An Act Of Mischief Sparked Acting Career

AN ACT OF MISCHIEF SPARKED ACTING CAREER

INEZ ONG talks to two-time Golden Horse Award nominee, Mr Koh Jia Ler, who shares his story about his acting experience and future aspirations.

If he had not sneaked out of class, Mr Koh Jia Ler would not have had the opportunity to fulfil his dream of being an actor.

Mr Koh, 20, was originally not selected to be part of the casting auditions for Ilo Ilo held at his primary school. However, when he saw that his two close friends were selected and not him, he secretly followed them to the auditorium where auditions were held.

“I still remember that day because I went to find Anthony’s assistant and I told his assistant I wanted to join also so that I could skip class,” says Mr Koh.

Mr Koh’s acting career took flight in 2013 when he was casted in Ilo Ilo, playing ‘Jiale’, a mischievous child who had a troubled relationship with his family members. In 2019, he was also given a role in Wet Season.

The two successful movies were directed by Anthony Chen.

Mr Koh was a mischievous student in primary school. He got himself into a lot of trouble with his teachers and was always doing silly things with his good friends. When he turned 15, Mr Koh started to become rebellious and got angry easily.

However, when he turned 16, Mr Koh started to be more focused on his school work and knew that his behaviour would affect his acting career. He was more obedient and driven in his work.

Shoots have never been easy for Mr Koh. He was constantly exposed to the long hours on set. It was also physically exhausting as he was required him to repeat the same action in some scenes multiple times while expected to maintain the same standard for each take.

In his most recent movie ‘Wet Season’, Mr Koh had to film the same wushu routine over 10 times from different angles. Unfortunately, his body double was unable to help due to the large difference in their physical built. In addition, Mr Koh was expected to maintain his body shape.

“Although I learned wushu, I had to keep fit, I had to lose weight and I always had to train my wushu right before filming. It was tiring, especially the scene of the competition in the film,” says Mr Koh.

Despite these challenges, Mr Koh had the willpower and determination to push himself to the fullest. He shared that he would not have done it without the support and love from his friends and family.

Mr Koh had a close relationship with his secondary school teacher Mr Chia Chun Keong, 39. Mr Chia has been one of Mr Koh’s pillars of support throughout his acting career.

“During the time when he was absent from school, he did miss out quite a fair bit of what was covered in class. I had lessons with him after school so that he could catch up with the rest of his classmates,” says Mr Chia.

Mr Koh’s achievement as a Golden Horse Award nominee shocked everyone.

“I actually did not know how to cope with it because like ‘wah’ I have a Golden Horse nominee in my class,” says Mr Chia.

Similarly, Mr Koh’s father, Mr Kelvin Koh, 52, Operations Manager, was overjoyed when he heard the news.

“I was proud of him. He had no acting experience and did not attend any acting classes, yet he still managed to be nominated for the Golden Horse Award. I feel that being a nominee is already a fantastic achievement for Jia Ler,” says Mr Kelvin Koh.

Despite his short time in the acting scene, Mr Koh has learnt many lessons and skills throughout his acting career. He had to practise self-discipline as he had to control his diet and constantly exercise to maintain his body shape.

He also picked up videography skills from the crew he worked with.

Mr Koh aspires to go further in his acting career. He hopes to be able to act full-time and work with different casts and crews for different genres of movies.

So far, Mr Koh has only acted in family and romance films. He hopes that in the future, he would be able to act in action movies, similar to the ones starring famous martial artist Jackie Chan. Although he is aware that he would sustain injuries, Mr Koh is motivated to try.

To youths who want to join the entertainment industry, he says: “I think [you] must really go and fight for your own chance. If you know that this production is having open casting or this production is having open audition, if you really want to be an actor or actress, just go for it.”

Currently, Mr Koh is serving his National Service (NS). Once he completes his NS, he would be embarking on his third movie with director Anthony Chen.