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SINGAPORE : "I get to play a character younger than Christopher Lee!" said a triumphant Zheng Geping, raising his hands in the air as if he’s won a great battle.
Well, the 45-year-old MediaCorp actor obviously has reason to celebrate as it sure isn’t everyday when an older actor has the chance to play the younger, better looking character next to the handsome Christopher Lee who is 38 years old in real life.
In the upcoming Channel 8 drama, “My Buddy”, Lee plays 40-year-old Zeng You Quan, a simple-minded, earnest air-con repairman, who often gets taken advantage of by his buddies for just simply being too nice.
This somewhat unglamorous middle-aged character had Lee growing out his hair and putting on three to four kilograms just to look the part, a drastic turn from Lee’s previous role as the resident abs-baring hunk in the beach volleyball drama “Beach Ball Babes”.
Having shed the weight that he had put on since, Lee who was present at the press conference for the show, was sporting a new look with vintage black-rimmed glasses, a crew cut which noticeably had peeps of his natural white hair, and a bristle of facial hair on his chin.
The recently-married Lee, even cheekily added in response to whether his look is a new ‘vagrant’ trend that he’s trying to follow said, “No, I’ve been very happy of late!”
Explaining that his scruffy look was for an upcoming mafia movie that he’s working on, Lee added that he had no problems acting the “uglier” older brother role to Zheng’s 35-year-old character Tan Ying Bang (which literally translates to English pound), whom he often rescues from dire situations in the show.
“I’m actually really happy that I get to play the big brother,” said Lee matter-of-factly, “If the roles [between Zheng and Lee] were exchanged and I played (Zheng’s) role, I’ve played it too many times and he’s played my role before, so the impact wouldn’t be as great.”
In fact “My Buddy” also marks the first collaboration between the reel and real life buddies since “The Return of the Condor Heroes” in 1998, also most famously known for sparking off the romance between Lee and his wife of one and a half months, Fann Wong.
“Geping really looked after me and Fann when we were filming,” remembered Lee.
While it may require some sacrifice on the part of Lee to play the “big brother”, it sure required lots of hard work from Zheng to ensure his playboy worthy looks were convincing.
As the resident womanizer and ladies’ man of the show, Zheng shared that his secret to looking young is keeping up with a routine of facial masks, exercise and an extra dose of oxygen at the spa.
“It’s Christopher Lee you know?” said Zheng, who has of late won praise for his toned body which has taken years of his age allowing him to play more youthful roles.
But do the cast of this comparatively light-hearted, heartlander drama feel disadvantaged to be taking over the star-studded, blockbuster drama “The Ultimatum” in the primetime slot?
“Not at all,” said Lee whose wife Fann Wong incidentally starred in the much talked about drama, “I don’t think we lose out at all, after watching a show that’s so dramatic, audiences would want to watch something more light-hearted.”
To get your dose of light-hearted brotherly love, catch “My Buddy”, premiering July 8, every Monday to Friday, 9pm on Channel 8.
- CNA
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