A tinge of regret descended on Christopher Lee when he talked about his relationship with his young son.
The local actor is mostly based in Taiwan these days and whenever he returns to Singapore, he said Zed would take some time to warm up to him.
Appearing as the latest guest on fellow actor Jeanette Aw’s YouTube talk show JA Unscripted on Sunday (Aug 2), the 55-year-old shared that he always scheduled to return home during Zed’s school holidays.
“My son is 11 years old now. I’ve already missed a lot of his [growing up], he said. “From when he was around seven to eight years old till now, where he’s about to enter his teenage years, I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot.
“This includes the changes in the way he speaks, he’s starting to get pimples or the friends he’s making now. Whenever I returned to Singapore, I felt like, ‘Wow, this person has suddenly changed.'”
Despite that, he said they would communicate every day through video calls.
Christopher added that this way, he could still notice Zed’s changes.
“But whenever I come back [to Singapore], he’ll definitely need time to warm back up to me,” he said.
Zed is more afraid of Christopher than Fann
Christopher also recounted the time he and his actress wife Fann Wong discussed about who would be the “good cop” and “bad cop” parent to Zed.
He shared that just before he returned to Taiwan six months after Zed was born in 2014, he told Fann he would handle their son’s discipline.
However, he said: “After I came back to Singapore six months later, I didn’t dare to be the strict one anymore. He wasn’t close to me at all.
“I immediately told her, ‘I don’t want, I don’t want.’ Both of us will be the ‘good cop’ and only play the ‘bad cop’ when it’s necessary.”
Christopher also believes Zed is more afraid of him as compared to Fann. He used to speak to his son firmly if he saw something wasn’t right, but nowadays, he prefers to discuss them with him.
“I want my relationship with my son to feel more like a friendship,” he added.
Jeanette also was curious if Christopher would support Zed if the latter expressed interest in entering showbiz one day.
He responded: “My wife and I don’t really hope he’ll enter this industry. But at the end of the day, if that’s what he truly wants, we can’t really stop him, because he came from us.
“If he has interest in this and I don’t let him pursue it, I will feel really guilty.”
However, he believes Zed wouldn’t enter showbiz based on his current state.
“He thinks everything on television is fake.”
Zed’s interests in nature and marine biology remain strong, and he told his dad recently that his ambition of becoming a marine biologist remained.
‘Everyone’s creative process is unique’
While discussing acting, Jeanette said she felt Christopher was very willing to share his experience and his thoughts.
But he chimed in: “I never try to push my opinions on anyone. If I see someone who’s open to a conversation, willing to share or open to hearing another perspective, then I’ll share what I think.
“I’ll tell them they can listen to everyone’s thoughts and opinions or choose not to, because it’s just a discussion and everyone is different.”
Jeanette also pushed him on whether he likes teaching new actors.
“I don’t like doing that, unless I’m there in the role of a teacher,” he said.
As for whether he had thought about formally becoming an acting coach, Christopher pointed out he wasn’t formally trained as an actor and therefore not familiar with proper methods.
He added: “When I’m acting with newcomers, I don’t give them too much advice. I just say, ‘Play your role the way you think it should be played.’ If I see that they’re struggling, then I’ll point them in the right direction and tell them they might want to approach a part in a certain manner.
“But I don’t interfere with how they perform because everyone’s creative process is unique.”
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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com
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