Keep Calm And Be Zen

Ch 8 actor Zen Chong only wants to take on ‘good guy’ roles now for the sake of his two kids.

- Jocelyn Lee

He’s best remembered for his villainous turn as Robert Zhang in The Little Nyonya a decade ago, where he abused and raped Yuzhu (played by Joanne Peh). And for better or worse, Zen Chong has often since played antagonists in Ch 8 dramas, with his roles ranging from a drug syndicate member to a murderer.

However, the 39-year-old actor, who married his childhood sweetheart Geline See, 36, in 2011, and now has two children aged three and two, hopes this can change.

“I want to change my onscreen image,” Zen tells us over the phone. “My kids are at that age where they are starting to watch TV and I don’t want them to see their dad as a bad person (laughs).”

He adds: “In fact, I’ve rejected a few roles in the past year as they are all villain roles. I’ll only take on ‘bad guy’ roles if they have some redeeming factor or depth. I won’t accept those that are one-dimensional and purely evil.”