|
SINGAPORE : Clover Film's maiden production "Old Cow Vs Tender Grass" sees veteran actor Henry Thia playing a boorish taxi driver Moo, who develops a relationship with Moon, a lady who is often turned away by cabbies because she always travels with her drooling dog.
Those not in the know might think that 58-year-old Thia was very lucky to have landed the role, as he gets to romance Taiwan starlet Crystal Lin who plays Moon in the film, but the man himself knows better.
"I didn't know Lin before this film. I felt a lot of pressure, because she is really very young and we had some rather intimate scenes in the film. It was stressful," confided Thia during an interview last week.
Thia claimed he didn't get to kiss the gorgeous 22-year-old actress in the film and ended up 'making out' with his canine co-star instead.
"The [much-talked about] kiss didn't happen. In the film, it was all in my character's fantasies ... it was the dog that licked me and I mistook it for a kiss from [Moon]," said Thia with a grimace.
But it was no cakewalk for Lin either. Lin was kept in stitches by Thia – which would have been fine if he didn't make her laugh even during tragic scenes.
"There were scenes where I was supposed to weep bitterly. I would be trying to get into character for some time already and Henry would be there making silly faces, dancing and making me laugh!
"I couldn't bear to tell him to cut it out so I ended up laughing and having to get into character all over again!" said the "One Million Star" alumnus.
She let out a girlish laugh as Thia instinctively pulled a face to illustrate what his co-star has to put up with.
Despite all the little problems they both had to put up with, Thia and Lin expressed that they enjoyed shooting the film. Thia in particular, praised Lin for being "very professional".
"She seldom NGs (No Good takes) and even feeds me lines sometimes," said Thia, eliciting further laughter from his young co-star.
The pair behaved more like a close father and daughter pair than colleagues, exchanging friendly banter and leaning towards one another to speak.
It was only later on that Thia revealed they were father and daughter, well sort of. Thia had actually taken Lin as his god-daughter when they were promoting the film in Kuala Lumpur the day before.
"Since I can't eat the 'tender grass', I might as well take her as my god-daughter," joked Thia, referring to the social phenomenon of men in a romantic relationship with much younger women.
- CNA
|
