PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

The younger daughter of veteran Singapore actors Edmund Chen and Xiang Yun, CHEN YIXIN steps into the international limelight with a new Netflix series, and into new-found confidence.

I It is 8pm and Chen Yixin has just finished a 12-hour day of filming for the second season of Titoudao, an English language period series. Dressed in a simple white tank top and looking surprisingly refreshed, she takes our video call in the back seat of the car as her mother, Singapore actor Xiang Yun, drives her home. 

There are no complaints about how hard the day had been, even though Yixin plays a physically scarred character whose makeup has been causing outbreaks on her sensitive skin. She breaks into a smile as we chat, and there’s a note of positivity in her voice. When I thank her for making time despite her packed schedule, she starts o brightly: “It’s been a long day, but we ended o on a good note.”

In a crowd of rising second generation stars such as Chantalle Ng, Tay Ying and Eleanor Lee, the 22-year-old, with her girl-nextdoor vibes, may not yet be a familiar face among local audiences, but she is determined to push herself to be the best she can be. Yixin is the first among them to score an international leading role as Ling in the recently released 13-episode Netflix series Mr Midnight: Beware the Monsters, which is adapted from the local horror-mystery children’s book series of the same name.

The show, which chronicles the adventures of four youths who investigate paranormal activities in the small fictional town of Tanah Merah, also features Malaysian actor Idan Aedan as Tyar, a teenager who has developed a connection with the spirit world, and local thespian Lim Yu Beng, as Ling’s father, Uncle Tan.