Rebecca Rising

As Rebecca Lim prepares to take on her most challenging role yet in the Asian remake of gritty Scandi crime drama, The Bridge, we discover a new side to this homegrown talent.

- Natalya Molok

The Asian remake of The Bridge has thrown up plenty of surprises since it was announced that streaming service Viu would be recreating the SwedishDanish crime thriller, and this includes casting actress Rebecca Lim in its leading role. The princess of Singapore TV, Rebecca rarely chooses roles that require her to be anything other than the relatable girl-next-door. Her turn as Detective Serena Teo is taking the actress into unchartered waters as the character requires her to be blunt, straight-talking and socially awkward.

“In recent years, I’ve been playing very likeable characters and TJ Lee [the co-director] thought this role would be a challenge for me since she’s quite difficult to like,” explains the 32-year-old star. “He said there was a very fine line between being annoying and having poor communication skills and if I played it wrong I would come across as irritating rather than someone who is actually quite nice but who has a low emotional quotient.”

It’s a strange choice for an actress who has thrived on being personable on screen. But it is exactly what spurred the actress to take up the role when she first heard about it. “The character was different from the characters I’ve played but a mantra that I’ve set for myself is ‘always try something new’. I don’t want to always be stuck in roles that I’m comfortable in,” she confesses.

“So, when people say ‘Oh, this is going to be an easy job for you’, it makes me think, ‘What’s the point then?’ The more I know that it’s going to be hard and the more I know that the role will be a stretch for me, the more I want to do it. Serena doesn’t smile at all, which is such a departure from my own personality!”

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT