Christopher Lee’s Ankle Injury That Made Him Miss The Golden Bell Awards In Taiwan Is An Old Injury From "20-Plus Years Ago"

As you may have heard by now, Christopher Lee, 51, was named Best Supporting Actor at the 57th Golden Bell Awards last weekend (Oct 22).

Chris, however, wasn’t able to attend the ceremony in person as he had injured his ankle before he was to depart for Taiwan.

This marked the second year in a row where Chris was not able to recieve his award in person.

Last year, he won Best Actor but could only give his acceptance speech virtually from his hotel room in MBS where he was having a staycation with his family.So does Chris think that not attending the awards actually brings him luck? "It's just a coincidence lah," laughed Chris when 8days.sg caught up with him.

“It’s not that my luck is better when I don’t attend, it really just happened to be a coincidence,” he insisted.

But will he think twice about attending the ceremony in the future if he is nominated again?

“When I got the award for Best Actor last year, I actually really wanted to be there, but during that time, [I had to be] quarantined, and I didn’t have much time to spare, so I had no choice but to [sit it out],” Chris said.

8DAYS.SG: Your wife, Fann Wong, said you should have attended the ceremony with your crutches. Is there part of you that regrets not doing that?

CHRIS: That’s a joke lah (chuckles). After the results were announced that night, we were joking around and saying “Aiyah, should have just gone”.

But there was really no way [that I could be there] as my foot was in so much pain that I couldn’t walk. It was when I really couldn’t take the pain that I went to the doctor to get a jab. After getting the jab, it got better really quick and it healed by 50 per cent. I joked that if I knew [that I was going to receive the award] earlier, I would’ve gotten the jab sooner. (Laughs)

What did your son, Zed, say to you after he found out you won?

We were eating when the results were announced and everyone started celebrating and shouting. He got a shock and was like “Eh, what happened?”. I then told him it was because I got an award.

When we wanted to take a [family] photo, he was also very glad to do so and he was happy for me. He also congratulated me. Everyone was very happy that night, him included.

Any plans to go Taiwan after you recover to celebrate with your team there?

I currently have no plans to go to Taiwan, at least until January next year. I’m done with filming overseas for now and I’m back in Singapore for good this year. Also, we’re nearing the end of the year and my son is about to have his school holidays soon, so I plan to bring him on an overseas trip.

On the night of the ceremony, I spoke to the director, actors and crew [of Danger Zone] via video call and we also had a small celebration that way.

You mentioned that your foot was inflamed due to an old sprain. Did you expect it to get so bad when it first started swelling?

I actually had the same injury on my foot some time ago, so I’m familiar with it. Just that it happened again and it’s more serious this time. During the week of the Golden Bell Awards, on Monday or Tuesday, my leg started swelling and it did not subside until Thursday, and by then I completely couldn’t walk.

I knew it was an old injury 'cos every time after I do exercises which are too strenuous, my ankle will act up. So on Tuesday I already knew what was happening. I thought it might go away — in the past, my foot would recover within two days — but it only got worse and it was so painful I couldn’t fall asleep. So that was when I knew there was no chance I would be able to attend.

Are you planning to get your foot treated so the swelling won’t happen again?

I actually injured my ankle 20 plus years ago, and it was a very bad sprain. I’m not sure why it’s still acting up after fully recovering. I think it might also be because I’m getting older so the injury still flares up from time to time.

I don’t think there is any treatment for it. I can only be more careful and pay more attention to it lor.

You have won many awards throughout your career; Asian TV Awards, Golden Bell and Star Awards. Which of these would you say is this most meaningful to you?

I think every award that I’ve gotten is extremely meaningful. They are all very memorable, no matter where I received it, which country I got it in or what award I received. I’m happy [to have gotten them] and it’s gives me plenty of encouragement.

I think awards cannot be differentiated by how “big” or “small” they are. As long as I get it, it is meaningful. These awards are a reflection of [my] hard work and [my] presentation of myself, so every one means a lot to me.

What projects do you have next?

I have two projects airing soon, one is a movie for the series (which he also starred in, in 2020) Workers (做工的人), and the other is a TV series, Ba Chi Men De Bian Hu Ren (八尺门的辩护人). There’s also another upcoming show called Q18, but I’m not sure when it is slated to air, I’ll have to wait for the production team to announce it, but it should be soon!

Photos: Christopher Lee/ Instagram

Catch Chris hosting celeb guests with home-cooked meals in variety show Dishing With Chris Lee on meWATCH, or watch an episode below.