Ben Yeo on what it’s like to have Jesseca Liu mooning over him

SINGAPORE — The affable Ben Yeo has made a name for himself hosting upbeat variety shows, thanks in part to his keen sense of comic timing.

However, when it comes to acting; that usually means he gets cast in light-hearted, beta-male roles. But in Hand In Hand, he gains a step up for funny guys–by romancing screen goddess Jesseca Liu.

In the drama, which also stars Bryan Wong, Aloysius Pang, Seraph Sun, Sora Ma and Zheng Geping, Yeo plays a hoodlum with the good fortune of being the object of Liu’s affections.

“She is really in love with me, and I don’t realise until later that I actually really like her,” Yeo explained. “It felt great! I think there are a lot of guys who are madly in love with her!”

He added: “I always wanted to act with her. First of all, people call her a goddess. She’s very pretty and has a good figure.”

After working with Liu, Yeo said, he liked her even more for her personality. “She’s a very chill and simple girl.”

But more than bragging rights in the girl department (he has not one, but two, girls mooning over him in the show — there’s also Sora Ma), Yeo, who has played supporting roles in several dramas, said the on-screen romance marks a first for his dramatic career.

“I seldom have roles like this, where I really have a relationship with a female actress, so this is considered a first. Before, it was all funny stuff – not very serious,” he said.

“People never think I can do serious stuff. Even in this show, actually, I am quite funny, but when it comes to the serious parts, we are pretty serious. I like that,” he said.

“My previous work was more superficial. I could feel more depth in this,” he added. “Even while I was driving home from work, I would think back on my scenes, how to make them better, what I did well or what I did badly.”

Because of that, Yeo said he has started to love doing drama. “Before, I didn’t really enjoy it, especially when it came to the working hours. But now, it’s very satisfying to feel that you’ve made a role happen.”

Ben Yeo as the next Serious Actor? We’re all for it — as long as we still get to see him goof off in variety shows, okay?

Catch Hand In Hand starting Sep 25, weekdays at 9pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 8.