Invisible Stories' Wang Yuqing: Young Directors Don’t Have To Worry Too Much When They Hire Old Actors

Yuqing says he was “surprised and happy” when he got the part in ‘Chuan’, which marks the first time he’s playing a spirit medium, or tangki in Hokkien. Besides having a real-life tangki on set as an advisor to offer pointers, Yuqing also relied on memories from his childhood. “Growing up, I used to visit the temples where I would imitate the tangkis at home and now I get to use those skills,” he says, with a guffaw.

The 57-year-old actor-cum-insurance agent also drew on his conversations with the tangkis at the temple where he does volunteer work. “They would gather around, asking one another, ‘What happened? What did they say during the trance?’ Because they had no recollections of what they did when they were possessed by a deity,” Yuqing adds.

2. Hell-o from the other side

In his episode, Yuqing’s Chuan is a spirit medium who channels the black-faced guardian of Hell. “Because we were dealing with the supernatural, I was worried that after I’m done filming, the spirit might cling on to me,” says Yuqing. “The consultant did warn us that if we don’t perform the rituals properly, the ghost might follow us home.”

To ensure ‘safety’, the producers used tea as a prop instead of wine in re-enacting the rituals. But on one occasion, Yuqing remembers the consultant saying that “he actually smelled alcohol in the room, but he kept that to himself until filming was completed because he didn’t want to cause a panic.”

But something paranormal did happen. Kinda sorta. “Most people come to see the tangki for luck and fortune,” says Yuqing. “And because I was playing one, the crew, as a joke, asked me to pick a number for 4D. But lo and behold, the number I picked won third prize. But none of the crew placed the bet.”

How does Yuqing feel to be part of a group of go-to ’80s actors for young filmmakers? Anthony Chen worked with Chen Tianwen and Duan Weiming (and almost Xie Shaoguang). A Land Imagined’s Yeo Siew Hua is a big fan of Peter Yu. “Every actor will go through this cycle if they stay in the business long enough,” Yuqing says.

“When I first joined SBC, I was the young guy. Now, we are older and hopefully, our acting skills have improved as well with our age. We understand more about life. For those who watched us growing up, they would notice the difference.” He believes there’s another, more practical, reason the directors approach them.

“When they have us older actors around, they don’t have to worry too much,” says Yuqing, with a laugh. “They’re thinking, we don’t have to give them 100 per cent; we can give 70 per cent and it still wouldn’t ruin the show. It’s better than them hiring someone who isn’t as experienced or doesn’t know his way around the camera. The directors are more confident with our performances and they don’t have to waste too much time explaining things. And time is money.”

4. Working with new blood

“I enjoyed every show I’ve been on,” says Yuqing, who’s also in the recent Toggle thriller Mind’s Eye. “But the chance to work on an HBO production like Invisible Stories allowed me to work with different people with different styles and learn different things from them. HBO is more Westernised so their demands are different.”

There’s another source Yuqing goes to for new knowledge — his stepson and influencer Xavier Ong, who’s appearing in next month’s Titoudao: Inspired By a True Wayang Star. “We would usually talk about what we are doing over coffee but nothing specific,” he says. “I’m curious to know about the acting techniques used by young actors. When they say certain method is old-fashion, I want to know what’s the in-thing. The way they express themselves now is different from how we did it when we were their age. They would say something like ‘Give me five!’ We didn’t do such things back then!”

Invisible Stories is now streaming on HBO Go. Titoudao: Inspired By a True Wayang Star premieres Feb 18, 9.30pm on Ch 5; it will also be streamed on MeWatch (formerly Toggle) from Feb 18.

Photos: HBO Asia