In his upcoming drama Last But Not Least, local actor Tyler Ten plays teacher Su Boming in charge of Class 501, notoriously unruly with troubled students.
In a recent interview with AsiaOne, the 29-year-old told us that the stories in the show are “similar” to his secondary school life.
“In the past, I was bullied and teased; that’s how I got into gym,” shared Tyler, who’s known for his 1.9m-tall height and muscular build.
In the drama, Boming is a former athlete who goes through a series of hardships: his vision impaired by a brain tumour, his father dying and family inheritance being seized.
He gives up on himself and ends up homeless until a former colleague’s encouragement rekindles his will to live. He accepts a posting at Zide Secondary School and is assigned to Class 501.
When asked about how he was like in secondary school, Tyler said he was “pretty rebellious” back then.
“I did a lot of… I can’t say it because it was really bad,” he said sheepishly.
“To be honest, I was quite nerdy back then so I hung out with the wrong bunch of friends, hoping to make myself stand out more.”
Though he did well academically in the Express stream, his attitude wasn’t quite there yet – he recalled making fun of his Chinese teacher until “she couldn’t take it anymore” and switched him to another class.
A significant memory for him was being punished with private caning in school. He declined to reveal why he was punished, adding: “I think as a kid, you have to really go through all this to learn from it, because if you don’t take the hard way, you wouldn’t appreciate and learn from your mistakes. I think that’s how you grow as a person.”
In every point in life, we need a figure in our life to bring us back to a good path, he said.
For Tyler, it might be his ex-form teacher Ms Sam, whom he’s still in contact with.
“She shaped me into who I am today. She was very patient with me. I think my class was the first one she taught as a form teacher,” he shared.
“She still gives me encouragement and sends messages to me that she’s proud of me. She still remembers me and I really appreciate that.”
Felt ‘shy’ during intimate scene with Tasha Low
Last But Not Least is Tyler’s third collaboration with local actress Tasha Low. They previously starred as lovers in the dramas Hope Afloat (2024) and Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story (2025).
In this drama, Tasha, 32, plays fellow teacher Song Dongxi. Initially dismissive of Boming, she eventually becomes moved by his sincerity and a quiet affection blossoms between the two.
Tyler said their chemistry is “impeccable”: “Third time’s the charm… To be honest, if I act as a couple with someone else that I don’t know, I will have a lot of questions and worries, ‘Am I doing this right? Do I have to communicate with the person?’
“But with Tasha, I just feel very comfortable. It’s just that unspoken trust.”
Regarding a memorable moment they had behind the scenes, Tyler laughed as he recounted their intimate scene where he had to be topless.
“I was quite shy during the scene,” he remarked, recalling how Tasha kept laughing. “I don’t know if she was happy or shy.”
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His hopes for his 30s
Formerly signed to a modeling agency, Tyler had his breakthrough in Mediacorp’s Star Search 2019 where he was among the top 12 finalists. He was cast in his first drama All Around You in the same year.
Last year, he won Best Rising Actor at the annual Star Awards.
Has he had moments where he felt like giving up?
“I would say maybe the first few years of joining the industry, because I felt stagnant and I didn’t know what to do to help myself to advance forward,” he said.
“What helped me, I would say, is the encouragement from my friends and supporters. They didn’t give up on me.”
He attributes his success to his desire to give back to his supporters and make them proud.
“Every Star Awards I go, they (his fans) will always put in 100 per cent in voting for me… Last year, I managed to go on stage and thank them so I think it was a pretty good year for us,” he said.
With his 30th birthday coming up in March, Tyler hopes he’ll grow into a “more matured” person and achieve greater things, such as going on global stages.
“I also hope to own a house soon,” he smiled.
Formerly known as Lost and Found, Last But Not Least will be available on demand for free on Mewatch from Feb 2 and premieres on Channel 8 on Feb 6.
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