Sheryl Ang Is Mediacorp’s Newest Leading Lady But She Says Even Her Own Dad Has Trouble Recognising Her On Screen

When Star Search 2019 finalist Sheryl Ang signed up for the competition at the suggestion of her modelling agency, she only did it ‘cos they said it would be a good way for her to pick up acting that might help her land more gigs.

She told 8days.sg that she almost wanted to back out when she realised that it was an open audition instead of the more private closed-door one she was expecting, but she soldiered on… and on… and on… all the way into the Top 12.

While the leggy 1.75m-tall lass didn’t win (that honour went to Zhang Zetong instead), Sheryl, like her fellow finalists, was offered a Mediacorp contract and she's since appeared in dramas like All Around You, Mister Flower, Watch Out! Alexius, and Fresh Takes! short Remember to Forget.

Now, almost two years — gosh, already!? — after the Star Search finals, the 22-year-old (23 on September 6) has landed her first lead role in Mediacorp crime thriller Key Witness alongside Desmond Tan, 34.

It’s a full circle moment as the two were paired up in Sheryl’s Screen Debut episode, which was part of a series of short clips where the Top 24 got to demonstrate their acting chops opposite past Star Search contestants (Desmond was a runner-up in 2007).

For someone who claims that she didn’t have much of an interest in joining showbiz when she was younger (other than the occasional fleeting thought of how nice it would be like to be on TV), everything Sheryl did seems to suggest otherwise.

After attending Canossa Convent Primary School, she went to Saint Anthony’s Canossian Secondary School (SACSS), which has a well-established performing arts program.

She took drama as a compulsory subject in Secondary 1 and 2, and was selected to continue studying it as an elective in Secondary 3 and 4 in preparation for her O-Levels. She wanted to drop it at first, but her teacher convinced her to stay.

Sheryl modestly brushed off our remark that she must be a naturally gifted actress if her teachers insisted she take the drama elective. “I don’t know if I was good at it or whatever ‘cos back then, I didn’t think so much, it was just like, if you ask me do something, then I’ll do it lor.”

The reasons she went to both schools were purely practical.

Her mum, a secretary for a headhunting company, was also from Canossa Convent, and even though she did well enough in her PSLE to get into schools that are perceived to be better-ranked , Sheryl picked SACSS not just ‘cos the schools are affiliated, but so that she would have someone to drive her to classes every morning.

“My sister is only a year older than me and was already in SACSS, so my dad was like, ‘Oh, if you go to a separate school, I can only send one of you and the other has to go to school herself,’ so I was like, 'Never mind, I’ll go to SACSS', laughed Sheryl, whose father is a service manager in the automotive industry.

“I didn’t really have a goal or something that I wanted to be when I was young, so I just went with the flow,” she shrugged.

That “flow” somehow led Sheryl, who had entered Temasek Polytechnic, to take a diploma in Cybersecurity & Digital Forensics.

Um, say what?

“(Laughs) I wanted to take psychology ‘cos I’m into philosophy and studying human behaviour, but my points weren’t good enough to get into the course,” she explained. “Then I saw IT and thought, ‘Eh, this sounds cool, maybe I should try it.’”

Alas, Sheryl confessed that she actually “hated” it and, despite completing the course, never saw herself getting a job in the field. “Everyone’s like, ‘Eh, that’s where the future is! You can earn a lot!’ but I’m like, ‘No, no, I cannot.’ (Laughs)”

Instead, she applied to be a Singapore Airlines flight attendant after graduation, but was rejected. While still mulling over what other career options she wanted to explore, Sheryl resumed her old part-time job as a stilt walker and event mascot.

The turning point came when she was doing an event at 313@somerset dressed up as one of the mall’s mascots. A photographer approached her and asked her if she was interested in modelling, saying that he could refer her to an agency.

Although she was skeptical at first, Sheryl decided to give it a go. It turned out to be legit, and she was introduced to her former modelling agency, Sheila Sim’s Nu Models. She was with them full-time for about three years before signing with Mediacorp.

As for what her parents, who were neither keen on her being a model or taking part in Star Search, think of her being in showbiz, she said they’re “fully supportive now”.

Being a public figure inevitably comes with increased public scrutiny, but according to Sheryl, she hasn’t really experienced this ‘cos “people don’t recognise” her. [Ed: It's something her fellow Star Search 2019 alums Tyler Ten and Zhai Siming can totally relate to.]

“I’ve been told that I look very different on screen and in real life,” she said. “Once, my father’s friend sent him a picture of me on TV, and my dad had to do a double take ‘cos he wasn’t sure if it was me! (Laughs) And that happens to me sometimes too! So it’s very strange.”

Even the director of the drama she’s currently filming, Leave No Soul Behind, made a similar comment. “She said I’m 'finished' ‘cos no one can remember my face. (Laughs) But I think it’s a good thing ‘cos it means I can blend into any role.”

Not that she would enjoy being recognised.

In fact, Sheryl admitted that she doesn’t like telling strangers she’s an actress ‘cos she’s afraid it’ll be awkward when they don’t know who she is. “So usually I just say I’m in the entertainment industry. (Laughs)”

During our last chat with Sheryl at the 8days.sg Top 12 shoot, she mentioned that she had just ended a relationship with her musician ex-boyfriend. She dated someone else after that but is currently single.

“I think it’s very hard for me to get into a relationship, maybe ‘cos my expectations are a little bit higher in the sense that, if I cannot connect with someone intellectually or spiritually, then it’s very difficult for me,” she shared. “My brain needs to be stimulated. If you cannot stimulate my brain, you cannot stimulate my heart. (Guffaws)”

So, out of all the local artistes she’s met so far, who “stimulates her brain”?

“Wah, people like that are very rare to me leh. (Laughs) But so far, the one person I can really talk to about all kinds of things is my beloved big bro, Desmond Tan,” she said, quickly clarifying that she doesn’t see him in a romantic way (he’s not available anyway).

“We’re both Tigers — he’s one Chinese zodiac cycle older than me — and we’re very alike and on the same page.”

With her first drama lead role now done and dusted, we asked what other goals and dreams Sheryl has for her career. She mused, “Right now, I don’t really have one ‘cos I don’t feel like my skills are at the level where I can have any sort of big goal, so I’m just here to learn as much as I can.”

Photos: Kelvin Chia/ Mediacorp
All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg. Additional pics from Mediacorp, Sheryl Ang/Instagram

Make-up: Clarence Lee
Hair: Regine Lim (Evolve Salon)
Stylist: Keith Png (Michael Kors)

Key Witness is now available on demand for free on meWATCH.
It airs weekdays at 9pm on Ch 8.

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