My Super Power Is Saying No

It's 2009, and some 1.67 million Singaporeans are tuning into the two-hour finale of the hit Chinese language series The Little Nyonya, transfixed by the multi-generational saga of three Peranakan families.

But for actor Chantalle Ng, the real magic happened behind the scenes, when the series - in which her mother, actor Lin Mei Jiao, featured as the lead villain - was still in production.

Just a teenager at the time, Chantalle, who grew up hanging out on set while her mother worked, remembers standing in the "kitchen" created for the series, awed by the scale and meticulous detail of the production.

"I remember thinking if I ever had the chance to be in a production like that, that would be so awesome," says Chantalle. "I remember exactly where I was standing when I had that thought. So when I was cast, it immediately brought me back to that moment." The 29-year-old is one of three rising Mediacorp actors to be cast in Emerald Hill, a lavish spin-off of The Little Nyonya. Currently slated for a 2025 release, Emerald Hill's heavyweight cast includes Zoe Tay, Jesseca Liu, Jeanette Aw, Chen Liping, Tasha Low, Ferlyn G, Romeo Tan, Shaun Chen and Sheila Sim.

Not only is Chantalle following in The Little Nyonya footsteps of her mother, she is also playing a villain: Anna, who tries to sabotage the main character, Xin Niang, at every turn.

When shooting began in May this year, Chantalle initially revelled in her villain era. "I've always played happy, upbeat characters, and it's quite draining sometimes, when you have to be high energy the whole day. But for this role, I can walk onto the set and I don't have to smile, and people are like, 'Ok she's getting into character." Before long, however, the complexity and bitterness of her character began weighing her down. "This girl, she's very complicated. Her parents caused a lot of unhappiness in her, and she grew up craving love, but she doesn't understand what love is. So she creates her own rules, and if people don't live by that, she's vengeful," explains Chantalle.