“They Need To Move Along With The Times”: Richie Koh On Why Playing A Drag Queen In New Movie Will Help Open The Minds Of His Parents

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It is 1030am on a Thursday morning (May 9) and Mediacorp actor Richie Koh was the first to catch this writer’s eye as he saunters into one of Golden Village Suntec City Gold Class theatres alongside his castmates for upcoming movie, A Good Child.

The 30-year-old actor donned an androgynous black outfit, silvery necklace and… manicured nails?

“I have been trying to get used to how they [drag queens] move their hands and fingers, so I thought why not keep them [nails] longer for the role,” he says and proceeds to show them off to me.

We are guessing this is just one of many steps Richie is taking to better prepare himself for the role.

He is set to play a drag queen who returns home to his dementia-stricken mother played by Hong Huifang.

His character tries to reconstruct her memories and convince her that he is her daughter and not a son.

The film, helmed by Ong Kuo Sin who directed Mark Lee to a Golden Horse Award Best Actor nomination in drag movie Number 1, will also star Taiwanese American actor Johnny Lu, actor-singer Charlie Goh, and Mediacorp actress Cheryl Chou. It's slated for release in 2025.

Richie shares that in addition to attending classes where he learnt how to move and speak more convincingly as a drag queen, he also took the time to attend drag performances as much as possible.

“Previously, the world of drag was a big question mark to me,” he says.

“I got to know a drag queen who invited me for all her performances and she said to reach out if I ever needed help,” he shares.

It seems Huifang noticed all the effort Richie has put in and even jokes during the press conference that her onscreen son is now "more womanly" than her.

“Allow me the next 30 days of filming and I promise I will revert back after,” he laughs when we ask him what he thought about her comment.

The jovial mood continues when we talk about how he felt about not winning Best Actor and Top 10 Most Popular Male Artiste at the recent Star Awards.

Richie says he has not thought much about it.

“Last year was a good year for me and I cannot be greedy every time,” he laughs.

“An award is a bonus and of course getting it let’s people know I have achieved something. But if I am in this business only wanting to win such recognition, then I am probably going in the wrong direction,” he says.

However, Richie admits he knows his fans were disappointed and shares that some have told him they will try harder next year to get him a Top 10 Most Popular award. 

At this point, we were almost convinced that nothing can faze Richie...

... Until we broach the topic of his love life.

Save for thanking his “lover” during his Best Actor acceptance speech at last year’s Star Awards and revealing on a radio program that he’s seeing someone, Richie has never verbally admitted to dating local actress Hayley Woo.

Hayley confirmed the pair are an item in February this year.

In fact, during our chat, Richie squirms uncomfortably in the Gold Class plush seat as this writer asks how his relationship with Hayley is doing.

“Umm… I’m good,” he replies before shooting us a tight smile.

“I’m” but not “We”?

When we probe further on what she thought about his role in A Good Child, he strangely repeats his “I’m good” response before saying, “I think the whole of Singapore knows about me taking up this role.”

He then hurriedly pivots to how he now must “convince” his parents about playing a drag queen.

“I will need to help open their minds and get them to accept more lovable people,” he says.

“With 377A already repealed, they will also need to move along with the times and catch up with me,” he adds.

Photos: Kelvin Chia

Catch Richie in Cash On Delivery on mewatch or catch an episode below.