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Pamelyn Chee: 'Blinded' by her passion for acting

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13 August 2009 0859 hrs (SST)

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainmentfeatures/

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Pamelyn Chee

SINGAPORE : It is not often that an actress who has starred in international films and productions, returns to play bit parts in local drama series.

What makes it even more unusual is her love for risk taking by taking on unconventional roles, such as a bar hostess in Wayne Wang’s indie film “Princess of Nebraska”, or a cross-dressing girl in “The Shanghai Hotel”.

Pamelyn Chee, who was last seen on Channel 5 Lunar New Year telemovie “A Kucinta Family Reunion”, now plays Ah Bing, a blind girl who knows wushu, in the upcoming Channel 8 drama, “Your Hand In Mine”.

“I like to take a little bit more risk, and also I’m not the ‘yu nu’ (virtuous girl in Chinese) kind. There are those people going for those roles, and that gives a chance for me to go for all the other roles,” Chee told Channelnewsasia.com.

“After a while, being a ‘hua ping’ (vase in Chinese) can take a toll on yourself, and I’m a real person.”

The Singapore lass who lived in New York for seven years, kick started her acting career in the Big Apple. But Chee has now returned home and set her sights on interesting roles that are closer to the heart.

The 26-year-old said she was attracted to the role of Ah Bing because the character was transitional, changing from an optimist, to an introvert after she became blind, and when her mother died.

Artistes often immerse themselves in their characters to bring out the realism, and Chee, who graduated from New York University, is no different. In fact, this actress says it’s the basic homework every actor should do.

“I spent so much time at the SAVH [Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped], it is not funny,” she said.

“I know everybody by their names - the therapists, the people in-charge, the blind people - they are all very helpful.

“I just had to sit there for many hours and talk with them, and see the way they move and interact with each other.”

But learning from the blind is one thing, playing one is a whole different ball game.

Our perception of how a blind person acts is very much influenced by what we see on television, which is wrong, said Chee. In fact, many have pointed out that the actress’ portrayal of the blind is inaccurate, but she begs to differ.

“I think that their version of what a blind person does and is, is very impaired by what they see on TV, which already is an inaccurate portrayal, so I hope to do justice to these blind people,” Chee said.

“Because they [the blind] keep telling me, ‘Pam, can you please go and tell MediaCorp that this is not the way blind people are.’”

Thankfully, Chee has managed to convince producers to do things her way and she hopes it will be an honest portrayal, otherwise, she will not be able to face her friends at SAVH.

Though Chee has returned to Singapore for close to two years, the actress says working here still takes some getting used to. For one, the money isn’t as good as in America, but at least she does not get cast in stereotypical roles.

“The good part is that there is a lot more work here,” Chee said in reference to local television.

“[And] I don’t have to play the maid, or the prostitute, or like the only Asian character. There [in America], I would never be able to play a blind girl, because they would give it to a white girl.”

But put this girl anywhere and she will be able to blend in. Chee has the ability to change her accent and language on the go, something not many artistes can master.

She says that the key to good acting not only requires knowing and speaking a language well, but also, the ability to mimic the accent.

“If I go to Malaysia, you would have to speak like a Malaysian,” she said, putting on a Malaysian accent.

“If I do a foreign production, usually I will put on a more neutral, even like an American accent if I need to, because I think the Singaporean accent is very hard to understand, and we cannot sell it on the international level, especially if you are met with like actors who speak like ‘so called’ good English.”

So, for an international actress such as herself, would the local scene be sufficient for her?

“I’m not hoping for anything, as long as there is a good role, I’ll do it,” Chee said.

“I’m not exactly stuck to this [Channel 8 dramas]. I just finished a French TV series, it’s going to air in Europe next year, it is called ‘Déjà Vu, Season 2’.

“We shot like a month plus in Vietnam. I play a time-travelling super hero, so that hopefully will garner me some work in Europe,” said the Victoria Junior College theatre studies and drama alumnus.

“I’m lucky that I have been able to do regional productions because I think that you need to learn from other people, and what better way, than to work in all these different countries?

“I would love to work in Malaysia if I can.”

• CNA