Hong Ling promoted to female lead in ‘Home Truly’
The actress will be romancing Pierre Png and Zhang Zhen Huan in an upcoming Lunar New Year series on Channel 8
Photos: Lee Wei Lin, Channel 8
Video: Sarah Tay
It seems that Zhang Zhen Huan has a lot to cheer about recently – not only did he bring home the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in The Dream Makers 2 at the most recent Star Awards, he’s set to headline not one, but two dramas slated to air in 2017.
Speaking to Toggle at the Home Truly imaging session a day after returning from Malaysia, where he was filming upcoming Channel 8 drama Legal Eagles for over three months, the 31-year-old insisted, “I don’t think I’m doing exceedingly well in my career recently; I still have a lot to learn (…) but of course, my next goal will be receiving the Best Actor award.”
While things may be going swimmingly for the actor in his career, his love life has yet to take off. “I haven’t met the right person yet. My parents have also started to ask me about when I’ll get married,” he chuckled. “I think I’m at the age where I can get married in a really short period of time. From the day I meet the girl to the day we walk down the aisle… I think two to three months is enough for that. That is, of course, if she’s willing to take the plunge.”
In a separate phone interview, Hong Ling, who will take on her first leading role, confessed, “I was shocked when my manager told me about it and I asked her if she was for real. I’ve never even dreamed that I would be able to be the female lead (in a drama) that soon. I gave myself five years to get my first leading role, but it’s only been two years since I debuted.” Adding that she wanted to get her role of a Thai-Chinese right, she shared, “I went back to my mom’s village in Thailand and looked through photos and videos of my mom to get a better understanding of how Thai-Chinese react to certain things.”
Hong Ling promoted to female lead in ‘Going Home’
In Home Truly, Hong Ling’s character Chen Ruozhi will be trapped in a love triangle with Su Dong Bo (Zhang Zhen Huan) and Hong Jian Feng (Pierre Png), who are nine and 21 years older than her respectively. When asked about romancing the pair, who have a significant age gap with her, she chuckled, “They really don’t look that much older than me; they’re the more mature type, which I think is alright.”
The 21-year-old expressed her preference for older men in real life, with the biggest age gap she’s open to being 15 years. Her first boyfriend was two years older than her but broke up due to personality differences. After which, she was in an ambiguous relationship with a man nine years older than her but “didn’t end up together because of fate”.
The rising star has had her fair share of criticism, with the most recent round of nasty comments being directed at her after she had a bedroom scene with Ian Fang in The Dream Job. “I’ve read the comments and I’ll definitely reflect on those that talk about my acting and improve myself from there. As for comments that criticise my looks or tell me to ‘not touch my Ian’, I’ve stopped taking them to heart,” she mused.
Hong Ling added that she “will not avoid doing steamy scenes in future” and will instead work on improving her acting with every project she takes on. That might be all the romancing she’ll get to do in the short term, with the actress shutting down all rumours of her dating fellow star Nick Teo, laughing that it would be “too awkward if we dated. Plus, we’re focusing on our work now, so we don’t have time to think of relationships just yet.”
We speak to the rest of the Home Truly cast about their lifestyle habits at home. Read on for more!
Home Truly debuts January 10, 9pm on Channel 8.
Zhang Zhen Huan
The first thing I do when I go home is to…
Remove my makeup! I get pimples from time to time so I pay more attention to my skin. I’d remove my makeup and apply skincare before I think of doing anything else.
What I dislike seeing the most when I get home is…
Unpacked boxes. They take really long to unpack so I used a cloth to cover the boxes I have at home – not only does it collect less dust, I can’t see the boxes any longer, which makes my mood better.
Pierre Png
The first thing I do when I go home is to…
Crack open a bottle of beer and just relax before having a shower.
What I dislike seeing the most when I get home is…
My house in a mess, or if dirty things have been strewn all over the place.
Rayson Tan
The first thing I do when I go home is to…
When I return to Singapore, which is my home, I’ll eat what I like best – laksa, with lots of cockles.
What I dislike seeing the most when I get home is…
Rather than seeing, I tend to get overwhelmed with requests to fix this and that when I get back from abroad. Changing lightbulbs, fixing leaking taps and more – I told them that I need time to relax before they can tell me about all the things I need to do!
Priscelia Chan
The first thing I do when I go home is to…
Touch my cat (Twinkle). She’ll be at my door meowing at me and she’ll keep insisting that I have to acknowledge her presence before I can do anything else.
What I dislike seeing the most when I get home is…
A mountain of my husband’s smelly clothes and socks after he comes back from soccer. I’d lovingly remind him, “Hubby, mushrooms are about to sprout from your socks so please do something about them soon!”
Priscelia getting all dolled up for the wedding shoot
Priscelia and Rayson will play a couple for the third time
Zhen Huan couldn't resist giving the wedding shot a try...
... Which resulted in Rayson bursting into laughter while Zhen Huan maintained a composed expression
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📍Blk 305 Ubi Ave 1,
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