A DIFFERENT KIND OF STAGE
In 2016, after shuttling back and forth overseas for a number of years, Eio found his way back to performing through acting.
He started with commercials, then minor roles, slowly building his way into long-form Mediacorp dramas such as Tanglin, Sunny Side Up, Kin, Provocative and Third Rail.
It was a steady, patient climb, marked by constant auditioning and learning.
The turning point came with Tainted, a virtual-production short film.
He forgot to attach his showreel when he applied, but the director looked him up anyway and invited him to audition for a lead role.
The character he was auditioning for required unique stunt choreography, which he had no background in, but he went for the audition anyway.
Two weeks later, Eio got the part. The director later told him: “We really knew we wanted you.”
He took the director’s reassurance and belief in him and ran with it.
More roles followed, including The Devil Is A Part-Time Delivery Man, written specifically for him, and a feature film shot overseas slated for release in 2027.
Acting unlocked something Eio hadn’t anticipated and rekindled the same magic and thrill he once experienced as a singer.
“With singing, maybe I’m given only six colours to paint a picture.
“But with acting, I feel that I’m given a huge palette of colours to try and do something,” he said.
Now, acting has become his focus and his new dream is to become a Hollywood actor.
Singing, once a lifelong pursuit, has turned into a hobby for Eio, although he told me that he recently auditioned for a TVB singing competition.
Towards the end of our interview, it finally emerged why Eio was so nervous when we first sat down.
He admitted that had been a long time since he’s spoken in-depth to anyone about his time in the boy band.
“For a long time, I didn’t even want to talk about EchoBoys,” he said.
“When I was younger, because of the hate back then, I felt like that part of my life was a crutch – something I wanted to forget.
“But as I grew older, I started to realise, this memory is so precious.”
As we reached the end of our interview, Eio was gearing up to head to Nanyang Technological University for rehearsals for a student short film.
He said that while such gigs do not pay much, they were a chance for him to hone his craft and he was happy to take any opportunity where he could get lost in the “magic” of acting.
Eio used to take every disappointment as a closed door.
Source: CNA
