Peter Yu says it won’t be awkward bumping into ex-wife Quan Yi Fong

SINGAPORE — Returning to television acting after a 12-year hiatus, Peter Yu believes he will be a better actor now than ever.

Yu will start work later this month on the blockbuster Channel 8 drama Hero, which also stars Shaun Chen, Jesseca Liu and Paige Chua. The role he will take on is similar to his life story: The character is an actor fallen from grace after a divorce.

Yu, who was a familiar face on television screens in the 1990s, was divorced from popular host Quan Yi Fong in 2008, suffered depression and racked up gambling debts. When he became a born-again Christian, he turned his life around, taking up stable employment as a taxi driver. He sees returning to acting as a “mission” that is part of “God’s plan”.

The call from Mediacorp came at a time when “I was lost and I didn’t know what to do — whether I should continue to be a taxi driver or become a pastor,” he said. He believes the confluence of events, including the writing of the character and the decision to cast him, was a spiritual indication. “It seems like God has decided, ‘You had better go back to where you belong’,” he chuckled, adding: “It’s not for the fame and wealth. The work and vision are more important.”

He is excited about his first television drama since 2004, saying: “I think I can do much better than in the past, because I’ve been through life. I know what is right and not right. And this makes me more confident.”

As for whether he will be returning to acting full-time and taking up more TV projects after Hero, he said he has no plans at the moment. “I don’t know what my future will be, but I believe that what I do now will affect my future. So, I will just enjoy it and do it well,” he said. “Of course, it’s open — I will consider anything.”

He asserts that it won’t be awkward if he runs into ex-wife Quan at work. “I will talk to her. I will say hi to her. We are okay,” he said, although he also said, “I think we had better not discuss her because she and I made an agreement not to talk about domestic matters.”

For now, he is looking forward to rediscovering the environment that was once his familiar workplace. “It’s hard to explain the feeling of going back and seeing those places I spent so many years in,” he said. “I’m very happy to see old friends and colleagues. I am coming back a different person.”

Hero premieres on Nov 29, weekdays at 9pm, on Mediacorp TV Channel 8.