Jeremy Chan, Who Lost 16 Kg For New Mediacorp Drama, Says Wife Jesseca Liu Prefers Him Chubby As He Was "Nicer To Hug"

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In April, Mediacorp actor Jeremy Chan shared on Instagram his weight-loss transformation. As it turned out, at that time, the 42-year-old actor was preparing for his role in new Mediacorp blockbuster All That Glitters, which finally premiered last week. 

In the drama, Jeremy plays the simple-minded and fiercely loyal Muay Thai boxer, Huang Jing Tiao.

As a professional fighter, he would have a lot of shirtless scenes, which explains why he had to get fit. 

While that would have been no challenge for his co-stars Desmond Tan and Tyler Ten aka Mediacorp's resident thirst traps, getting ripped was no easy feat for the 1.68m-tall actor, who weighed close to 70kg when he first got the role. 

Yet, Jeremy managed to do it

At the drama's press conference at GV Vivo, Gold Class earlier this month, 8days.sg had to do a double take when we saw the new and improved Jeremy

In fact, we even quipped that, with his white leather jacket on, he somehow resembled a Ken doll — yes, like the one played by Ryan Gosling in the Barbie movie. Jeremy humbly laughed off our comment, saying he hasn't watched the movie yet.

We could tell how proud he was of his own transformation though. After all, he did lose a whopping 16 kilos in just two-and-a-half months. When he was filming All That Glitters, Jeremy weighed only 52kg.

Admitting that he had let himself go because he was "so happy" touring Europe with his wife Jesseca Liu last December, Jeremy said he didn't know he had put on so much weight then. 

"Nobody told me I was fat leh," he laughed, before whipping out his phone to show us this photo of what he looked like before All That Glitters. 

"Oh my god, right?!," he chuckled. 

Catch Jeremy in All That Glitters on meWATCH below or on weekdays 9pm on Ch 8.

8DAYS.SG: Have you been maintaining your physique since filming for All That Glitters wrapped?

JEREMY CHAN: I try to follow a strict diet now and then. I have my carbs now but if I have a shoot and I need to strip then I'll go back to my monster diet: No oil, no salt, no sugar, just water. Every meal is the same. Boiled or steamed chicken breast, broccoli, cherry tomatoes or prawns.

I think [this method of losing weight] is very bad for the body but I didn't really have the time so I had to do this. Now my weight is about 59kg so I gained back six to seven kilos.

You can tell the difference from my face because at that time, it was very sunken and dry. Everyone was asking me: "Jeremy, are you okay?" because they thought I was sick. Plus I got tanner so they said I looked tanned and dry. I told them: "No lah it's 'cos I'm dieting and I'm not consuming any sugar."

Your co-stars like Desmond and Tyler are very fit. Did that stress you out when you were filming with them? 

Not really, we go to the gym for brotherhood and fitness, not to compare. We're not going for Mr Singapore or what. We're not strippers nor gym instructors either. We're actors, what's most important is we fulfil what we need to do. 

You were never the kind to post thirst trap pics. Has becoming fit made you want to do that?

No, I still love my local food. (Laughs) Okay, like Tyler, he has been training for many years, so his muscles are matured. Like mine, my 'baby muscles', I'll need to keep training and strengthening them for four-to-five times a week, for 10 years. Then maybe I'll look like Tyler (laughs).

Will you want to take more pictures of your body now that you're fit though?

I rarely take selfies. I have a few but I didn't take them. They took them for me. Tyler told me: "Bro, you trained so hard, you should take more pictures" and I'm like: "Dude, you know I don't do selfies much". He started taking photos of me from the side and told me to just act "normal". I asked: "Normal what? It's so awkward for two men to be topless at the gym" (laughs).

I looked at the photos and thought: "Wah, okay...". There are a few of me looking like Captain America but the skinny version lah (laughs).

Did you ask your wife Jesseca to train with you? 

She kept saying she wanted to follow me to the gym but I said: "No, we're all guys and we're very rough, it might scare you". We really go all out.

We're not the kind to do a little then start texting for 15 minutes. It's why some people can go to the gym for three hours. I go there for 45 minutes and I'm drained already. It's very exhausting.

What were her thoughts when you told her you’re going to get fit?

She was very encouraging, but she had her doubts because she knows it's very hard. We have never seen anyone around us who went from fat to ripped within such a short span of time, so we were both unsure if I could do it.

The producer as well. He kept calling me asking if I had six-pack abs already. I said: "You think you're buying eggs from the market? You want six and you can get them instantly?" (chuckles)

Did Jesseca help keep you in check diet-wise?

She saw the results and was really impressed so she started waking up early to help me prepare my meals 'cos I was still filming then. When she sees my physique, she'll go "Wow..." because she's never seen me like that. I've never seen myself like that too (laughs).

We'll also remind each other, for example, to not eat carbs for maybe four days a week. Slowly your body will get used to it. At first you would get irritated easily. Back then I kept wanting to lose my temper because I was in a bad mood. When I eat, I would sigh and be angry for no reason.

I would think: "Why do I have to eat these things?" but she'd be at my side eating the same things. So I thought: "Okay, she's doing the same, what's there to grumble?". Then I look again, and I realise she has sauce on the side (laughs).

At night I would do abdominal exercises while my wife would be drinking wine, eating chocolates and playing with our cats. I'd say: "You would get retribution. One day, you'll take on a role that requires you to do this too." (Laughs)

After that, I realised she's trying to train my perseverance. We're human, we have temptations. When you think no one is watching, you would want to take a sip, and that's it. So I think she was trying to train me mentally. 

Did she shower you with compliments after seeing your transformation? 

She just went "Woo woo!" [he gives a flirty look]. I would go "Yo yo" [he pretends to flaunt his body]. (Laughs) 

When you posted your weight loss pics people commented that you looked cuter when you were chubby. Does Jesseca think that way too?

She does. She thinks I was nicer to hug. Now, when she hugs me, it's hard. It's a different feeling. I thought about it and realised: "Yeah, I like to hug bolsters because they're soft."

Now I'm like a log, so she also thinks I can be chubbier. But because we're both actors, she thinks since I've already achieved this, I should try to maintain it as long as possible. Or until I get a role that requires me to gain weight. 

I'm very crazy when it comes to things like that. If I think a character needs to be fat, I'll make myself grow fat because we need to give the audience the best.