James Seah Replaces Shane Pow In Upcoming Long-Form Drama The Heartland Hero, Which The Latter Has Already Started Filming

As for why James was chosen for the part, Lye Lin shared that there were a few factors she took into consideration.

“I needed the actor to be suitable for the role, be it in terms of his age, his look, and of course his acting skills,” she said. “Some might assume it’s an easy character to play, but it’s not ‘cos you have to be someone who is very naughty yet lovable at the same time.”

She continued: “The character also needs to be very manly, which I think is a trait that James has, along with being very charming. And most importantly, he happened to be available as he had just finished shooting his previous show.”

Although James will be playing the exact same character as Shane without any rewrites, Lye Lin emphasised that there’s no need for him to do an imitation of Shane’s original portrayal.

“I made it very clear to James that I don’t want him copying Shane — I want him to use his own understanding of the role to bring it to life,” she said. “Some audience members might think, ‘Eh, what is this? Why different one?’, but the thing is, James is James, and Shane is Shane, and different isn’t necessarily bad.”

Being thrown into a new show at such a short notice will undoubtedly be a big challenge for James.

“I just received the script yesterday so I have a lot of things to read and a lot of info to process,” he said. “I also had a meeting with the producer and scriptwriters for them to explain the character to me, and Lye Lin also sent me a few completed scenes to study. So for the next few days, I’ll be locking myself in my room to work on creating the character!”

When asked for his thoughts on replacing Shane in the drama, James said that he felt “complicated” as Shane is his good friend. “I was sad, but when Shane heard about it, he was very encouraging and told me, ‘Bro, if you need any help, let me know. I’ve got your back.’ I’m really touched that I have such a good friend.”

He added that he was “shocked, surprised, and concerned” when he first heard the news about Shane heading to court. “I immediately texted him to ask how he was doing.”

Lye Lin also said that she had just paid Shane a visit and reported that he is doing very well. “He already knows what he has to do and is very focused on finishing his work. I can say that he’s being very brave and I’m very proud of him. All we can do now is to give him our biggest encouragement and hope that he can complete his remaining scenes smoothly.”

Shane was charged with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol on April 22 and is due to return to court on June 3. If convicted, he would be a repeat offender and could face a driving ban of at least five years, a jail term of up to two years, and a fine between S$5,000 and S$20,000.

On April 26, Mediacorp announced that it will cut ties with the 30-year-old in light of this incident, which he failed to inform the artiste management team about, as well as his involvement in a group photo that breached safe distancing guidelines.

Due to his contractual commitments, he is required to complete all his outstanding work by May 4 before parting ways with the company.

Photos: Mediacorp/Photo Unit, Elvin Ng/Instagram, James Seah/Instagram