Lawrence Wong’s Favourite CNY Memory Is Of His Late Mum Playing With Firecrackers In Malaysia

8 DAYS: Hi Lawrence! Good to see you back in Singapore. What have you been busy with and how long will you be staying for this time?

LAWRENCE WONG: The good news is that I can stay until Chinese New Year. (Laughs) I’ve been filming a Singapore-China co-production called Summer Wind. We were shooting it for like two or three months in China, and we have about 10 days of work here.

I’m not sure what I’ll be doing for the rest of the year yet. I just go wherever the job takes me. But I would have to quarantine for 28 days when I’m back to China, which I’ve already done twice last year.

Spending a whole month in quarantine each time doesn’t sound appealing at all.

You know, it’s really pretty easy for me because I work so much that I literally don’t have a moment of peace. So quarantine is a great time for me to shut off and do nothing. (Laughs) I love it and I enjoy it so much. I just catch up on my sleep and do whatever I want to do, like watch movies.

Reunion Dinner is one of the rare times you’re doing a comedy. Did you find that challenging?

Actually, not really! Initially I was a bit nervous because as you mentioned, comedy is not my usual genre. If you ask me to cry, I can do it anytime. (Laughs) But I think I’m pretty funny — it’s in my bones. (Chuckles) I just need more opportunities to show it.

The Chinese New Year movie line-up is looking pretty competitive, are you worried about how Reunion Dinner will do at the box office?

I think this is really not within my control. I did think about it, but not for long because I recognise that it’s not something I can't do anything about. All I can say is that we did our best. Reunion Dinner is not just a regular slapstick comedy — it has a lot more depth and I hope that people will realise that there’s a lot of meaning to it. I believe more people will watch it through word of mouth.

Speaking of reunion dinners… What are your plans for CNY Eve?

I’m just going to have dinner with my brother and my family members who are here. My dad and sister are unfortunately in Malaysia so it’s a bit hard [for all of us to meet] since everything about the VTL is so hard to predict.

Before COVID hit, I would drive back to JB to have dinner with my dad for sure. I remember in 2021, I was filming in Haikou so we FaceTimed during dinner. There was a huge difference in the food we were having — my dad was having good food while I was having a piece of cake and drinking latte (laughs).

When was the last time you had reunion dinner with your family?

The last time I went back to Malaysia was just before COVID hit. It was literally just before it happened because I returned here to celebrate Chinese New Year and I was supposed to go back to China after that. But my China company told me to stay put here because it was very dangerous there. After that, Singapore’s situation worsened so I couldn’t go back.

What’s your favourite reunion dinner related memory?

Definitely having reunion dinners with my parents. We would always have steamboat. Even though we have hotpot all the time, it’s only during Chinese New Year when we get extra delicacies like the extra big prawns which are the size of your palm. I didn’t even know that such prawns existed. (Laughs)

We’d always play with firecrackers outside the house since it’s allowed in Malaysia. It was great seeing my parents act like kids again. My mum has passed away so I’ll always remember her looking like a kid trying to light up the fireworks, and running away giggling after lighting it up with a joss stick. These are the kinds of things that are very memorable for me.

CNY is also the time of the year when kaypoh relatives ask awkward questions like how much you earn. How do you deal with that?

Just smile and act blur. (Laughs) I’ll always try to smile and answer in a way that’s a bit deflective but people won’t find deflective…? (Chuckles) Like ‘Oh, I still have to work a lot because it’s not enough…’ Something like that?

Does it work?
Thankfully, yes. (Laughs)

Do you get a lot of photo requests when you go visiting?

Photos — yes, all the time, actually. There are also neighbours who will ring our doorbell to ask for photographs! Even at my grandma’s funeral, there were people from funeral parlours next door who asked for photos. But my family members rejected them for me as it really wasn’t an appropriate place for it.

Outside of the funeral context, I think that photos are fine. I’m just thankful that everyone I’ve come across has been very nice and understanding.

Reunion Dinner is out in cinemas now.

Photos: Lawrence Wong/Instagram, Lawrence Wong/Weibo, Golden Village