Romeo Tan’s childhood was spent in a bustling neighbourhood in the east side of Singapore with friendly and caring neighbours.
The 41-year-old local actor recounted in an interview with AsiaOne recently: “Back then, every household had kampung spirit. During Hari Raya, we would receive kueh from our neighbours and we would give them love letters (crispy coconut biscuit rolls) during Chinese New Year.
“Whenever any household is travelling, we would help each other water their plants. These were the little gestures that we did to look out for each other.”
He would also play block catching with a group of children living in the same neighbourhood.
“Sometimes after school, we would go to the opposite HDB block to play a round of police and thief. It’s a very fun and simple game. It didn’t cost any money and we would all have a good time,” he shared.
Despite the good memories with his neighbours, Romeo also regretted certain things he did unknowingly as a child, where he only understood the consequences more than a decade later.
He told us: “It was really an ignorant action. I hurt my neighbour’s daughter, I burnt her arm with an iron, and she has a scar from it.
“It was only when I was in my twenties that I learnt about it while we were chatting. There wasn’t any animosity during the conversation because it was bygones, and she was already married with children.
“However, when I first heard about this, I was shocked… I felt really bad and apologetic about it, but she told me it was okay as we were all young then and memories [of the incident] were hazy.”
Romeo added he also apologised to the woman’s mum.
Nostalgia while filming scenes from 1996
Romeo recounted these memories to us while promoting his new drama Brighter Days, in which he plays two characters, father Lee Chong Seng and son Yiwei.
Chong Seng is a HDB frontline officer in the 1990s affectionately known as a housing caretaker by residents for his dedication to help them solve problems.
After an incident, his younger son Jiewei goes missing and his wife Lee Keow (Mei Xin), never recovers from her grief. Eventually, they move away from the estate and Yiwei loses contact with his neighbourhood friends.
Three decades later, Yiwei follows in his father’s footsteps as a housing caretaker and channels kampung spirit to build a close-knit community. His eagerness to help others fills the emotional void and guilt he feels for not being able to protect Jiewei.
He also reconnects with childhood friends Fang Ying (Felicia Chin), now a renovation contractor, as well as Daping (James Seah). As Yiwei and Fang Ying grow closer, Daping is consumed with jealousy and schemes to sow discord between them.
Later, Yiwei finds out that his mum is secretly meeting Jiewei (Jeffrey Xu), with the latter holding resentment towards him. Yiwei also discovers that an act of ignorance during his childhood caused the hardships that shaped Fang Ying’s life.
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Romeo vividly recounted filming the drama’s opening scene, which is set in a kopitiam in 1996, where everyone gathered to watch a Tiger Cup football match together on a small communal television set.
He shared: “I had goosebumps [while filming the scene], because the people crowding around tables with their kopi, watching from a small television set and cheering together when a goal is scored is a good image — I quite like it.
“It reminded me of how it was like during my childhood where I could hear the whole neighbourhood shouting when there was a goal. The sense of community was very strong.”
Inspired by own father to play Chong Seng
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To flesh out Chong Seng and Yiwei, Romeo made deliberate efforts in discussing Chong Seng’s costume and lines with the stylist and director, so that both characters could be differentiated.
He added that he drew inspiration from his own father.
“Chong Seng has a big tummy, wears spectacles and has a centre-parting in his hair. He also wears checkered shirts with a big wallet and an orange comb.
“That image actually came from my dad. He also likes wearing a checkered shirt and has a thick wallet filled with name cards and other cards. He also has an orange comb which he uses to comb his hair.”
Romeo and the director also came up with a few catchphrases that Chong Seng would say, including “Let me tell you” and “You listen to me”, to fit his character as someone who is long-winded but has the residents’ best interests.
Getting dressed to play Chong Seng generally took him half an hour more each day, as he would have to put on a prosthetic belly and wig.
“Sometimes during mealtimes, I would go to the nearby kopitiam to eat while still wearing the belly because it was quite troublesome to remove it. It was quite funny to see a few people looking at me, then at my stomach. I think they could be thinking if I put on weight,” he laughed.
Brighter Days is now available on demand for free on Mewatch and airs weekdays on Channel 8 at 9pm.
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