Rui En revealed how she felt about being snubbed at the annual Star Awards, why she would still say ‘NO’ to going on ‘艺点心思 Celebritea’ (hosted by Guo Liang & Quan Yi Feng) and more… Discover the real Rui En as you read on in my 1st series of interviews with stars titled ‘敲敲门 Knock-Knock’ where the questions actually come from ‘YOU’.

Q: What are some of the challenges/difficulties that you faced while filming ‘Happy Family 过好年’(it was previously called ‘全家福’), in which you have to portray a bubbly girl, very different from your own personality?

RUI EN: “This probably was one of the most challenging roles I have taken on so far, second only to “Metamorphosis”, simply because 小冬 and her world was so foreign to me personally. Many don’t realize that simplicity and innocence can be one of the most complicated elements to portray. It is precisely this quality that many of us have lost long ago, but seek to re-instill in our lives. I must admit that I felt intimidated by her initially, but have only grown to fall very much in love with the character. It was and is my honor to be able to inhabit 小冬’s world for a little while, for she taught me many things. Some times, I can’t wait to leave a particular role/character behind, other times, you fall in love with the character. This was one of those roles for me, very strangely enough.”

“Our world has become very complicated, hasn’t it? I hope that 小冬 reminds you that things actually can be very simple, we just tend to complicate things for ourselves.”

Q: If you were given a chance, what kind of role/drama do you wish to work on?

RUI EN: “I would give anything to do another police/action kind of role. Incredibly demanding but completely worth it. Also very interested to play “darker”, more human roles. Perhaps someone with many regrets in her past. Even someone on a mission of revenge. A spy, a secret agent.”

 

Q: Do you foresee yourself being in the entertainment industry for the long term? I hope so coz I would miss your singing and acting if you would to leave the entertainment industry one day.

RUI EN: “It depends what your definition of “long term is”. As much as I love what I do, there will definitely come a time when I feel I’ve given all I have to give, and that it’s time to move on.”

 

Q: What really makes you move on and venture in this career even though you hate the “side effects” of this entertainment industry.

RUI EN: “The love of acting and singing, and the understanding and acceptance that every profession has its fair share of cr*p, you just have to deal with it.”

 

Q: Fans cry foul over you missing out on Star Award’s Best Actress nominations as An Xiaoqian (Metamorphosis) and Zhang Yuhang (By My Side); were you disappointed?

RUI EN: “It only bothers me that it really bothers my fans.”

“I have learned how dangerous and futile it is to base my personal feelings and self-worth on “what other people think” and things like award nominations. So, no. I am thankful enough to have a job I love doing and don’t ask or expect any more.” 

 

Q: Do you have any ambition in your career? As in, ultimately, what do you aim to achieve? For eg, A best female lead? An All-Time Favourite Artiste Award? Gain recognition overseas? High sales in your future album? Having a breakthrough role? etc. 

RUI EN: “Likewise, these are things that I never think of or even strive towards. I get asked by reporters all the time about such comparisons in relation to the other “princesses”. To me, such comparisons are the equivalent of trying to determine which is the best and most popular : chicken rice, prata, mee goreng or char kuay teow. All have their own merits, following and appeal. In other words, it’s impossible to determine a concrete answer and a waste of time.” 

“I am only in competition with myself, no one else. To continually compare yourself with others is incredibly destructive. My only goal is to keep pushing myself to grow as a person.”

Q: Are you willing to be on CelebriTea?

RUI EN: “No. I have been open and honest enough in the ST Monday Interview that was published last year. In a world where broken families are more commonplace than happy ones, I revealed what I revealed then in the hope of inspiring kids not to go down the wrong path. I draw the line there. To continue to repeat myself and those facts would be utterly exploitative – using my personal life to gain public sympathy. I have a very, very strong stand against that and I see absolutely no reason to do it simply to boost ratings. The individuals who invented all sorts of reasons in the press for my not wanting to be on the show, should really try to understand things from perspectives other then their own.” 

Q: What make you change from bubbly girl to such quiet girl ?/ Don’t you ever feel compelled to conform, such as putting up your own blog like the rest of your colleagues?

