Carrie Wong thought of giving up acting when her career felt stagnant
The local actress also talked about being affected by the negative comments she would receive about her looks.
Can you be faulted for having a ‘resting bitch face’ (RBF)? If you’re a celebrity, it seems like it.
Local actress Carrie Wong confessed to having been called out on her RBF before. And like any other negative comment, it stung.
In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Southeast Asia, Wong revealed that she has been criticised for the way she looks, especially since she’s a woman.
The 29-year-old said, “For example, it’s just like, ‘Why she looks so fat on TV?’... [Or] ‘Actually, her acting not very good also. Aiya, she cannot act one lah'.”
Wong was also called “arrogant”, which she found puzzling.
“To me, it's like I don't even know you, I haven’t even seen you before. How do you know that I'm arrogant?”
She added, “Sometimes I have to explain myself because I think I do have a very serious RBF.
“It’s like, ‘Guys, I'm not angry. I'm just thinking about what to eat for lunch.’ But because when I'm stoning, I'm zoning out and I'm using my phone, people think that I look very fierce. But I'm not. This is just my default face.”
The actress also found herself explaining to her manager and “many, many people” that this is just how she looks.
Which begs the question - did her colleagues comment on the same thing?
She replied, “I get it a lot from my colleagues, I feel. [And] also from my manager. Sometimes I'm just sitting there, scrolling [on] my phone. Then they'll say, 'Why are you so fierce?' Then I'm like, 'What did I do?' I said no, I'm just looking at what to eat for lunch.”
To be fair, choosing what to have for lunch can be serious business.
Jokes aside though, Wong confessed to being “very, very affected” by negative comments when she first started out. After all, when she stepped into the industry at 21, it was her first job, and she basically “grew up” under the spotlight.
Unfortunately, this meant she had to learn how to deal with it “the harsh way”.
Wong shared, “You just have to learn to ignore [the comments]. Learning to ignore sounds very simple, but I don't think it's something that's very, very easy to learn. You have to totally feel okay with it.
“You have to tell yourself that you can’t make everybody like you, you can’t please the world. Just do your best.”
For now, the starlet thinks she’s handling it “pretty fine”, and has accepted the fact that people will have criticisms, despite how hard she has worked.
“As long as there's this one person out there that’s seen my efforts, seen how hard I've been working, I think it's worth it.”
“The speech is not particularly linked to anything”
Perhaps that’s why Wong had an emotional moment when she received her Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes award at the Star Awards this year.
During her acceptance speech, she thanked those who stood by her and for not giving up on her even when she hated herself.
While it’s been interpreted as Wong referencing the 2019 texting scandal with fellow actor Ian Fang, the actress offered another perspective.
She explained, “I realised that the older I grow, I am more emotional when I'm accepting my award. The first time I received an award was 21, I think, and I thought I was really cool about it. But nowadays, I'm stepping into 30 soon, I feel very, very emotional whenever I see this kind of thing.”
“Actually, the speech itself is not particularly linked to anything. It's just, we all do wrong things in life,” she clarified. “For example, me getting angry with my mom, showing her bad attitude. Then after that, I regret it, but I don't say sorry to her.”
This is Wong’s eighth win in the category and in addition to having an uninterrupted winning streak since her first nomination and win in 2015, she’s just two wins shy of clinching the All-Time Favourite Artiste award.
Wanted to give up when career stagnated
Despite her bright career, which is almost a decade long, Wong revealed that she felt like giving up when it seemed like her career was stagnant.
She said, “You don’t know what to do anymore. You don’t know how to be better anymore. Or you think that this is the most that you can go. There is nothing else you can do already.
“It’s actually quite demoralising sometimes when you feel that you cannot break through. You’re just going in circles, doing the same thing over and over again. Then you’re like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s not giving me happiness anymore.’”
Wong also said there were also public comments which remarked on the similarity of her roles and it got to her because she realised it was true.
Even now, she still experiences such moments and she reminds herself of her passion for the job to overcome such doubts.
“I really love my job. I love performing. I still get very excited when I am creating my role. It’s like my baby… Whenever I think of [giving up], I remember the passion I have so I’ll continue moving on. So I think it’s very important for people to take a moment for yourself, have peace, try to talk to yourself and you’ll know what you really want.”
Additionally, she talks to her manager whenever such doubts surface and emphasised that “it’s essential to take a break”.
“Take a break, see life, see people, go travel, find inspiration,” Wong advised.
“You know, sometimes, performing and acting - it’s a lot about people-watching because we are portraying people out there. Sit in a cafe, watch people and hear about people’s stories - listen… Listening to other people’s stories, sometimes, inspire you a lot. These are the things I do when I feel stagnant.”
Most mentally challenging period as an actress
Being an actress isn’t all about the glitz and glamour, though. It’s a gruelling job when you consider the long hours and ungodly time that artistes have to film at.
And it’s the long shoots that Wong finds the most challenging as someone in showbiz.
She said, “I have filmed dramas where I don’t get a break for 48 days straight, I remember. I worked every day. I didn’t have a single day off. And then, the timing may be like 7am to 11pm. Then next day you have to wake up at 7am, then [work] till 7pm.
“My house is just like a hotel for me. I don't see my parents at all. When I get up they're still sleeping, when I get home, they sleep already. I don't see them at all. I eat my breakfast, my lunch, my dinner outside with my production [team].”
Wong said that she basically just went home to shower and sleep before her alarm rang the next day, signalling a new day of work.
“Of course, it's not only me. I think a lot of other actresses, other actors, they go through the same thing. So I think that it's very important to do what you love and then during your free time, you really have to indulge in things that wind you down.
“For me, regardless how late it is, how tired I am, I have to turn on the TV and have a glass of wine before I go to sleep. I love watching shows and this is something that I look forward to after a long day at work.”
Her show of choice? The US legal drama Suits.
“I just love that show so much,” she gushed.
Wong laughed and said that when she came back from her New York trip and was fighting jetlag, she decided to watch the show before sleeping but it ended up keeping her awake.
She said, “ I think it's very entertaining, very light-hearted. And it can get very, very funny as well… I remember that I didn't finish watching the entire series because I think there are nine seasons. So now I'm just trying to rewatch and finish it.”
Wong is starring in the local drama Shero, airing weekdays at 9pm on Channel 8.
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