Yeong Kar YanFor the first time in her acting career, Rui En sheds her icy cool image and takes on all things girly – from manicures to frilly pink dresses and skirts – for her new role as Zhang Ya Le in A Tale of 2 Cities.
You’d think this is a good break from her previous acting roles such as tough cop in Unriddle but the spunky actress claimed otherwise during the drama press conference.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Lo (Klix Photography)
Dressed in her usual black and white attire, paired with spiky bracelets and gladiators, the Nanyang Technological University business graduate exclaimed, “Before I was filming this drama, I was doing Unriddle and it was so strenuous! But during [A Tale of 2 Cities], I told [my executive producer], Paul, that I rather go back to the forest to find dead bodies, get injured fighting than do this because this girly role is really very tough to act.”
Taking care of my looks is so tiring! I do a lot of things for the first time like gel manicures so this experience really is an eye-opener for me”, she said.
From left to right: Zhang Ya Le (Rui En), Jinfeng (Mimi Choo), Lin Wentao (Pierre Png)
Rui En plays ditzy character, Zhang Yao Le, who leads the life of a princess until she fritters all her inheritance away. When her family bridal business ends up in the red, she turns to her aunt, Jinfeng, who handles “Blissful Moments” in Singapore, another bridal business that her late mum invested in. Ya Le’s well-meaning aunt refuses to buy over her shares in the business and forces her to work in “Blissful Moments”. Will sparks fly between her and Jinfeng’s adopted son / in-house photographer, Lin Wentao?
New kids on the block: Julie Tan and Kate Pang
One of 4 girls in A Tale of 2 Cities, Rui En’s 360 degree transformation is bound to tickle funny bones this coming Valentine’s Day alongside Joanne Peh (Pan Le Yao) and newcomers, Kate Pang (Lin Le) and Julie Tan (Pan Le Xuan), in their journey to find true love.
More about Rui En’s character and filming experience/challenges:
Asked if she’s more open to watching romantic comedies now, Rui En laughed out loud and said, “I’m more open lah. I mean I do believe as an actress, I can’t only watch the things I want to watch. I gotta watch stuff that most people like. Even though it’s a bit old school, I feel that Meg Ryan… she’s like the best at romantic comedies so actually, I watch a lot of her.”
A Tale of 2 Cities airs tomorrow, Feb 14, on Channel 8 at 9pm.