Tough cookie Rui En turns all sunshine and rainbows in upcoming Channel 8 series “Happy Family”. And she tells us that fragrance played a part in her transformation.

By Han Wei Chou | Posted: 19 January 2010 0932 hrs

Rui-En plays Yang Xiaodong in the Channel 8 drama ‘Happy Family’.

SINGAPORE : The Rui En that we see in upcoming Channel 8 serial “Happy Family” is very different from the Rui En we know.

In “Happy Family” which airs on January 19 on Channel 8, Rui En plays an orphan Yang Xiaodong who helps an old man that adopted her, Dong Jian Ye (Chen Shu Cheng) to reunite him with his children, who he had driven away due to various incidents in the past.

Rui En’s screen persona Xiaodong is outgoing, optimistic and smiles a lot in the first half of the drama though she does quite a bit of crying in the second half. Xiaodong seems to be made out of sunshine and rainbows when compared with the tough, cool women Rui En had played in the past.

The 28-year-old actress said it took quite a bit of effort to play her character, who she described as “simple” and “a little bit like a little girl sometimes”, a far cry from the pensive, poised and composed person she is in real life.

Rui En, an avid perfume collector, wore perfume from her collection that she did not usually wear and listened to upbeat, happy music to get into character.

That’s not all. She changed the way she behaved and even the way she cried to be as convincing as possible.

“I changed the way I walked, the way I talked. I tried to change the way I cried because I felt this character would cry very directly, instead of the way maybe more mature people tend to fight it and hold it back,” she said. “I used a lot of things that I hope will add up to create a very real character.”

However, Rui En said she has returned to her same old self. While playing the cheerful Xiaodong did not change who she was, Rui En confided that participating in this production about family ties did cause her to think about her own relationship with her family.

Her parents separated when she was just 17. She now lives with her father, stepmother and grandmother.

“I was very touched by the story,” she said “It made me re-evaluate whether or not it was worth getting irritated with my family… is it worth it getting irritated over something small,” she said.

‘The Running Girl’ crosses the finish line

It has been a decade since Rui En burst onto the screen as ‘The Running Girl’ in a SingTel television advertisement in 2001.

She went on to appear in numerous dramas and was named one of the top ten most popular female artistes at the annual Star Awards from 2005 to 2009. She also released two music albums and even wrote all the lyrics for her songs in the second one.

That is quite a feat for a girl who said she entered showbiz because she was incredibly insecure and took on roles that disgusted herself in the early part of her career.

“It seems a lifetime away, even though it is just ten years, I feel like a completely different person [now] and I think I can say I have reached a point where I am at peace and very happy with the way I have chosen to conduct my life,” she said, adding that she had taken all the bad press about her ‘lack of PR’ and other misconceptions about her in her stride.

“I am at peace even with the misconceptions people have of me,” she said. “It is part and parcel of the job. It’s something that you have to accept if you are in this line.”

Looking ahead, Rui En said she has no intention of developing her career overseas yet and pointed out two things that she resolves to do in 2010.

“One is to spend more time with my family. Next is to be more prudent in terms of finance. Don’t spend so much and be a little more disciplined about saving”, she said.

Was it because she has a little too many bottles of perfume in her collection?

“Ya, ya, exactly,” she said with a wry smile.

Catch Rui En in “Happy Family” on Channel 8 on weekdays from January 19 at 9pm.

 
Source: channelnewsasia.com

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