Best known for their roles and irresistible comedic chemistry on Channel 5’s Emmy-nominated satire The Noose, Michelle Chong and Alaric Tay share a more serious and ambitious career outlook in their latest individual projects.

Stepping away from the limelight and behind the camera, Michelle and Alaric take on directorial roles in their respective films, Already Famous and Final Defect.

Already Famous, a feature film directed, written by and starring the 34-year-old, is about an aspiring actress from Malaysia, who travels to Singapore to realise her dreams of making it as a celebrity. It was recently released in local cinemas to a warm reception, and has since passed the million-dollar mark at the local Box Office, a satisfying victory made sweeter considering the sacrifices made by the first-time director.

Besides having to personally fund part of the film’s $899,000 budget, Michelle Chong also faced constant rejection by sponsors. Indeed, constant rejection was what drove the frustrated actress to write the screenplay for Already Famous almost a decade ago.

“I went for a lot of auditions, and I kept on promoting myself and selling myself, but I still got rejected. Since nobody wanted to give me a job/character, I decided to write my own,” shares Michelle, “70% of what you see onscreen is drawn from my own experiences. The remaining 30% is what happened to other people around me.”

Her partner-in-crime, Alaric Tay, has also recently directed a short film entitled Final Defect, a sci-fi action movie about a group of underground inhabitants who are trapped in a research facility in the near future.

About his unusual choice of genre, the 32-year-old says, “I’ve always liked the genre, and Singapore hasn’t really done any serious sci-fi stuff. I’ve always wanted to do an action film, but I never had the time to sit down and craft it out. Maybe I’ll do a local zombie movie next. Somebody gimme the money to do a feature film please!”

Although Final Defect isn’t a feature film, Alaric Tay faced the same problems that plagued Michelle’s movie.

Photos courtesy of Samuel Ow from Klix Photography & Noel Teo.

“It was difficult to find sponsors and funding for the film. It was also interesting and somewhat painful. I faced rejection 99% of the time, so to the 1% – thank you.”

Having had a taste of what it was like in the director’s seat, will the two consider a career switch?

While Alaric admits he doesn’t see himself quitting acting anytime soon, Michelle Chong expressed a different opinion. “I’m very happy to transit from on to off screen. When I’m acting, I don’t feel like I belong in front of the camera, because I want to see the monitor constantly. To be honest, there’s nothing that excites me as much as scriptwriting right now, except the process of creating or producing something.”

But fret not, the budding director promises to keep in touch.

“Of course I’ll look for Alaric [in future projects]! I think my colleagues from The Noose are on the same wavelength as me. So of course if there’s an opportunity to work together, it’s all for the better.”

The power couple was also nominated for the Celebrity Duo I Wanna Chill With category at the m:idea Youth Choice Awards, an awards show that celebrates youths’ favourite celebrities and brands. During the awards show, they were announced as the winners of the award, much to the delight of their fans.

Michelle’s Already Famous was released on 24 Nov 2011 while Alaric’s Final Defect is due to be released in March 2012.