Local viewers of K-drama Spooky in Love might have spotted a familiar face when Singaporean actor Charlie Goh made a surprise cameo on Saturday’s (Aug 15) episode, sharing the screen with South Korean star Ong Seong-wu.
Charlie appears in three scenes in episode nine as Danny Tan, a private investor. He is first seen networking with Kang Min-hwan (played by Seong-wu) at a high-profile business party at a hotel in Resorts World Sentosa, alongside characters played by local actors Regina Lim and Kris Mavericko.
Later in the episode, Tan is on his way to meet hotelier Cheon Yeo-ri (played by Park Eun-bin) at Singapore Oceanarium when an urgent call pulls him away, ultimately leaving to attend a secret meeting with Min-hwan instead.
Charlie, who turns 38 in September, told AsiaOne in a phone interview today that he first heard about the opportunity earlier this year.
A casting director reached out to him in April about a Korean Netflix drama filming in Singapore and asked if he would be keen to audition, he recalled.
“The funny thing was, the audition script had only one line,” he revealed. “There were no other characters. They didn’t send you a script for you to read – there’s no context, nothing.”
For his audition tape, he simply dressed in a suit and recorded that “one line”.
Spooky in Love is a supernatural romantic-comedy that follows hotel heiress Yeo-ri, who gains the ability to see and communicate with ghosts after a traumatic accident. She crosses paths with passionate prosecutor Ma Gang-uk (Yang Se-jong) and they team up to solve cases while navigating schemes and rivalry from Yeo-ri’s aunt.
The drama is a remake of the 2011 film Spellbound starring Son Ye-jin and Lee Min-ki.
Charlie shared that he got the role not long after his audition and was on set filming one of his scenes at Singapore Oceanarium just a week later, on April 19. He said: “It was a very secretive project. Nobody knew.”
He “just showed up” on set and was given only an excerpt of the script containing his character’s lines, and that he met the cast for the first time that day.
“I went there in the morning and my call time was at 4am. I didn’t know what I was filming. I didn’t know who I was supposed to meet,” said Charlie.
AsiaOne reported in April that the Korean actors were spotted in Singapore.
Comparing the scale of the production to local film sets, he described the Korean production as a huge one that was “a lot bigger than Singapore dramas”.
He explained that while Singapore sets usually film with one camera, or at most two, the Korean production team filmed with three, adding that it was quite an eye-opener.
‘Everybody’s surprised’
When asked about the reactions to his cameo, Charlie shared that his wife would eagerly wait for new episode releases every weekend to see if he appeared.
Friends and family would send him screenshots from the drama and tag him.
“Everybody’s very surprised lah to see me on it. Like very, very surprised because it’s a Korean drama, right? Nobody expected to see Singaporean faces.
“I think it’s quite refreshing also, it’s quite funny.”
Charlie, who also works as a real estate agent, shared a humorous encounter he had with a potential buyer over the weekend.
After conducting a house viewing, he had messaged the buyer to ask if he was interested in making an offer, to which the latter declined.
“Four hours later, he sent me a photo of the show with me inside. He said, ‘Is this you, bro?'”
When Charlie confirmed that it was him, the man expressed surprise and replied he was “so cool”, joking that he should have taken a photo with Charlie.
Charlie shared that because he doesn’t really watch Korean dramas, he didn’t know who the cast were except that “they are famous people”.
When he told his wife, whom he said watches a lot of dramas, she recognised their popularity.
“I wish I was more in tune with Korean dramas so when I see these actors, I’ll be really excited, you know? Like a fanboy,” said Charlie.
He admitted that he didn’t know so many people would be watching the show and didn’t expect it to be so popular.
“Now that the show is doing so well, it’s definitely bragging rights,” he added.
“I don’t even know why the director chose me because, to be honest, anybody could have done this role. Anybody.”
Although he said he never would have imagined appearing in a Netflix Korean drama, he is “very grateful” for the opportunity and chalked it up as a good experience.
@rahgohsmiles And they are all speaking english!👀 #spookyinlove #netflix #kdrama #koreandrama #singapore ♬ original sound – Rahgohsmiles☺️
‘My 15-year-old fangirl heart is so happy’
In a TikTok video posted yesterday, a fan named Crystal also shared an encounter she had with Seong-wu in April.
“POV: You ran into THE Ong Seong-wu while he was filming Spooky in Love in Singapore,” the video caption read.
She also shared a selfie she took with him and a photo of his autograph signed on a Post-it note.
“Thank you for being the sweetest. My 15-year-old fangirl heart is so happy,” she captioned the video.
Crystal said she had promised Seong-wu ,who’s also a member of the pop group Wanna One and turns 31 later this month, she would not share the photos until the episode filmed in Singapore had aired to avoid spoilers.
She also recalled seeing Se-jong and Eun-bin in Singapore.
“I was so starstruck and told him ‘Sorry, I’m so nervous’ and kept pressing the wrong buttons on my selfie mode and he just said ‘It’s okay’ and was so nice about it,” she added.
“Seong-wu’s really one of the sweetest, most genuine and respectful actors ever and such a gentleman!”
@cyjjing promised Ong that i wouldn’t share the pics until the episodes in SG aired to avoid spoilers so… here’s my luckiest fangirl moment ever!!! can’t believe i just randomly ran into Ong (and saw Sejong & Eunbin too 🥹) while they were filming Spooky in Love in SG back in April… ♥️ he’s really one of the most sweet, genuine & respectful actors ever & such a gentleman! i was so starstruck and told him “sorry i’m so nervous” and kept pressing the wrong buttons on my selfie mode and he just said “it’s okay” and was so nice about it 🥹🥹🥹 still can’t believe this happened and i really hope they enjoyed their time here ✨🤍 #spookyinlove #kdrama #ongseongwu #오싹한연애 #netflix ♬ Original Sound – Unknown
Cast spotted filming in Singapore
Eun-bin and Se-jong were previously spotted on our shores in April while they were filming the drama.
They were seen at various locations including Lau Pa Sat where they reportedly shot a scene.
Seong-wu was also spotted at Universal Studios Singapore though it was not clear at the time if he was here to film the drama.
Spooky in Love is currently airing on Netflix.
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esther.lam@asiaone.com
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