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Ann Kok’s fun factor

You’ve got to hand it to Ann Kok.

You’ve got to hand it to Ann Kok.

She has been taking on more “domesticated” roles like the downtrodden wife and mother in the Channel 8 TV drama Soup Of Life — and she also plays a mother in the upcoming drama In The Name Of Love — but honestly, we know preteens who are more mumsy than Kok is in real life.

That eternally girlish vibe is thanks to always having a fresh face, a teenybopper obsession with Korean pop culture and a single-and-available status. So can you blame her for looking for acting opportunities beyond “mummy roles”?

“There are limitations to mummy roles,” she explained. “It’s not like a love story where you have a love interest and there are a lot of things you can develop. Mummy roles are just: Husband, kid, maid, divorce, or not. To me, it’s quite boring.”

And she’s all for being an independent woman, if only because of the Chinese tradition of giving red packets every Chinese New Year, she joked. “My parents gave me a hongbao, and my niece, who is 13 or 14, was watching. I joked with her and said, ‘Do you know why I don’t want to get married? Because I can still get hongbaos!’ When you’re married you have to give hongbaos and there are so many things to do!”

 

Q: You turned 41 last month: What’s your biggest lesson from last year?

A: I only got to do a movie last year (Filial Party, slated for release later this year), so I think: It’s never too late to do something. I believe that if you have a dream, and you’ve always wanted it to come true — and of course it’s not a dream that cannot be achieved, like if you say ‘I want to have a star or the moon’ — if you have a more realistic dream — I think you should just hold on to the dream and try to make it come true, no matter how old you are. I’m already 41, so people might think, ‘You’ve been in this business for 20 years and you’re only doing your first movie now, while people who have been around for only a few years already have movies?’ It’s never too late for anything. I think things will come at the right time. It might come late for you, but it could still happen.

 

Q: And what was your birthday wish?

A: I only hope to be cast in another movie!

 

Q: What sort of movie would you like to do?

A: A love story with a twist.

 

Q: Who would you like as your leading man?

A: Oh, no! Can I ask for Tony Leung? He’s not like, sexy, physically, but I think the charm he has — sometimes, he can make you feel that he’s sexy.

 

Q: Maybe a Korean movie?

A: Haha, I’m not thinking about that. That’s too far away. Not now. Not yet!

 

Q: We can’t help asking the question you must get all the time: How do you keep looking so good?

A: Look at my face. My gosh. My dark eye circles. When I tell people (I’m 41), they’re like, ‘Huh? Really?’ Then, after that, they accept the truth. Because it’s true!

 

Q: Because of your mature personality, right?

A: I’m quite childish, actually. (Laughs) I like cute things, like (brandishes her phone case). It’s a Korean cartoon character — I don’t know what it’s called, but my friend said it looks like Vivian, my character in It Takes Two. I think maybe because I’m the baby of the family — I’m the youngest (of six) — and since I was a baby, my brothers and sisters have pampered me. I was a crybaby — I mean, I heard that I was a crybaby!

 

Q: Are you still emo now?

A: I cannot handle people with mood swings, so I don’t think I’m emo! Of course, there are times when I’m down, but I won’t let myself be unhappy for too long, because, really, life is short. It’s better to be happy, actually. And when you’re happy you look younger, too! (Laughs)

 

Q: What’s your idea of a fun time?

A: Playing Jenga with friends. We have rules like, “You cannot say ‘you’, ‘I’ or swear. It’s very difficult for the guys not to swear. It’s really fun with the right gang. Our jenga is more ‘adult’, with shots and all that. I’m not really a party girl — I just enjoy having fun with my friends. Sometimes we don’t even have to go to a club — we just go to a bistro and have a drink or two. To me, it’s the company that counts.

 

Q: What kind of soup best describes your life?

A: Mixed vegetable soup! Or maybe seafood soup. As long as the soup has a lot mixed in, not just one ingredient. Because my life is interesting, colourful and has many things in it. And when you put a lot of things in it — the right things — the soup will be very tasty!

 

Catch Soup Of Life on weekdays at 9pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 8.

 

 

 

CREDITS

Photos: Jason Ho

Hair: Nigel Woo, Passion Hair Salon

Makeup: Sam Ong (96832421)

Outfit: Top, S$49.90, Denizen; cuff, S$13.90, New Look; ring, price unavailable, New Look

Stockists: Denizen - #02-27, Bugis+; New Look - #02-25/26, Bugis+

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