Ian Fang hopes role of ‘Loser’ wins him bigger parts

SINGAPORE — Actor Ian Fang was up against nearly 200 other actors who auditioned for the lead role in the Singapore-Malaysia remake of the Chinese box office hit Goodbye Mr Loser.

Fang has two films under his belt — 2012’s Imperfect and 2014’s Meeting The Giant — but a lead role is a new milestone for him.

“I fight for the things I want. I don’t set dreams. I set goals. This was one of my goals,” the 27-year-old told TODAY of his latest coup.

The film, jointly produced by Malaysia’s Asia Tropical Films and Singapore’s mm2 Entertainment and helmed by Malaysian director Adrian Teh, was based on the 2015 romantic comedy. The original made US$226 million (S$315 million) at the box office in its home country, and US$1.9 million at the global box office.

The remake — produced on a budget of RM$2.7 million (S$853,000) — follows the story of a 30-year-old “loser” who is sent back in time to relive his secondary school days. It was filmed in Kuala Lumpur late last year, and opens here on Thursday. It will also be released in Taiwan next month, and was recently screened at the Osaka Asian Film Festival.

Fang is hoping that this role will help open doors for him.

“My next goal is a lead role in a local drama,” he said, lamenting that casting directors and audiences still see him as a rebellious teenager, following his breakout performance in the 2011 drama On The Fringe.

“The roles that I’ve been playing on television these days are kind of limited. As you know, my face is still quite boyish. In order for me to get lead roles, people need to see my growth,” he said.

“At least this time (with Goodbye Mr Loser), I’ve been given a good opportunity to show that not only can I act, I am also a different Ian now, and I can take on much heavier roles,” 
he added.

As the “loser” in the film, Fang is in 175 of the movie’s 180 scenes — a taxing feat. His character gets a second chance to win the heart of his schoolboy crush. And while he is at it, he records hit songs and becomes a celebrity.

Fang does not actually sing in the movie, thanks to an injury sustained while filming basket-ball-themed Meeting The Giant. He was hurt then when a basketball hit him in the throat, permanently damaging his vocal chords. Not that it stopped him being cast — he lip-synchs over another singer’s voice in the movie.

Determination seems to be in Fang’s DNA.

Asked if he sees himself as a winner or a loser, the Shanghai-born actor responds immediately: “I always think that I’m a winner. This gives me the confidence to lead myself to a better future. I’m a winner because I don’t think things can pull me down easily.

“I’m a winner because it’s not easy to live in Singapore — financially, house loans — but at least I can take care of my mum.”

He does admit, though, that there are some “loser-ish” aspects to his personality.

“I am scared of my girlfriends,” he chuckled. His last relationship was so long ago, he cannot even remember when it was, he said.

But when he does have a girlfriend, “I don’t want to make her angry. I become very needy and childish. When you overthink certain things and are oversensitive, it makes the other person feel repelled. When that happens, I feel very sad, so I do childish, loser sh*t.”

In the present, he said that “I need to build up my financial stability before I step into another relationship”.

Fang is clearly going through an introspective period.

“These days, I feel funny because I tend to think a lot at night, especially between 1am and 4am. The world is very quiet; nobody expects anything from me and I don’t expect anything from anyone. It’s the time for me to chill and think of the things I want to do.”

He added: “I gain a lot of inspiration in those hours, about the kinds of things I want to do in future. I am still designing T-shirts (for his clothing brand First Attempt). I still want to rap... I still want to be a director and shoot my own film. There are still many things I want to do.”

Goodbye Mr Loser opens in cinemas March 30.