Mediacorp Actor Glenn Yong Says He Really Respects His Dad For Juggling 3 Jobs: Private Hire Driver, Deliveryman & Safe-Distancing Ambassador

8 DAYS: Is being an actor something that was always in your plans?

GLENN YONG: I started thinking about my future when I was in the army, because that was when I stopped taking allowance from my parents. Among the career choices I had in mind was becoming an actor or being a tour guide like my dad and older brother. But I knew for sure that I could never do a nine-to-five desk job after going for a six-month internship during uni (laughs). What really drew me to acting is how playing different characters means that you can live different lives for every project.

What did your parents say about you going into showbiz?

Well, they said they would allow me to become an actor only if I finish my degree first.

You mentioned that you stopped taking an allowance from your parents when you were in NS. Why was that?

I’m from a very average family and my parents aren’t getting any younger so I didn’t want to put such a huge financial burden on them. I paid for my own degree too

How much did that cost you?

Over S$20K. It's why I spent two years just working, studying and sleeping (laughs). I must admit that it was a bit demoralising at times. I saw some of my peers progress in their careers while I sometimes ended up as a server at events that they attended. But I grit my teeth and continued with what I was doing because I had a very clear goal in mind.

Earlier you said that your dad is a tour guide. We all know that the travel industry has been badly affected because of COVID-19. How has he been coping?

He stopped being a tour guide about two years ago because of the pandemic. He’s now working three jobs: he’s a deliveryman, a private hire driver and a safe-distancing ambassador.

Three jobs? Wow.

Yes. I really respect my dad ‘cos I think he’s such an inspiration, and when I see him work this hard I’m even more motivated to work harder. He is planning on becoming a tour guide again after the pandemic is over.

I’ve always looked up to him, though there was once we had a very petty argument when I was in primary school. Anyway, my dad single-handedly fed the family for years. Actually, now that my parents are almost 60, I feel that I should work even harder at my job so that they can live more comfortably sooner.

Do you remember what the petty argument was about?

I was in primary four and failed all my exams ‘cos I did nothing but play MapleStory for the entire year. So he asked the teacher to put me in EM3, and I was so angry with him that I didn’t speak to him for the longest time. I studied my butt off after that to prove to him that I could be a good student (laughs).

We hear your mum sells her bakes online.

Yeah, she's a homemaker and she became a home baker last year. I was the one who helped her set up her IG store since she’s not very tech savvy. Business used to be pretty good and we sold about 200 containers of cookies every month. But she suffered an injury on her thumb which gets in the way of her kneading the dough, so she can only bake small batches in the coming months until she recovers.

Are you seeing anyone now?

Nope, I've been single for... (laughs) Wah, I can't even remember. Since NS? I don't have time to date and I just want to focus on my career now so I won't actively look for love. But I also won't say no if it comes knocking on my door. Two of my closest showbiz friends are Gavin [Teo] and [Chen] Yixin, and I feel like such a 'lightbulb' whenever I'm out with this couple 'cos they are so lovey dovey. (Sighs)

So how did you get into showbusiness?

The story is pretty funny (chuckles). An event that I was waitering for was attended by NoonTalk artistes, and one of their managers asked me out for supper after that. Dasmond [Koh] was at that gathering and he offered me a role in Victory Lap ‘cos he felt that I had the look that he was looking for. He said he wanted the leads to have a bit of an F4 vibe (laughs).

A lot of people think you were a NoonTalk artiste before joining Mediacorp.

No, I was only freelancing for them since I was studying then. I only joined Mediacorp in January after I was about done with my degree.

Most actors your age are either from Star Search or are second-gen celebs. Have you ever felt like you're at a disadvantage?

(Laughs) That’s a definite yes. I’ve had people tell me that they feel like I’ve popped out of nowhere, and I agree. I’ve never felt like I was a good fit for showbiz since I also don’t have the typical Singaporean actor look.

If you look at our lead actors, like Desmond Tan, Elvin Ng and Romeo Tan. They are all super handsome. Then there's me. I who look very different from them. That has made me feel insecure about my future in acting.

How are you making up for it?

I believe in hard work. My Chinese used to be really bad so at the start of filming, you’d see half my script filled with hanyu pinyin (laughs). I gave myself a challenge to learn new Chinese words every day and by the end of filming, I learned hundreds of new words and I no longer need to rely on hanyu pinyin as much.

I used to think that memorising my lines was enough, but with Live Your Dreams, I realised that understanding the reasons behind the words and creating a persona is the basic work that you have to do when acting.

I might take a while to become a good actor but if I persevere, I believe that I’ll be able to get there.

Click here to watch Glenn in Live Your Dreams.
It also airs weekdays at 9pm on Ch 8.

Photos: Glenn Yong's Instagram