Romeo Tan Says Talking To His BFF Elvin Ng Isn’t Like Conversing With A “Normal Person”
Even Elvin described himself as an “oddball” in the latest episode of Mediacorp talk show The Inner Circle.
Even Elvin described himself as an “oddball” in the latest episode of Mediacorp talk show The Inner Circle.
Elvin Ng is an “oddball”. And no, that’s not our own observation — the 40-year-old actor described himself as such to Guo Liang before their on-camera conversation in the latest episode of Mediacorp talk show The Inner Circle… but why?
“I’m a very direct person,” Elvin explained. “Some of my ideas are like, for instance, I feel like I’m not here physically, but as a spirit.”
A blank-faced Guo Liang could only stare in confusion (and we’re sure he wasn’t the only one). “I must say that so far, he has already lost me,” he chuckled.
But anyone who knows Elvin well would just brush it off as yet another one of his philosophical, sometimes (or always?) mystifying musings.
His pals Romeo Tan and Sheila Sim, who showed up as special guests on the show, have certainly gotten used to it after their many years of friendship.
“To put it simply, when you’re having a conversation with — can I say it this way? — a normal person, you would look at an issue from two different angles,” said Romeo, as Elvin pretended to look extremely annoyed at the implication of being considered, um, not normal.
“But Elvin offers a third perspective, and you won’t always understand it right away.”
Sheila added that all one needs to do is to keep asking questions and dig deeper. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the way he is. That’s just how his mind works, so in order to understand him, you have to think like him.”
Of course, Elvin’s unique way of communicating took some getting used to.
Romeo vividly remembers the first time the BFFs worked together in 2011’s C.L.I.F, which was also his first drama as a Mediacorp artiste after taking part in Star Search the year before.
“[Elvin] said to me, ‘We’re both alike. We both entered showbiz at age 25.’ Do you remember saying this?” asked Romeo.
Elvin claimed that he doesn’t, and demanded to know why Romeo chose to recall such a simple and shallow remark instead of something more meaningful.
“I didn’t understand your meaningful remarks, so I only understood the simple ones,” Romeo deadpanned, as the rest of the studio — including Elvin — erupted in laughter.
A decade later, Romeo now knows Elvin well enough to paint a detailed picture of his usual behaviour and train of thought with a simple example.
“Let’s say he’s deciding between two outfits with the same style but different colours. He will spend all day asking, ‘Is the red or green one better?’ When you choose red, he will ask, ‘Why not green? I think green is not bad.’ Then when you say, ‘Okay, take the green one,’ he’ll be like, ‘But you chose red just now, so why do you want me to change to the green one?’ So I think he thinks too much.”
It seems to be getting better, though. When Guo Liang asked Romeo and Sheila if they think Elvin has changed over the years, they both agreed that he has changed quite a lot.
“He’s become more open-minded and confident,” Sheila shared, adding that he has become less concerned about what others think of him.
As for Romeo, he pointed out that the biggest difference is that Elvin no longer splits hairs over small or trivial details. “There’s also a difference between his smile back then and now, I think he’s much happier.”
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