Lucky Strike – Edmund Chen on Red Numbers

By Shawne Wang

Almost everyone in Singapore would know who Edmund Chen is he`s the inordinately good-looking guy who stole our hearts in many a Channel 8 drama serial in time gone by, the man who`s married to veteran actress Xiang Yun and who left Mediacorp almost six years ago now.

He`s acted in a few local television dramas in the intervening years, but has focused much of his attention on working overseas and developing his own projects. This has taken him as far away as China and Hollywood, into the realm of children`s books (he`s currently working on his eighth), designing stamps and setting up Mission Easy, a free workshop that allows members of the public to get involved in film production.
I spoke to Edmund on the phone a few days after the rush of Chinese New Year was over. He was a pleasure to interview frank and cheerful, and very willing to talk about his work. It was evident that he`d had a great time working on Red Numbers, the new local movie directed by Dominic Ow that will be released in cinemas on Friday.

How did you come to be involved with Red Numbers?

Through friends I knew the screenwriter [Koh] Teng Liang, and the producer Alvin [Soe]. What strengthened it was also the involvement of a good friend, Master Hui. 
Can you tell us a little about your role in the film? It`s a very interesting part for you because you kind of play two roles.
Yes, I`ve never played such a role before this character has two sides: the really enlightened one, and the really bad one. He has this extreme split personality. We can actually even interpret him as having two souls living within him. I think the two personalities the two sides can hold very different beliefs.
You`ve been in a lot of local showsâ€