My awkward moment: Ben Yeo

SINGAPORE — Bedroom scenes are meant to be steamy, but perhaps not when they involve Ben Yeo. Although that, of course, is a matter of preference.

In the MediaCorp TV Channel 8 drama In The Name Of Love, the actor shares some nights in white satin with Priscelia Chan, who plays his wife; and it was definitely Yeo’s most awkward moment on set. Yeo considers bedroom scenes to be somewhat of a casual acquaintance: While he wouldn’t cross to the other side of the street when he sees them, he wouldn’t offer to buy them a drink at a bar, either.

“I seldom do them. This is only my second,” he said. “The last time, we just hid under the blankets. This was more intimate.”

Admittedly, it would have been a lot more awkward if not for his co-star, Chan.

“We had rehearsals,” Yeo recounted. “At first, I wanted to approach her from the side. She said, ‘No, lah, why like that? That’s not real. Just hop on top of me, lah. In the show, we are husband and wife. Don’t worry. Just go for it.’

“She also asked me, ‘Did you tell your wife about this scene?’ Her husband, Alan (Tern), is an actor, so he understands, but my wife is not, so she was concerned for me. She didn’t want my wife to get jealous. But it’s okay, lah, my wife is quite cool.”

His wife might also have been cool with the fact that in order to prepare for the scene, Yeo hit the gym diligently. “My friends always make fun of me: ‘Eh, your body looks like a teenager’s’. I had been going to the gym for the past six months. Luckily, there was a little bit of result,” he said.

And right before they started filming, he did a lot of push-ups because “I had to take off my clothes”. “That’s why they were laughing at me on set — whenever there was a break, I just did a lot of push-ups.”

Catch In The Name Of Love on weekdays at 9pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 8.