In the new normal, visiting the set of upcoming Mediacorp drama My Star Bride feels a little something like visiting a mall. The very first thing 8days.sg did upon entering the semi-detached house the crew was filming at earlier this week? Scan the SafeEntry QR code that was created just for this particular location ‘cos well, COVID-19.

The next thing we noticed was a little more sweet. Xu Bin and Chantalle Ng are busy shooting a short promo video for the drama’s premiere next January, while Chantalle's mum Lin Meijiao, who also stars in the drama, busies herself filming the whole thing on her phone. Aww…

But when the director yells cut, Meijiao suddenly takes a dig at Chantalle: “Aiyoh, you guys have been filming for two months, how is it that you all still don’t have any chemistry?”.

Ouch.

And so Xu Bin and Chantalle do a couple more takes, this time with a whole lot more chemistry.

Meijiao and Chantalle's relationship in real life can't be any more different than that of the characters they play in My Star Bride. Chantalle stars as Fangcao, a diligent and caring Vietnamese girl who's in Singapore as a “bride”. Meijiao, on the other hand, plays her super strict and disapproving mother-in-law, who basically has it out for Fangcao.

“It’s hard for me ‘cos I have to play two roles. In real life, [Chantalle’s] my daughter, but when we reach the set, I have to extricate myself, and transform into a mother-in-law who really hates her,” shares Meijiao when 8days.sg met her and Chantalle in between takes.

Anyway, we’re all here for the hot goss, right? So let’s dive straight into our interview where we speak to mother and daughter about childhood crushes and working with family.

8 DAYS: Chantalle, you've been acting for a couple of years now, so does Meijiao advise you on your new roles or do you guys have more of a “we don’t discuss work at home” thing going on?

LIN MEIJIAO: At the start, when she first started acting, she was more nervous. So as her mum, I’d help her to memorise her lines. But after that, when she was filming While We Are Young, I did not meddle at all, and she did all her 'homework' on her own.

CHANTALLE NG: I think, for me, when I'm at home, I'd only memorise my lines. I try not to think about how I'm going to act or what actions I'm gonna do 'cos the first time is always the most genuine, right? So I'll try to hold on that emotion and then do it on set.

MEIJIAO: So she'll go to work, and when she returns home, if there's something to share, then we'll talk a little about it. For example, what happened during filming, and if there are any things we can further improve on...

CHANTALLE: Or at the most, before we start filming proper, I'll ask her, What do you think the direction of this character should be?”... that's about it.

Meijiao, do you think you have higher expectations of Chantalle at work?
MEIJIAO: As a mother, you can see some aspects of your daughter that outsiders might not see, so for a lot of things, I'll have a more focused/detailed view. But I try my best not to be like that 'cos if my reaction is too over, it might stress her out. I try my best not to frighten her too much.

So does seeing your mum on set stress you out, Chantalle?
CHANTALLE: Actually, it definitely doesn't. I don’t know why, but I’ve heard other people saying that if their parents are on set, then they cannot act properly and all. But I’m equally carefree and I feel like it might even be a bonus that she's around. Some things you don't see on your own, so she's here to give me instant feedback, and that's great ‘cos then I can adjust my acting accordingly.

What are some roles you hope to work together on in the future?
CHANTALLE: Well, I hope that she'll be a serial killer, and I'll be the police.

So you want to catch her?
MEIJIAO: I don't want, don’t want, I'll reject [it].
CHANTALLE: Yeah, something very dark and exciting and chilling.

Like Derek?
CHANTALLE: (Laughs) Yes!
MEIJIAO: That's for young people like you. For me, I'd probably want roles that are more happy.
CHANTALLE: I love [Derek], I'd love [to be in it].

What about you, Meijiao?
MEIJIAO: For now, nothing.
CHANTALLE: After this show, she's gonna tell her manager that she doesn’t want to work with me anymore. (Laughs)

Meijiao, you mentioned before that Chantalle shares almost everything with you. So did she ever have a crush on a local actor when growing up?
MEIJIAO: Chantalle always tagged along for filming when she was younger, and once, when I was working with Elvin [Ng] for a drama, she told me that she really liked Elvin. She was like, “Wah, Elvin so handsome.”

CHANTALLE: It's super funny. (She yells for Edwin Goh to join the interview) ’Cos Edwin and I are really good friends and when we were filming Old Is Gold, Elvin was also in the show too. So I kept telling Edwin, “Elvin is damn cute, damn handsome, and when I was younger, I wanted to marry him”. And one day, in front of Elvin, Edwin was like, Hey, did you know that when Chantalle was younger, she wanted to marry you?”. I was like, Just shut up, dude! Elvin was very happy about that, [but] I was super embarrassed.

EDWIN GOH: She turned red immediately.

CHANTALLE: ‘Cos if it's a joke, it's fine. But if it's real, and somebody lets your secret out, it's really super embarrassing. I was super embarrassed.

MEIJIAO: But it's okay lah 'cos it was when you were younger, and more innocent.

Before we go, Chantalle, your dad Huang Yiliang is standing trial after being accused of voluntarily causing hurt to an employee. Do you have anything to say about that?
CT: Actually, I really don't have much to say, but I guess at this point, I just wish everyone the best, and I hope that everybody will be healthy and safe. I'm not clear on the full details of his case, so I think it's not up to me to comment any further.

My Star Bride will premiere on January 2021, weekdays 9pm on Ch 8. It'll also be available on demand for free on meWATCH from January 2021.

Photos: Chantelle Ng/Instagram, Elvin Ng/Instagram, Toggle, Toh Ziyi