I never left, says Huang Biren

SINGAPORE – Audiences are eagerly anticipating much-lauded actress Huang Biren’s return to television screens in the coming drama 3 Wishes, in which she plays a wife and mother.

But the 45-year-old is a little surprised by all the excitement.

“To me, I never really left the industry,” she said. “On and off, I appear at the Star Awards and I let MediaCorp handle my outside engagements and advertisements. Maybe, a lot of people haven’t seen me in a drama for a long time, so they think this is a comeback.

“Actually, I never made any deliberate plans for a comeback show, nor have I really thought of this as one.”

Although Huang has been approached for television projects a few times in the past, she did not accept those because the timing or direction “weren’t quite right”. She was offered a role in last year’s blockbuster The Journey: A Voyage, but those plans were derailed when she had to undergo surgery to remove a cyst in one of her kidneys.

However, when 3 Wishes was presented to her, she readily accepted the role even without a script because she had “great trust” in the show’s executive producer, Molby Low.

The timing is now right for her to resume her career, said the mother of three, who left MediaCorp in 2008 over contractual issues, as well as to devote more time to her family.

“My boy is quite independent now — he doesn’t need me to be around to help him in his studies. My girl will be in Primary 1 next year and my little one is four years old. I think I need something more challenging than just teaching ABCs,” Huang said with a smile.

Did she miss acting? “I didn’t have the time to miss acting because I was really busy,” she said. “I did what mothers do: I was the driver, the dietician, I was everything to them.”

But audiences surely missed her. “Whenever people saw me, they would ask, ‘When are you coming back?’ They said they missed me a lot. But at the time, I couldn’t make any promises. If I promise something, I will deliver. But if I can’t deliver, I’d rather not. So I’d say, ‘I’ll see how it goes.’ I won’t say no.”

Now that she’s back, she said it feels like she never left. “I’m still doing something I really like and am confident in. That’s why I don’t feel how you guys feel — maybe that I left and am now staging a comeback.”

She added: “After the health scare I had last year, I think it’s important that I do something I really like.”

THE BIREN EFFECT

Having Huang back in the stable has had an effect on her young co-stars Shane Pow and Julie Tan, who felt the pressure of acting alongside the three-time Best Actress Star Award winner.

“I think it’s because they heard too much about me before they really met me,” Huang said with a laugh. “Maybe, they think because I’m the kind of person who knows my lines very, very well, I’m a very serious person. When I don’t smile, I look very serious.”

But even Huang’s peer Thomas Ong, who plays her husband in 3 Wishes, said he had to push himself to the next level “because her level is very high”.

“Before we started filming, I thought, ‘Since this is her comeback role, I shouldn’t try to steal the scene from her’,” he shared. “That’s not my style anyway, but I wanted every scene of hers to shine so people would sit up and take notice: Biren is back. But putting in a mediocre performance would not have helped because filming is not a one-man show. It surprised me that without my realising it, there was a difference in my performance, too.”

If 3 Wishes is anything to go by, Huang’s formidable acting skills have not diminished an iota — but how is it humanly possible that she still looks so stunning?

“I’m a woman. Women like to be beautiful,” she smiled. “If I see dresses or make-up that I like, I’ll go ahead and buy them. I will not step out of the house feeling sloppy. I think every individual should be like that, even if you’re a homemaker. If you have no time and stay at home all day and your job is just to look after your children, one day, you will lose yourself. You don’t have to put on very thick make-up, but you must at least look presentable.”

Oh, Biren, if we only had your cheekbones, we could say that too.

Catch 3 Wishes from Oct 27, weekdays at 9pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 8.