One of Malaysian actor Shaun Chen’s favourite Chinese idioms is “ma dao cheng gong”, which translates to “success comes as soon as the horse arrives”.
He hopes the new year will bring better things, especially after his “bad” Year of the Snake.
Chen lost his father to a hit-and-run accident in his home town of Negeri Sembilan on March 28, 2025, after he was fatally struck by a car while riding his motorcycle.
On the work front, the Mediacorp artiste – who has more than 20 years’ experience in show business – laments that there are fewer acting jobs for older actors and wants to look for more work for himself.
He was last seen in the Channel 8 blockbuster Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story (2025).
Chen associates himself with the Horse in that he is someone who keeps charging ahead.
His Malaysian production company Filmforce Studio, which he joined as its director in 2018, is working on its first feature film in partnership with a Malaysian collaborator.
Producing movies across the Causeway was both a creative and financial decision. “Shooting in Malaysia is cheaper, and there are more resources,” he notes.Many Singapore productions already cross the border to take advantage of locations, scale and cost savings. Doing an entire film in Singapore, Chen believes, would be hard to sustain financially, given the higher costs and limited space.
His budget is significant by regional standards, at around RM10mil to RM15mil. Government support in Malaysia, from film-funding bodies to tourism-related incentives, has helped make such a scale possible, even if budgets have tightened somewhat in recent years.
The upcoming film will feature a Hong Kong director and an ensemble cast that spans China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, reflecting both market ambition and cultural reach.
While Chen remains tight-lipped about specific casting details, as he is still seeking investments, the script is “more or less done”.
He is realistic about the risks. “The first step is always the toughest,” he says. But he believes that if his debut is successfully produced and released, “maybe the rest of the movies will come up”.He hopes to start production in June, with a 2027 release date.
Chen is also growing his YouTube channel Shaun With You, which he started in October 2025 to share his personal stories, acting journey and family life. It has about 1,630 subscribers.
The Singapore permanent resident – who relocated to Johor Bahru from Singapore with his Malaysian wife and two daughters aged nine and 11 in 2024 – is looking forward to catching up with his extended family over Chinese New Year.
However, it will be a new experience, he says, as they are still in the mourning period. Instead of returning to his village, he and his family will gather in Kuala Lumpur.
“My mum is now living in KL with my brother. My sisters also live in KL, so it is more convenient to get together there,” says Chen, who has five older siblings.
They plan to spend about four days in the Malaysian capital, arriving around Valentine’s Day. The timing dovetails with his children’s international school’s one-week break.
Says Chen: “Last year was a bad time for me, but I can feel the jobs and chances coming back. This year, I just want to chiong (push hard), finish my film properly, and hope my team can be happy and relax after that.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
