Affectionately known as Ah Ma in the TV
series Phua Chu Kang, Neo Swee
Lin has come a long (and illustrious) way since law
school. The veteran actress, who will be taking part in next
month’s NUS Arts Festival, tells us she has no regrets about
spending much of her life on stage.
I grew up as an only child and my mom called
me
a latchkey kid because I was very independent. And I’ve always
wondered what it was like to have a sibling because it’s human
nature to want things you don’t have, like if you have short hair
you want long hair and if you have curly hair you want straight
hair. But things worked out because I had cousins whom I was close
to as well.
I was naughty and mischievous in school
but
I was also very principled. Whenever something happened, I would be
picked out as the ringleader or trouble maker. But when I wasn’t
and someone else was wrong, I’d stand up for that person. I was
principled in that way. But now I’m not as principled, lah.
When I was 12 my best friend since
kindergarten
told me that she didn’t want to be my friend anymore because her
mom said I was bad company. She was the most popular girl in the
school and it felt good being her best friend; but when we were no
longer friends, it was traumatic and a real life lesson for me. But
as a kid, you don’t think so much; you just survive it and make new
friends.
Meeting Ivan (Heng) in university changed
my
life. Ivan is the kind of person who excels and makes a mark with
everything he does. So when he started a music and drama company in
university and roped me in; things went downhill for me, studies
wise. I was more concerned about our concerts and Rag and Flag Day,
so much so that I was voted Absentee Of The Year in my law school
year book, which I thought was quite cool.
Lim Kay Siu and I met on stage in a play
where
I was playing his mother. I’m always playing mother roles—I don’t
know why! But we only got together a few years later, just before I
was to leave for Scotland on an acting scholarship. He then pursued
the voiceover market and made lots of money so he could come to
Scotland and be with me.
I love gaming and you know how addictive
and
mindless it is. There was a play where Kay Siu was the director. I
wasn’t giving my best and he got so angry with me and said, “Are
you going to stop your gaming or not?!” and no other director
would’ve known that about me, so I thought, ‘OK OK, better stop
playing.’ But I’ve worked with a lot of directors and he’s one of
the best I have worked with.
The theatre audience has grown and people
like
Selena Tan are doing wonders for the arts and it’s good because
there is nothing like going to the theater. It’s really that live
element of being in the same place with people who have practiced
for so long and at the same time, anything can go wrong but it’s
that excitement and that thrill that’s irreplaceable.
After Anna and the King,
we
explored working in L.A. but it was even harder for us than in
Scotland. Unless you can do kungfu like Michelle Yeoh, there
wouldn’t be much for us in the West. And of course, it was family
that made us decide not to uproot.
I don’t regret not practicing law
because
I really enjoy what I do now and when I dig deep, I like to live
life without regrets. If there’s something you want to do, it’s
always possible. I mean, I’ve been acting for so many years and I’m
still acting so that speaks volumes.
If I were Prime Minister for a week, I’d
definitely
try to repeal Section 377A, which is the law that makes
homosexuality illegal because it’s happened in so many countries,
so it’s about time we did it as well. And I‘d get every minister
over the age of 70 to step down and have a nice retirement—go relax
man! —Interview by Rachelle Low