Christopher Lee, Fann Wong hope that their son won’t join showbiz

Remember the launch of the 'Arts in the City: We love SINGApore’ Exhibition last month, where local actress Fann Wong and her son, Zed, made an appearance?

The five-year-old, who rarely makes appearances with his famous parents, took the camera flashes, continuous shutter sounds and media flurry in general in stride, posing for photos with a dimpled smile on his face – albeit looking a little forced.

“I’m surprised that he’s being so sporting about this!” Fann said after witnessing her son work it for the cameras. “He usually doesn’t like taking photos.”

While we haven’t missed a beat of Zed growing up – his parents have regularly posted photos of him on their respective social media feeds – both Fann and her husband, Christopher Lee, have agreed on one thing: they both hope that their son won’t join showbiz when he grows up.

That seemed surprising to us, especially since both parents are well-loved and respected actors in Singapore and beyond. Fann, who didn’t have much time to speak to us during the exhibition, didn’t elaborate much on her statement, so we decided to catch up with Chris a few days later.

In between takes of upcoming Channel 8 drama After The Stars, we spoke to the actor, who was more than happy to chat about his mini-me.

“I remember the night they came home after the exhibition,” he chuckled. “Fann told me about how well Zed did in front of the media, and I was taken aback too. Neither of us expected that!”

“After being in showbiz for so long, I think both of us are very aware of all sides of it. Granted, every job has its perks and downsides, but the both of us agree that this is something that we hope that he won’t be a part of when he grows up,” he explained.

What is it about showbiz that made them think this way?

Chris pondered for a moment, before responding, “It’s not just one or two things in particular. Don’t get me wrong – both of us love our jobs, and we know that we’re very blessed, but we just hope that Zed can find his own path. On top of the celebrity life, he’ll be labelled as ‘Christopher Lee and Fann Wong’s son’. We hope that he can do what he likes without having to be compared to us.”

As for drama cameos for Zed, he shared that they will probably say no. “He’ll probably cause problems if he doesn’t want to film, anyway,” Chris shrugged.

Of course, if the little boy grows up and decides that showbiz is for him, both his parents will support him all the way.

For now, however, it seems that they have nothing to worry about as Zed is very invested in the sciences.

“His current interest is insects. He can name almost all of them, and even when one flew into the house the other day, he took one look at it and named it immediately. We had to search it on our phones, and it really turned out to be what he said! It’s not a common name, and I honestly can’t remember what it is right now,” Chris laughed.

Among Zed’s hobbies is poring over books – and not just the pretty pictures.

“There are some people who told us that kids his age prefer looking at picture books rather than reading, but it’s different for Zed,” the proud father said, visibly puffing up with pride at this point. “When he gets a new book, he first goes through it to look at the pictures. After that, he’ll come back and read it word for word. If he doesn’t understand something, he’ll ask us to explain the word, or he’ll figure it out himself. I think he’s quite a smart kid.”

Zed also isn’t interested in the conventional cartoons that children are known to watch – rather, he watches educational series in which they explain scientific principles and the like.

The 48-year-old chuckled, “I don’t know where he got it from. Perhaps it was because Fann started reading to him even when he was still in her tummy, but I feel Zed is a little more mature than other children his age. This is why I always tell my friends, you have to start reading to your kids even before they’re born.”