By Christopher Ong

Rui En was at the iconic School of Art, Design & Media building to shoot the MediaCorp series, The In-Laws. She took time out of her hectic filming schedule to grant Hey! this interview.

She shot to fame as the iconic “running girl” in a SingTel hi!Card advertisement, and real life almost mirrored reel life for actress Rui En given that she came close to running away from school during her time as an undergraduate.

Indeed, if not for the help she received from some “angels” in her life, the Nanyang Business School Class of 2004 alumnus may perhaps not have graduated from NTU with a Bachelor of Business degree.

Back then, on the cusp of making the breakthrough she needed in the hugely-competitive media industry, she found it hard to juggle her work and studies. To top it off, she had to make regular trips to Taiwan to produce her debut music album, Rui Σn vol. 01.

All this led to her wanting to throw in the towel, studies-wise. Says the 30-year-old: “I’ll be really honest, there were times when I wanted to give up but I was persuaded not to by some angels in my life. I am so glad I persisted.”

“I guess it was the fact that I had already started. After a while, I figured I had to finish it no matter how tough it was.”

Perhaps this line sums up Rui En’s character as a fighter. In an interview she gave in 2008, she had talked about her tumultuous growing-up years: her parents divorced when she was 17, and she also smoked and drank from a young age to look “cool” and fit in. Asked why she agreed to such a soul-baring interview, she had said:”I am hoping that kids who read this might realise that no matter how bad your family situation is, you have a choice not to be a victim.”

Back to the subject of school, she says that her last year in NTU was especially difficult because “I had to be in Taiwan a lot.”

Little wonder then that Rui En feels she owes a debt of gratitude to her final-year project group, whom she says helped her greatly. “If I were in their position then, I would have been quite mad. But they were so accommodating and understanding.”

“I really want to thank them for their help, and still feel very grateful towards them today.”

The one with the baseball cap

Rui En kept a low profile in university. One former lecturer, Assoc Prof Joan C Henderson, remembers her as being quiet in class, and also describes the star as “nearly always sporting a baseball cap”.

During the interview, she comes across as engaging and sincere. Maybe this is why the actress has over the years been consistently voted one of the Top 10 Favourite Female Artistes at the local Star Awards. At this year’s Awards, she went one better by clinching her first Best Actress award for her role in the Channel 8 drama With You.

Her achievements also saw her recognised by the university in 2007 when she became a recipient of the Nanyang Outstanding Young Alumni Award, something she feels both “surprised and grateful” about.

Still, Rui En says that just being able to do something she loves on a daily basis is “enough of a prize”.

So, what advice would she give NTU freshmen who want to pursue their passions, be it sports, community service or acting, while studying? She says:”I get a lot of comments like, ‘Oh, you are still in this line?’”

“But I would say that you shouldn’t bother about what people think. Have the courage to pursue your dreams and to go through the difficult times.”

Source: Hey!

瑞恩

在本地演员、歌手双身份的女歌手中，瑞恩是非常优质的一位，她不但戏好，歌也好，身上散发出来的特殊气息与众不同，只是她为人很低调，不爱宣传，因此，见报曝光机会少。

曾修读”银行业与金融管理”的瑞恩，曾出版专辑《芮恩RuIen》、《芮恩RuiEn同名专辑》，专辑完整地收录了瑞恩出道至今的心情点滴，及对人与事各式各样的想法，她也曾在专辑中亲自写了8首歌词，微妙且带点另类的文字充满著这位新新女生新鲜自主的想法。

瑞恩拍摄过的电视剧也很多，像《不凡的爱》、《书包太重》、《最火搭档》、《吃吃面包谈谈情》、《二分之一缘份》、《法医X档案II》、《爱情零度C》、《宝家卫国》、《破茧而出》和《过好年》等等；也多次获观众投选为”十大最受欢迎女艺人”。

瑞恩还曾担任周杰伦《八度空间》中《暗号》里头的MV女主角，她曾经是 ‘J女郎’ 之一。

The scan of this write up would not be uploaded on this website in view of RBKD’s respect towards intellectual property rights.

This book is available at all major bookstores in Singapore.

　　芮恩是阿尔发唱片的新女声，经过周杰伦的强力背书，芮恩还没有正式出片，已经受到各界的瞩目。周杰伦先是带着芮恩合拍《暗号》的MV，他在手机广告之中，也找来芮恩一起演出，师兄妹先是“打暗号”，再来“大头贴”。

　　周杰伦的演唱会将于十二日移师香港开唱，在红磡一连演唱五场，目前他除了积极在为演唱会准备之外，投入很多时间在芮恩的专辑上面。

　　周杰伦帮芮恩写了一首《白色羽毛》，而芮恩的唱片广告，周杰伦也来帮忙。周杰伦在广告片中，担任广告创意、造型设计，还自编自演热情站台。周杰伦在广告片中，上演追女生的剧情，内容是他带着学弟、朋友共三个男生，在一家咖啡厅里看到芮恩，三个男生一直窃窃私语讨论，但是都不敢有所行动，等到最后离开时看清楚芮恩的长相，而且听到芮恩的歌之后，周杰伦才突然觉得芮恩很不错。周杰伦说：“这支广告是酷中带了一点神秘的调性，很能够把芮恩的特色表现出来。”

Source: Modern Music Field Magazine

周杰伦说这支广告是以酷中带了一点神秘的调性,把芮恩的音乐特色表现来,内容叙述周杰伦带着学弟,朋友三人在一家咖啡厅,看到了芮恩对她议论纷纷,不过三人不敢有所行动,离开时才回头小声说:”不错喔!”;时下唱片圈新人辈出,周杰伦平常也很注意国语歌坛的动向,尤其是像芮恩这样有特色的艺人, 和他一样唱歌咬字不清的,反而可以把人声变成一种乐器演奏,听起来更有味道;而芮恩专辑里丰富的音乐性,也让杰伦赞赏,特别为他写了一首融合中国风+日本风的歌”白色羽毛”推荐给大家.

许多人唱抒情歌,R&B,摇滚歌曲,芮恩的嗓音唱起来少了激情嘶吼的浮动,却多了一股音律流畅,咬字不清,恣意放纵的特色就成了运转音符的最大助力,让人听起来清新舒服,比起一般歌手来说,杰伦觉得芮恩的爆发力来自自然,不做作的嗓音,芮恩可以表现这么多种截然不同的曲风,也让杰伦十分欣赏,看好她未来的表现,大力提拔她,希望能为乐坛注入一股新潮流.

芮恩很感谢大师兄鼎力相助,拍MV,广告几次的相处合作以后,她觉得这位大师兄不但人很亲切,很会带人,还很喜欢帮人家做设计,从穿着,服装,化妆,发型给芮恩许多建议,连这次拍广告两位演员的造型服装,也是出自杰伦的意见,有机会的话杰伦还想发挥他的创意,帮芮恩从头到脚打扮一下.