Black belt, stunt training, gym - Tay Ying set to be next action star, Latest TV News - The New Paper
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Black belt, stunt training, gym - Tay Ying set to be next action star

She has a third dan black belt in taekwondo. And stunt training. And hits the gym every other day. 

Tay Ying could be the next big action star in Singapore.

The 27-year-old actress shows off her martial arts skills as Lin Xinya, a female bodyguard, in the latest Mediacorp drama Shero.

Speaking to AsiaOne at the press conference on Tuesday (May 30), Tay Ying, who got the news last September that she would be playing the role, said that she went back to her taekwondo coach, whom she had trained with since she was nine years old, to practise further. 

"I also have a personal trainer and have some stunt training outside. I have been practising with them for about two years," she said.

She also increased her training frequency to boost her stamina.

"I pumped up my training from about two to three times a week to every other day. I am doing something almost every day, for example, being in the gym (and) doing fight choreography.

"Stamina is important because you are doing not just one fight choreography once, you are doing it multiple times."

Shero is an action-thriller drama about a female bodyguard company with the titular name that was started by Zhang Yinxi (Carrie Wong). When Yinxi goes missing during an assignment, her sister Yinchen (Joanne Peh) joins the company to continue her legacy while working together with Yinxi's secret project partner Yue Ruixiang (Romeo Tan) to find out the truth behind Yinxi's disappearance.

Yinchen and Ruixiang realise that the mastermind behind Yinxi's disappearance is someone who has been beside them all along.

Tay Ying said that Xinya is a character who is cool on the outside but warm on the inside.

"Xinya is a cold and conservative person, but she is actually very kind-hearted. She has a serious personality because she has a pretty dark past, and her trauma led her to become very closed off. She only (starts) to open her heart up as something happens along the way in the story."

Tay Ying listened to South Korean girl group Blackpink's music at the end of every filming day to get rid of some of that dark energy from playing Xinya.

"I think it helps that I drive to and (from) work. So when I am driving home, I usually take the time to unwind. I listen to music to come back to reality."

Blackpink's Tally is her ride-or-die song.

Tay Ying (left) with her co-star from the new show Shero, Carrie Wong. PHOTO: TAY YING/INSTAGRAM

Tay Ying's father is veteran actor Zheng Geping who taught her how to look good on screen doing action scenes.

"Dad taught me how to look sharper and nicer on screen because doing the action is one thing, managing your expression and your entire posture is another.

"Some angles might look weird, but some angles will look nice. So sometimes it's not just about what we learnt in martial arts. It is a very different technique when we bring it to screen," she said.

Tay Ying also looks forward to more action roles.

"If we can produce more (action series) that would be great. I genuinely enjoy doing action scenes. It is a feeling of adrenaline, and also since I was trained from young, I might as well make the most of it."

A lot of work is involved in filming action sequences, behind and in front of the cameras, she said.

And for actors, the first thing that they have to overcome when filming such scenes is the fear of falling and pain.

"There is bound to be impact and pain when we do action scenes... I have (the) foundation and training, so I am not afraid of falling now because I know how to catch myself," Tay Ying said.

Playing a cop is something she looks forward to.

"I think the job itself is quite interesting. I want to learn more about the role of a police officer. It's not too much about the character because in every single role, every character is unique.

"There is no one particular character that I want to play but more of the job scope of the character and what revolves around her," she said.

Shero premieres June 12 and airs on weekdays at 9pm on Channel 8. It will also be available on demand for free on meWATCH from the same day.

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