Local actor Noah Yap plays an inmate-turned-counsellor in the new English drama Yes Captain! and the series struck a chord in him because of a personal experience 10 years ago.
The 65-episode serial follows three fresh graduates, Kheng (played by Clement Yeo), Sani (Zhin Sadali) and Charlize (Tasha Low), who join the Singapore Prison Service (SPS), each driven by different goals.
Noah, who debuted in showbiz with the 2012 hit local film Ah Boys To Men, spoke to AsiaOne about his role as Russell in an interview at the SPS headquarters on Aug 5.
“He’s a volunteer counsellor and also a reformed inmate who goes back to SPS to give counselling to other inmates,” shared the 33-year-old before recalling a time when he needed professional mental health support himself.
In 2016, Noah was sentenced to nine months in Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) detention barracks, the army’s equivalent of prison, for consuming cannabis during his National Service.
He told AsiaOne he also had to go through counselling sessions.
“I still keep in contact with my counsellor from back then. Once a year, we’ll go out for a meal. He’ll check up on me and he’s always very nice to me. I think it was also because of him that I managed to get out of that mental hellhole,” he said.
“That’s why this show really hits home for me because [Russell] comes back but not as an inmate.”
His counselling sessions from back then helped in shaping his role as Russell, he said.
“I tried to embody what he (his counsellor) did, how he spoke to me during that time, and how he would speak to the other inmates… How I crafted my character really came from a place of realness – how the real people actually do it,” he explained.
Memorable moment on set
After all the serious talk, the funnier side of Noah came through as he recalled a memorable day on set.
Russell has a tattoo on the left side of his neck, which Noah needed to reapply weekly.
He animatedly explained how he went about one filming day as usual — getting makeup and hair done, rehearsing his lines and shooting the scenes.
While having lunch, it dawned on him that he forgot something very important.
“I heard someone say ‘tattoo’, and I suddenly [remembered], ‘Shit, I forgot to put on the tattoo!'” he recounted with a devastated look.
Five scenes had already been shot, mostly with 32-year-old Tasha.
Noah told us: “From that day onwards, whenever Tasha sees me, she’ll say, ‘You got put tattoo today?’ Even till now, you know?”
‘Eye-opening show for Singaporeans’
Going back to the programme, Noah said filming went on from December 2025 to May this year, and he had scenes filmed inside the prison itself.
We asked him how that was like.
“The vibe in there is very depressing… Even though we were there to film, it didn’t feel good,” he said.
While he couldn’t reveal spoilers, a story in the drama that touched him is related to inmates who were involved in gangs.
“This drama shows how they are like inside [the prison] and how they get out of the gang. I think that is something people can look forward to,” he said.
He feels the series “humanises” both the prison officers and inmates. “At the end of the day, we are all human beings… I think we all just need to show a bit more empathy and compassion to everyone.”
Yes Captain! premieres on Aug 9 at 8.30pm on Channel 5, following the National Day Parade broadcast.
Thereafter, it will be available on Mewatch every Monday from Aug 17, and telecast Mondays to Thursdays at 8.30pm on Channel 5.
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