Why the sight of his own face irritates Romeo Tan

SINGAPORE — The sight of his face irritates Romeo Tan.

Watching himself as the villainous Zhang Yan in The Journey: Tumultuous Times, Tan said his appearance gave him a sense of revulsion.

“His look is really irritating,” said Tan. “That side parting ... he’s very neat, he wears glasses, he looks very decent — but inside ... there are a lot of bad things going on.”

Even his Tumultuous Times co-star Jeanette Aw confessed to feeling disturbed by Tan’s gaze while filming their scenes together. “He really has a bad-guy face,” she laughed.

But Tan said it’s a good thing when your face turns you off. “I think the image is quite successful,” he said. “It really brings out the (character’s) irritating side.”

He added: “I’m prepared to receive a lot of comments from the audience. But I think it’s a good thing if I receive a lot of criticism because the thing about being an actor is that, if you can act (such that) people really hate you, you are halfway to success. At least, you’ve proven something and that’s why they are irritated by you. (At least), I hope it’s because of the character and not because of my dialogue or expression!”

What does Tan think are his irritating traits? “When I say something, I don’t really process it, especially when I’m with my friends and I’m comfortable,” he said. “In the past, I offended Rui En by joking, ‘What era are you in (since you don’t use) Instagram?’ She was like, ‘Era? You mean I’m that old?’ She was offended but not angry.”

Catch The Journey: Tumultuous Times on weekdays at 9pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 8.