Singaporean actress Pamelyn Chee fell in love with acting when she was seven, playing her first role as a duck in a performance with a Chinese Dance Troupe.
“I really enjoy the kind of feeling where you’re just 100% there. Acting is the only sort of thing that provides that feeling of being present,” said Chee. “It was 99% foolishness and 1% determination to never give up. …This was truly what I wanted to do, and I was okay with failing, and I failed so many times that my skin is so thick, it no longer bothers me like it did initially. …I was foolish enough to never give up, and here I am.”
Being an actor, like any gig-based career, is entirely dependent on the project you have had the opportunity to work with. Chee said, “What I’ve learned is to have zero expectations, because everytime I have a big project coming out, I think that I’m going to do so well, and then this whole thing crashes …And then things that I had like no expectations of, sometimes they just do really, really good.”
Chee stars in Eddie Huang’s soon to be released film, Boogie. Premiering on March 5, the film follows a talented Chinese American high schooler who dreams of playing basketball in the NBA. From the film’s trailer, it is revealed that Chee’s character is a ‘mom who is responsible, but doesn’t believe in [her son].’
Auditioning for the role was a no-brainer for Chee. She said, “I grew up with eight aunties on each side. …So I kind of just mixed and matched that to present who I think this woman was. The moment I read the script, I knew who this woman was. Because we all have this crazy auntie back in Asia right?”
Just a couple of weeks later, Chee signed the contract to play the role. Curious as to why she was casted, Chee asked the writer-director himself.
“There are so many actresses here that can play this role. How is it even me?” said Chee. “He said that there’s nobody in the intersection of East and West as much as you. Because when he gave us the lines of the script, it was in English, but because this character speaks in a way that she mashes both languages all the time, so I had translated the script to a way in which I thought she would speak.”
When asked about how Asian audiences might feel about portraying such a strict ‘tiger mom’ on screen, Chee responded with a smile. g
“This is the thing. Eddie taught me something very important, which is to be proud of who you are,” she said. “…I think Eddie shows the good, the bad, and the ugly. And you guys can decide what it is. He’s not trying to be defensive about the image of the Asian mom, and I definitely did not try to salvage that kind of proper, ‘she should be this type of way’ …Let the audience decide. We’re not here to tell you what to think.”
In the Western entertainment and film industry, there has always been a lack of Asian representation. Even when there is an opportunity for Asians to be cast, the role would oftentimes be given to a white counterpart.
“Now it seems that the casting people want somebody that is completely Asian when they’re looking for ‘Asian’. Whereas like 10 years ago, or when I started out, they preferred somebody who is like half-asian to play these asian roles,” Chee said.
For many, finding similar opportunities in Asia was equally hard. In Asia, some also preferred to cast half-white individuals for lead roles. Chee spoke to what frustrates her the most.
“You’re never Asian enough to the Asians, and you’re never white enough to the whites. Even if you’re just right smack in the middle of that intersection of being Asian and white… I feel like this is kind of why [Huang] made this film. To show where he is,” said Chee. “[When working on Boogie] I think everybody went in excited, because they finally got to do a story that was not white-washed. That they could be themselves and be in the universe which was real to them.”
Boogie was set to be released on March 5, 2021 in movie theatres. However, showtimes may be affected due to the pandemic.
To read this article in Chinese (Traditional), please click here.
