King Of Mahjong’s best buds Mark Lee and Chapman To

SINGAPORE —The first time Mark Lee met Chapman To, the Singapore funnyman confessed that he felt “so scared” of his Hong Kong counterpart.

“Yeah, because from what I knew about him, he was a professional at vulgar language,” Lee deadpanned. “The first day I met him, he looked so innocent. He was talking to me nicely and wasn’t using any vulgar language. Then I told him, ‘Chapman, just be yourself, be natural’. And now, wow, I regret!”

“I totally feel the same,” To retorted playfully, with a laugh.

The two were in Singapore to continue filming their comedy flick, King Of Mahjong, after shooting scenes in Malaysia. Helmed by Malaysian director Adrian Teh, it revolves around a longtime feud between Ah Fatt (To) and Tian Ba (Lee), the two top disciples of a legendary mahjong guru. Twenty years later, Tian Ba boldly challenges Fatt to the ultimate showdown, revealing a secret mahjong technique. Other cast members include Richard Low, Patricia Mok and Marcus Chin, as well as Hong Kong’s Eric Tsang, Chu Mi Mi and Lo Hoi-pang.

Banter aside, the two have apparently gotten on very well.

“We don’t have the whole ‘this is my turf’ mentality,” said Lee. “Now, we just causally nudge each other about tonight’s dinner plans.”

“It’s usually the B-star celebrities that are full of airs and have that ego about them. But, hey, A-star celebrities like us? We’re the chilled laid back ones!” To quipped.

In fact, the two are now so close, they’re quite privy to each other’s workout schedules — after apparently eating their way through Malaysia.

“It’s honestly all about keeping fat!” said To. “Keeping fit is just so silly. Keeping fat, on the other hand, is incredibly easy.”

He added: “Since coming to Singapore, I haven’t gained a single kg! That’s because I exercise. But the reasons why I exercise now are completely different from why I used to exercise when I was younger. When I was younger, I exercised because I wanted to lose weight. Right now, if I don’t, I won’t be able to keep up with my ‘keep fat’ programme!”

“That’s true, he’s really good at that!” deadpanned Lee. “He usually hits the gym in the wee hours of the morning. Take today, for example. He was at the gym running and doing all sorts of things at 4.30 in the morning!”

“All for the sake of being able to eat good food…” said To, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

King of Mahjong is slated for release in early 2015.