Former Ch 8 star Hugo Ng is one of those actors who was fortunate enough to land leading roles very early on in his career without needing to slog through years of playing supporting characters.

And the 61-year-old is very aware of his privilege. “Let me just say that I was very lucky as my looks probably opened doors for me when I was a newbie,” he told host Tung Soo Hua with a laugh on Mediacorp talk show Be My Guest.

He certainly hasn’t lost his good looks and charm.

Even after almost four decades in the industry, Hugo is still in great shape thanks to his active lifestyle, which includes jogging and yoga, the latter of which he inadvertently got into during his army days (for real).

Although Hugo was born in Singapore, he and his family moved to Hongkong when he was seven months old, and it wasn’t until two decades later when he finally stepped foot back into the Lion City for the first time after receiving his enlistment letter.

When he was in NS, one of his friends got him to join the Singapore Armed Forces Music and Drama Company, which had ballet as part of the curriculum. Hugo enjoyed the stretches so much that he kept doing them, and now, he can do this:

In 1984, Hugo took on his first three dramas Youth, The Awakening 2, and Pursuit, which shot him to fame here.

Two years later, he sustained a leg injury while filming 1986’s Men of Valour and returned to Hongkong. He believes he may have remained in Singapore if not for the accident, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as his career really took off with TVB.

Also joining Hugo on Be My Guest was his wife of 26 years, former Hongkong actress Lily Chung.

Even though they’ve been married for so long, Soo Hua observed that Hugo and Lily still behave like a young and fun-loving couple.

They agreed, adding that their 23-year-old son Justin is actually “the old man of the house” ‘cos he’s so mature for his age and keeps an eye on his playful parents.

In fact, Hugo admitted that it’s Justin who has to tell him to stop playing video games and come to dinner instead of the other way around.

“My son was very young when he first introduced me to video games, but once I started playing, I got even more hooked on them than he was!” Hugo chuckled.

In a short video interview with Justin, who is currently studying special effects in filmmaking in England, he revealed that he and his dad’s love of one particular video game has given them the opportunity to get closer in recent years, especially since they don’t have many other common hobbies.

“This game has become like a bridge to us,” said Justin. “We talk about the same things and complain about the same things. We hate losing and will blame each other or our teammates when we lose a game, there have been many fun moments. We have more things to talk about now.”

Watch Hugo’s full episode of Be My Guest below: