'I didn't know if I could film a bed scene well': Romeo Tan of new drama

He may have been in showbiz for more than a decade but Romeo Tan was more than nervous about filming intimate scenes in his new drama.

The 38-year-old plays Yue Ruixiang, CEO of a shipbuilding company, who romances Zhang Yinchen, played by Joanne Peh, in Mediacorp's Shero.

They pair up to find out the truth behind the disappearance of Yinchen's sister Yinxi (Carrie Wong) during a bodyguard assignment.

Host Kenneth Chung revealed at a recent press conference for the series that Romeo had a number of bed scenes — the most he has ever had to film for a drama.

Tan said that he was worried about performing those scenes at first.

He said in Mandarin: "I didn't know if I could film a bed scene (well).

"As you know, in my previous work, those (intimate) scenes that I did were mostly very 'PG-rated'. The only time that I had to do a slightly bolder scene was with Carrie (Wong).

"But filming with Joanne this time round, it felt like we were filming an M18 scene."

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by R O M E O T A N (@romeotan)

When asked if there was any awkwardness between him and Peh when filming the scenes, Tan, winner of eight Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes awards at the Star Awards, admitted that it was definitely awkward at first.

"Especially as a man, I would think about how to be careful. Joanne was really nice about it and told me not to worry."

Peh said that an intimate scene is filmed in a professional setting with multiple considerations, such as getting the shot correct — nobody would think too much about intimacy.

"Intimate scenes are discussed in a professional manner — where to put our hands, how to position our heads and what actions we are going to do. We have to talk about all of these with the director and rehearse before shooting.

"I feel that by doing so, everyone will feel more comfortable. If there are any parts that we are uncomfortable with, we can always bring it up first," she said.

Speaking to AsiaOne, Tan said that although he had worked with Peh before, this was the first time that he really got to understand her better as they got closer during filming.

"Joanne shared with me a lot of her experiences and struggles in showbiz and how she picked herself up. To be able to act alongside her is a rewarding experience as I am able to learn a lot from her," he said.

They also had great chemistry on set.

"Whenever I looked into her eyes while filming, I would be able to know what she was thinking. I felt that while filming Shero, the chemistry that we had was like a couple," he said.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Tan said that Peh did a lot of "homework" in preparation to shoot the intimate scenes and would share it with him.

He told the Chinese daily: "Joanne sent me a lot of photographs that she found on the Internet. Those photographs are about how couples interact with each other, their body language, how they place their hands when they are around each other, how intimate they can be and the types of intimacy."

Peh also discussed the types of intimacy that is comfortable for both of them so that they could try them out during filming to present the scene well.

He said: "Usually when portraying a romantic relationship in other dramas, I will act in a sequence and stop at where it should and have never thought about portraying the relationship in a more sensitive manner. There are multiple reasons, such as the script, censorship concerns or the director's call.

"But with Joanne, it could be that she has acted in other projects before that allows her a wider span of performance. So when she first brought this manner of working to the set, I was concerned if our performance would pass censorship. But later I thought, 'why not?'"

He said that it is about trying bolder intimate performances to break the boundaries of "playing safe".

"We want to film something that is believable to the audience. Audiences are not stupid these days. If your acting is not convincing, they will lose interest," he said.

• Shero airs on weekdays at 9pm on Channel 8. It will also be available on demand for free on meWATCH.