Singaporean actress Hong Huifang (pic) is unfazed by the thought of being typecast as the grandmother these days.
The 63-year-old portrays yet another one in her 70s in the Taiwanese drama Breeze By The Sea, her first overseas project following her Golden Horse-nominated turn in Singapore-South Korean film Ajoomma (2022).
Speaking to The Straits Times at the Asia TV Forum & Market held on Dec 4 at Marina Bay Sands, Hong said she does not mind playing much older characters. After all, she added, she has portrayed a centenarian in the Singaporean Channel 8 drama Good Luck (2015) and several grandmothers over the years.
Furthermore, she is heartened that on-screen grandmothers are being viewed in a positive light and have gained more prominence recently, such as in the hit Thai movie How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024).
She noted the Chinese saying of “having an old person in the family is like having a treasure”, and added: “Some people are closer to their grandmothers than their own parents. I think it is partly because they know their time with their grandparents is short. By the time they grow up, their grandparents are already quite old.”
Hong also recently put on “ageing make-up” for the upcoming Chinese New Year movie Blooms Of Happiness, which was filmed in Genting Highlands.
She said: “As an actress, I can keep changing constantly. I am not a beautiful vase.”
In Breeze By The Sea, a remake of South Korean drama Top Star U-back (2018 to 2019), Hong’s oyster-farmer character sports white hair while toiling in work clothes. Her movements are slow, while her speech is gentle and calm.
The actress said: “It is not about playing old or young roles. What is most important is that the role is a good one.
“The truth is that if I had a good life, I should be a grandma and not just play one. Had I married earlier, I might already be a grandma.”
She married fellow Singaporean actor Zheng Geping in the early 1990s. They have two children – daughter Tay Ying, 28, and son Calvert Tay, 24. The celebrity couple do not have grandchildren.
Breeze By The Sea – which premieres on Dec 14, and will be available on streaming services Rakuten Viki and Viu on the same day – is set in the picturesque coastal town of Kinmen island in Taiwan.
