What you didn’t see in K.O.

SINGAPORE — Toggle Original series K.O. (short for ‘Knock-Out’) has come to the end of its eight-episode run, after following the journey of Latte (Andie Chen) and Kit’s (Venus Wong) climb to the top of the MMA circuit.

The show, which also stars Chen Tian Wen as Kit’s father, Lee, and Kimberly Wang as Kit’s best friend-turned-love-rival, Ally, is an inspirational tale of triumph over adversity and how a seemingly weak girl manages to muster courage to fight for the people important to her.

Helmed by Boris Boo, whose film/drama credits include Lucky Boy and The Recruit Diaries, the director explained that he cast Hong Kong actress Wong in the lead role because of her athleticism and personality, which fit the character to a tee.

While the drama was filled with tension and action, the mood on-set was relaxed and filled with laughter as the cast and crew poked fun at themselves and each other. Here are some things you might not know about that went down behind the scenes.

Wang is the polar opposite of Ally

“I think my character was made just for comic relief!” Wang said of her reel-life self, Ally. Indeed, Wang’s character brought much joy onto the set, with the cast and crew bursting out into laughter at in-between takes (and sometimes even during a take) because of her over-the-top obsession with Latte.

On Ally’s go-getter attitude towards pursuing her prince, the 987FM deejay said with a chuckle: “I’m the polar opposite of her when it comes to relationships; I’m more shy and introverted and I won’t confess to the guy that I like. I’d probably be forever alone if guys don’t take the initiative!”

She also let on that boyfriend and fellow actor Shane Pow was the first to ‘fess up on his feelings towards her, adding that taking on the role of Ally was perhaps the only time in her life she would get to experience what it is like being someone with her personality. Wang also confessed that while she loved playing her chirpy character, but the amount of energy required for the role would sometimes leave her drained at the end of the day.

Food and Pokemon Go ruled their worlds

While Chen, Wong and Wang were trapped in a love triangle in reel-life, the trio was nothing short of friendly during the course of filming, with the three actors discussing everything under the sun. Their focus, however, was on food and Pokemon Go. The most frequently phrases heard bandied about were: “Did you catch anything good around the area today?” and “I really feel like eating (insert food name here) today.” In fact, Wong joked that Chen seemed more like “a boy at heart” with his obsession over Pokemon Go than a father-of-two.

Chen Tian Wen’s professionalism knows no bounds

Chen might be 53, but he definitely shows no signs of slowing down. In taking on his first action-based role in a long time, he strived hard to ensure that his scenes looked as convincing as possible despite the long filming hours and grueling scenes. He also had to conquer his fear of heights in the show. “I never used to be afraid of heights when I was younger, but now that the years have gone by, I think I’m starting to be afraid of heights!” he said with a chuckle. After walking down from a filming site that was on a rooftop, the first words he declared were: “That was scary!” Chen also grew closer to Wong during filming, with the pair sharing that they feel an inexplicable father-daughter bond after spending time together. “We only got to know each other because of (K.O.) but we filmed a scene where I was imparting some life lessons to her. That’s where we got to really feel like a father-daughter pair, and working together was really heartwarming,” Chen said. LEE WEI LIN/TOGGLE