Malaysian actress Angeline Tan still worries about not being good enough

Angeline Tan, best known for her role in 'Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu', is going international with 'The Ghost Bride'.

Actress Angeline Tan is perhaps best known for her comedic performances in 1990s sitcoms like Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu.

But throughout her 30-year acting career, Tan has made waves for her dramatic performances as well. Most recently, her turn as a fearsome matriarch in My Sensei Nyonya earned her a Best Drama Actress nomination at Anugerah Skrin 2019.

“I actually got my start with serious roles in the 1980s, then I went into comedy in the 1990s, ” the 52-year-old says.

The local actress is playing yet another serious role on The Ghost Bride, Netflix’s first Mandarin original series from Malaysia.

Set in early 19th century Melaka, the series opens with 20-year-old Li Lan who, in an effort to save her family from going into debt, is pressured to marry the recently deceased son of the wealthy Lim family.

In the six-episode series, Tan plays Madam Lim, the matriarch of the Lim family who has just lost her son.

The Ghost Bride is based on The New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Malaysian author Yangsze Choo, which explores the traditional Chinese custom of ghost weddings.

Directed by Malaysians Quek Shio Chuan and Ho Yuhang, the series boasts both local and international cast and crew members including Hollywood TV writer Kai Yu Wu (The Flash, Hannibal).

In an interview with StarLifestyle, Tan talks about relishing the chance to star in an international project.

Six-episode series 'The Ghost Bride' opens with a woman pressured to marry a deceased man.

1. How did you come to be a part of The Ghost Bride? What was the audition process like?

I received a call from a casting director asking me to try out for a role. They didn’t tell me it was for a Netflix production. They didn’t tell me the storyline. They just described the role roughly for me. And at the audition, I met the two directors, Shio Chuan and Yuhang.

They asked me to act out two scenes from the show. One of them involved my character Madam Lim trying to approach Li Lan and her family with the marriage proposal.

So in the scene, I had to speak to Li Lan’s father, and persuade him that when his daughter marries my son, all his debts will be resolved. They wanted me to broach the subject in a soft way but at the same time, you can feel that pressure.

2. Describe your character Madam Lim. Is she evil?

She’s a lonely woman. Her husband is not around, busy running his business overseas. She lives in a big house with her stepdaughter whom she hardly communicates with. Her biological son passed away suddenly. She’s completely at a loss.

Then he comes to her in a dream and tells her that he wants this and that. So as a mother, she thinks whatever she can give, she gives since she can afford it anyway. So she goes through this mood swings. Certain things will trigger her and she will get emotional.

3. Can you relate to her?

I’m a mother myself. I have a son who’s 28 years old. So it’s not difficult for me to play this role because I can imagine (what that would feel like).

And acting is all about imagining yourself in a certain situation and how you would respond.

4. Have you heard of ghost weddings in real life?

I’ve only heard of ghost weddings taking place between two people who are dead. I think I’ve read it in the papers. This – where one party is alive and one is dead – is my first time hearing it.

5. Did you feel extra pressure starring in an international project?

I wasn’t nervous about the fact that it was Netflix. My only worry was if my acting wasn’t good; that I didn’t carry the role well enough.

After all these years, I still worry about not being good enough because I expect a lot from myself. I must have that high expectation. Only then will I work harder.