How the cast of C.L.I.F. 3 suffered for their art

SINGAPORE — Now in its third season, the focus of the highly successful series shifts to the Police Intelligence Department and the Traffic Police. And since cop shows are always full of action, thrills and spills, the cast of MediaCorp TV Channel 8’s drama C.L.I.F. 3 — which includes Li Nanxing, Rui En, Joanne Peh, Qi Yuwu, Terence Cao, Cavin Soh, Pierre Png, Tracy Lee and Elvin Ng — went through a lot to get that perfect take.

Lee, who plays a police officer, had to take on her scenes while recovering from an injury. “A while ago, I fell off a bike and fractured two ribs. So when filming, it was a little difficult because there were fight scenes,” she said. “During a fight scene with Pierre, he yanked my arm and there was a really loud cracking sound from my bones. It hurt so much I couldn’t even raise my arms. But I’m good with pain, so I didn’t go to the hospital for an X-ray until about 10 days later. It turned out that my fractures hadn’t had the chance to heal fully.”

Ng’s hardships were less grave — he just had to endure an olfactory assault every time he put on his Traffic Police uniform. “The uniform is like a superhero outfit — it’s really thick,” he quipped. “It has a lot of padding and it’s really hot. The boots are so heavy, and so is the helmet. When I removed the helmet, it’d be dripping with sweat. And if I sat down, there would be a puddle of water (under me). It was quite smelly!”

Soh, who reprises his role as a police officer, had hygiene issues to deal with. “We filmed a scene at a fresh meat and seafood processing facility in which I was shot and had to crawl on my belly,” he recounted. “I was so worried when I got home from filming, because my son was having a fever and my daughter was only a few months old, that I didn’t even say ‘hi’ when I got in the door — I just charged straight into the bathroom and showered three times.”

And Hong Hui Fang, who plays a lawbreaker, earned herself two bruised knees. “There was a scene in which I had to fall on my knees and beg to be let off,” she said. “I forgot that we were doing that scene that day so I wore tight pants and there was no room to stuff the padding in. It’s tough on old knees! I’m just worried that one day I’ll be too old to run — how am I going to act then?”

Who knew acting was so painfully physical?

Catch C.L.I.F. 3 starting on April 9 at 9pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 8.