How Being A Natural Beauty Is Working Out For Julie Tan’s Career In China

What’s Julie secret to getting cast in a role after just a month or so of going for auditions in China? “’Cos I’ve never done plastic surgery,” she tells us. “Some casting sessions in China are very open about it, they’ll say “We don’t want plastic surgerised faces”. Right now, everyone looks the same, which is to my advantage (laughs). Before I went over to China for this role, I had a Skype meeting. It wasn’t to see how I talked, but to see my face. They asked to see my side view… They just want to see all your features. They say that I look very pleasant and very different from most girls, who have that very sultry, highly plastic sugerised look. I made friends with some of the casting directors and I asked them why they are so against [plastic surgerised faces]. They said it’s ’cos all the actresses look alike and they can’t differentiate who is who (laughs). Some [actresses] would send in photos of themselves but when they come in for the audition, they look like a totally different person. Or worse, when they cast someone and just before the shoot starts, they do something to their face and end up looking completely different. Apparently, this happens a lot."

How different is it like working in China compared to Singapore? “Very, very different,” says Julie. “I was not only surprised at the scale of their productions but also at how there’s so much respect for everyone on set. Everyone calls each other lao shi (or ‘teacher’ in Mandarin), for example. They also call me lao shi there and when I heard that, I was like, “I need to maintain a certain level of professionalism.” (Laughs) Okay… but what does the term actually represent? “It means that they acknowledge the fact that you’ve been in the industry for a while. Over there, there’s no one who doesn’t know what they’re doing. It feels good to be in an environment like that. It’s very clear cut and it makes everything easier.”

Forget what you’ve read about how seedy the Chinese showbiz scene is. According to Julie, it all boils down to the company you keep. “I think it varies from person to person ’cos the people I’ve met so far are all very nice,” says Julie. “Like my manager who has a lot of values he holds on to. He told me we can go for dinners [with investors] but we won’t sleep with them. We won’t do anything more [than dinner]. He told me to just act well, while he handles the rest. So there’s a lot of trust and I’m very well taken care of. He says it’s most important to be down-to-earth, and because we have no backer and we’re not doing anything behind anyone’s back, our path [to success] might be slower than others. But I don’t mind that."

“I wasn’t thinking of the money when I decided to go but it’s been surprisingly good. I was like, “Are you serious?” We’re talking about like RMB 20–30K (S$4-6K) for a few days of work. In Singapore, it would be like, $800? (Laughs) If I wasn’t there, I wouldn’t believe it. That’s the amount of money you’re getting for each project? Wow.”

“Over in China, there’s so much competition,” says Julie. “For every job, there are thousands of people applying for it. That’s why they take pride in their jobs! They really treasure the chance. And do you know that for every Chinese production, there can only be five foreigners working on it? So I’m fighting for those spots, which means it’s even tougher. And at my age, I’m already considered old.” So why does she still want to work in China? “There have been people who said that I should just stay in Mediacorp ’cos I don’t know if I will make it in China or not. What if I end up with nothing? Can I afford to lose everything? And I thought about it. Yes, I can afford to lose ’cos I’ve got nothing to lose! If I really don’t make it, it’ll be life experience that I gained. I want to be someone with a story to tell.”

For someone who once contemplated going under the knife ’cos she was “ashamed of her body”, Julie has since blossomed into a confident woman and now comes across freer, and more liberated. Case in point: doing this super sexy photo shoot, which she says she would not have agreed to in the past. “I spent many, many years working on how I feel about myself. And right now, I’m very happy about how I look and everything,’ she says. “Going to New York really made me a lot more comfortable with who I am, and embracing my body type and all. There are so many girls there who don’t care if they’re flat chested or not. That’s how much they love their bodies. I used to be so insecure, I wouldn’t even dare to go bra-less. But the other day, the weather was so hot and my friend asked me, “Eh, you not wearing bra ah?” And I was like, yeah (laughs). That’s how confident I am now. I [don’t care] how people think I look. I just do what I want (smiles).”