How 'chillax' Richie Koh stays grounded despite struggles and success

With multiple accolades under his belt at 30, local actor Richie Koh is one to watch.

His role as an intellectually disabled young adult in Mediacorp drama series Your World Is Mine won him critical acclaim – and the Best Actor crown at Star Awards 2023. Koh also bagged the Most Popularity Rising Star and MyPick! The Male Stealer at the ceremony. 

Last month, he earned five Star Award nominations and took home the Bioskin Most Charismatic Artiste prize.

Despite his rising prominence, Koh remains down-to-earth, has a great sense of humour and is a delightful conversationalist. 

When asked how he has evolved over the years, Koh told TNP: "I think I did not leh, I'm still very playful leh. I just live and enjoy life and at the same time, see and learn more things, watch the news, get to know and understand other people's lives, and have a good rest when I can.

"Most importantly, you have to like performing. Don't think so much. A lot of things are not within our control. Thinking so much will only bring trouble to yourself."

If anything, Koh comes off as just like the rest of us, celebrity status or not.

Besides spending his free time reading, swimming, hanging out with friends and going for a drive, Koh also unwinds by “just lying in bed all day, scrolling social media and absorbing all kinds of information".

He said: "My favourite thing to do is visiting wet markets in the morning for groceries and hoping to see some new seafood to cook. At night, I like to have a drink, watch a show and wind down."

Do not be fooled by his seemingly laidback nature, however. Koh admitted he can be his own harshest critic and has a tendency to “nitpick” on his own performances.

"You will see how you look like and where you could have been better," he said. "Sometimes when I finish a scene and I’m not happy, I will think about it for the whole day and I don’t think about anything else."

In response to what has been the most rewarding part of his career, Koh joked: "When I go to the coffee shop, the aunties treat me to coffee and add extra ingredients for me. All the aunties have been very sweet to me."

Okay, maybe he is not just like the rest of us.

Nevertheless, life has not been without its struggles, particularly when he first entered the industry and roles were scarcer. 

Koh shared: "You worry about your future, especially as you are turning 30: 'Is your work going to be stable? Is there going to be growth?'

"You will worry about all these but once you have achieved a certain standard towards that, you will realise that actually everything has been pre-arranged. So don’t worry too much, let whoever is up there lead the path. Because I believe Heaven will not mistreat those who work hard."

Koh is set to return to the silver screen in local feature film A Good Child, which also stars veteran acHong Huifang, American-Taiwanese actor Johnny Lu, Singaporean actor-singer Charlie Goh and Mediacorp starlet Cheryl Chou.

A Good Child tells the story of a drag queen, who returns home to his dementia-stricken mother. He reconstructs her memory to make her believe that he is a daughter and not a son, unknowingly confronting his childhood traumas along the way.

Koh described his character as someone who is "very confident, independent and stubborn," but grapples with loving and missing his parents despite feeling unsupported by them.

The role comes with a fair share of challenges, especially since it is in stark contrast to Koh’s personality.

"For me, I’m a very chillax person so I don’t really like to think lah. If I have free time, I just stare into blank space," said Koh, who cited tonality and body language as some areas he had to work on in preparation for the movie.

"But (for the character), they are always thinking, always reflecting, always commenting. I think that’s the biggest difference for me."

Director Ong Kuo Sin said at a press conference on May 9 that A Good Child is based on a true story. 

The 53-year-old told TNP: “One of the things we want to talk about is you can’t fix traumas. But how do you deal with it? You want to reconcile with the past, but it’s not something you can do just because you want to.

"Dementia is not scary. It is a long goodbye. And how do you actually say your goodbyes every day?"

Koh added: "I don’t know what reactions we are gonna get, but the whole focus is to show more love to the people around you."

A Good Child is not the only thing in the works for the promising young star.

Koh also hinted at a "quite interesting" future project. Addressing his fans, he teased: "Be excited because exciting times are coming. Have faith and share the love around. I’ll see you guys soon."