It’s no surprise that Prosperity, Channel 8’s new year drama, is supported by both the young and old with seasoned actresses like Hong Hui Fang. But this time round, Star Search 2007 winner, Andie Chen, will steal the show with his nerdy role as Ma Yong Jie.

For this 22-episode long drama, Andie Chen shed 10kg, got his geek on and even made out with super hot Malaysian co-star, Tiffany Leong, underwater in one of the scenes… not bad at all for his first male lead role.

“When I first got the role, I said ‘Wah, the lead role, why on earth would they choose me?’ Then I look at the script and ‘oh, a hideous role, no wonder!’” said Andie Chen to loud laughter at the press conference.

Andie

Jokes aside, Andie’s endearing happy-go-lucky character as Ma Yong Jie, may look easy to portray but filming didn’t come without its difficulties – even for his “romantic” underwater kiss which took up to 7 or 8 takes. [more in the video].

Losing 10kg for the show also took a toll on his health, and he suffered from illnesses like flu towards the end.

“Because at the start, when we were beginning to shoot, I felt I looked a bit too muscular, so I slimmed down and it looked good [for the role]. So I kept losing weight till I was about 62 or 63kg,” said Andie.

Starring as Ma Yong Jie means he plays son to Tang Ai Rui (Hong Hui Fang), and brother to Lin Si En (Malaysian star, Tracy Lee) in Prosperity.

Family

A feel-good family drama, Prosperity revolves around the story of 3 sisters’ and their families. While Yong Jie’s mum is loving and kind-hearted – she’s actively involved in community work with handicapped husband, Lin Shun Ping (Ye Shipin) – her sisters, Tang Ai Li (Aileen Tan) and Tang Ai Ming (Priscelia Chan), are a petty and materialistic bunch.

The kids also get into a fair share of drama, with 2 love triangles in the show and lots of rivalry between the cousins, Lin Si En and Janice (Rebecca Lim), who’s Ai Li’s daughter.

Check out our interview with Andie Chen:

Prosperity is also worth watching out for, as it’s the last for Matrix Vision, the team that brought us award-winning shows like Three Women and a Half, Nanny Daddy and Light Years.

Prosperity airs Mondays to Fridays on MediaCorp Channel 8 at 9pm starting from Jan 10.