Pamelyn Chee, the unconventional actress with an avant-garde attitude

Xin.sg - Tuesday, March 9

Pamelyn Chee, the unconventional actress with an avant-garde attitude "I have the biggest admiration for [Hong Kong actor] Wang Qiu Sheng (Anthony Wong), I think he's actually a very charismatic actor. I know, I have very strange taste."

Pamelyn Chee is an interviewer's delight. When the gesture was made [to her] to begin, the FLY Entertainment artiste gladly lets down her guard and rattles off anecdotes of herself. Articulate and straightforward, she listens intently and clarifies earnestly before replying, not once dismissing a question as irrelevant.

Minimally made-up and stylishly dressed in a black sleeveless blouse prettified with a quirky row of three white ribbons over her skinny dark denims, Pamelyn, a bikram yoga fanatic, exudes an edgy yet feminine chic with such panache that it's hard not to be enamored by her unconventional beauty.

She may not have mirror-breaking good looks or be that clichéd bombshell babe but this self-professed "tomboy jock" who is currently single, possesses an attitude that is almost avant-garde and yet laid-back at the same time - not to mention her supremely versatile acting talent - that makes her endearing.

The 27-year-old bilingual actress, who graduated from New York University, began her acting career in the Big Apple and was based there for seven years. Famously known for her liking to play unconventional roles, Pamelyn has played a cross-dressing girl in "The Shanghai Hotel"; a wild bar hostess who shared a couple of 'suggestive lesbian scenes' [with the other lead actress] in "Princess of Nebraska" where it propelled the actress into the limelight; and in Channel 8 dramas, "Beach Ball Babes" and "Together", in which she played a 'convincing baddie' as the unreasonable and aggressive volleyball captain of the opposing team [of Joanne Peh's] and a demanding and difficult wife [to Zhang Zhenhuan's character], respectively.

"There are so many pretty girls [in Channel 5 and 8] so let them go do the pretty-girl roles. I actually like to play something a little bit more on the fringe of society characters that people don't see very much," says Pamelyn, currently seen on Channel 8 drama, "Your Hand In Mine", where she plays Ah Bing, a blind girl who knows wushu.

She adds: "I'm interested in the ugly and the hidden. I feel that it is more interesting as an actor to be able to explore these dimensions."

Does that mean she's also willing to push the [sexual] boundaries if a role does present its opportunity? She says: "It's tricky. As an actor, your body is part of your instrument for expression. So if you say you can't do this and that, I think it greatly limits your range."

That said, one wonders if her seven-year stay in the Big Apple got her influenced with the whole maelstrom of 'Americanised' laissez-faire and accent, you think?

"Having experienced the Asian and the Western, I've learnt to be a chameleon so depending on who my audience is, I'll act their way."

Pamelyn goes on to explain: "Take for example, I'm talking to you [and] I'm not going to go into my American accent [because] then you'll think "she's such a poser right?", but then if I'm in New York, I am not going to speak like now [because] they'll not understand me."

"I think it's a very delicate line that you always have to choose so that's how I operate now," says Pamelyn, without missing a beat.

For someone who says she found her interest for performing [at age 7] through her first role playing a little duck in a dance troupe, surely Pamelyn must be over the moon with an acting career that is looking so promising right?

To which, the straight-talking lass replies: "I don't know what happy means; I'm not really a contented person."

"I like to be constantly working, I like 14-hours 'shoot-days' every day [because] it keeps the adrenaline going and I think it also makes me feel a little more alive than just sitting at home."

"I would really love to explore other markets like China and Malaysia [because] you can learn so much more from foreign productions.

Despite her recent foray into TV, Pamelyn would love to go back to doing film as that has always been her first love.

"TV has been a very interesting experience [and] I learn a lot but there is something magical about putting a film together than putting a TV show together due to time and budget constraint.

So what's next?

"I just finished a French TV series. I play a time-travelling super hero, it is called "Déj Vu" Season 2 and they are currently screening in France so that hopefully would garner me some work in Europe."end: Most Popular