Instagram, Irene Ang/Instagram

Catch Chiou Huey in the latest episode of Assumptions About Me, a YouTube series where celebrities clarify assumptions that people have of them. Check it out below.