RUI EN: “I was only “bubbly” in the earlier part of my career because I was trying to conform to what I thought the viewers would want, what I thought people would want from me. Back then it was a struggle all the time between who I really was and this extremely narrow-minded, sterotypical pre-conceived notion of what a “girl” should look and behave like. As proven, I was dead wrong and it didn’t work simply because it wasn’t me. I was uncomfortable all the time and felt as if I was trying to fit into someone else’s skin. There’s really no value in trying to conform for the sake of it.”

Q: You have more female fans these days; do you think it has anything to do with your personality, such that they saw you as their role model?

RUI EN: “I only hope that it’s because they identify with my non-conformist approach both in personal life and career. Even now, there are so many expectations, standards, even stereotypes that females are expected to adopt and fit into. There is so much pressure on women both at work and at home. I believe in the right to choose for yourself. A question I ask myself all the time : would you rather a fulfilled or obedient life? Of course, along with the right to choose, you also have to accept that every choice in life has consequences.”

Q: As an actress yourself, you know all the positive and negative sides of this job. Will you encourage any of your fans to take up this career?

RUI EN: “We are all conditioned by the world and society to base our self-worth and esteem on things like, am I pretty enough? What car do I drive? Do I own property yet? In other words, rather superficial things. In this industry, the extent of this is multiplied, and your rice bowl, ability to make a living can mostly become dependant on superficialities. You have to be mature and clear enough in your priorities to be able to differentiate all the factors, otherwise it becomes a very toxic job. So, no, unless one is mature enough.”  

Q: Will you be willing to act in historical dramas which touches on the hardships of Singapore’s women in the past such as ” Hong Tou Jin” and “Ma Jie”?

RUI EN: “I would love to, it’s a genre I’ve never tried before. Just like 小冬, it would be an honor to be a part of that world for awhile.”

Q: Which is your favourite or most memorable role/character to-date?

RUI EN: “Xiao Qian from “Metamorphosis” will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Q: Many of us have this mentality that celebrities take up volunteering simply only for public scrutiny and media attention. Is this the reason why you have chosen to be low profile about this? What then prompted you to take up regular volunteering on your own accord and how did you managed to find time for this?

RUI EN: “I try to be low profile about this because the last thing I want is to utilize this to benefit my public image. I chose to answer this question only because I want to try to encourage more youths to volunteer. Like I’ve said before, we are an incredibly selfish generation and desperately need to learn to be unconditional.”

“I do this when I’m not filming and I decided to start out of a pure dissatisfaction with spending all my time doing things for myself and for my own benefit. I told myself, “There’s gotta be more to life than this.” And I was right. Making others happy makes me so happy. I love kids so I work with kids. There is so much we can do. Given the amount of time all of us spend on Twitter, Facebook, etc, ie. on ourselves everyday, couldn’t we take a little of that time to help others?”

Q: Who do you look up to in your life or rather how do you make your life as meaningful as it can be? I would really wish to learn this from you.

RUI EN: “Don’t compromise your beliefs, principles and integrity, no matter how hard it gets. Resist the easy way out, the process is so much more important than the end. Learn to be unselfish, considerate and unconditional. Build your self-worth with pure hard work and the resulting achievement, not with superficial things.” 

“I will always be learning till the day I die, but this is what I can share with you now :) ”

 

Paul: “I want to thank Rui En for taking time out to share so much even though her schedule was so packed with the last leg of shooting ‘Happy Family’. Dear Readers, you may want to leave a comment here for Rui En after reading so much…”

“Many people have been trying to ‘force-fit’ stars into the ‘mould’ they expect them to be. Many stars simply become the ‘by-products’ of such ‘terrorism’. Isn’t terrorism all about making others conform to your ‘beliefs’?”

“Without your support or an avenue like this to hear them out in their true own words, we cannot claim to have known the stars.”

“Rui En is the 1st celebrity in this  ‘敲敲门 Knock-Knock’ series and she is not the last. I have decided to extend this interview session to other stars and ALL the questions literally come from YOU. Celebrities can choose to reply them in emails, video-interviews or audio recordings – it is about giving them the freedom and space to share with us…”

(Note: Please do not start posting questions here until I announce the name of the next celebrity to be interviewed by YOU in an upcoming blog post).

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