Wednesday January 23, 2008

Slipping into a new role

Dawn Marie Jeremiah wears many hats but it is her passion for all the things she does that makes her stand out from the other pretty faces.

By MICHAEL CHEANG
cschuin@thestar.com.my

ASPIRING actress, full-time PR executive, part-time model and beauty queen, online video host, freelance writer ? is there anything Dawn Marie Jeremiah can’t do?

Dawn Marie Jeremiah: ‘I’m really happy with my job right now, but I also want to get my feet wet and try out things that I’m not so good at, like hosting, acting and so on.’

“Yeah, I can’t sing for nuts! That’s why I’m quite reluctant to call myself an ‘entertainer’, because to me, an entertainer should be able to sing as well,” said the energetic 23-year-old.

Well, like it or not, she’s taken yet another step towards becoming a bona fide entertainer recently, with her first ever acting role (albeit a small one) in local courtroom TV drama Sadiq & Co (Fridays, 8.30pm, Ntv7).

She may only appear in two episodes, but that brief stint has kindled the actress in her.

“I’ve always assumed that I can’t act but I decided to try it just for fun, and went in with no expectations whatsoever,” she said. “I’d met the producers at an event and they called me up a few days later asking me to attend an audition. They sent me the script a few days before the audition, and I just asked around for opinions, tried different facial expressions on my own, then went there and just did it.

“The very next day, they called me up and said I got the role. It was only then that I began to think about what I had just gotten myself into!”

According to her, it may be just a small role, but her character is very different from everyone else’s on the show.

“I’m supposed to be this very eerie character – a stoic, money-faced, cunning and manipulative woman who is accused of murdering her 75-year-old husband,” the Penangite said, adding that she had a blast working with the cast and crew of the TV show, and came out of the experience with a lot more respect for actors.

“It’s not easy (being an actor). On the show, they would have pages and pages of script, and because it’s a courtroom drama, they would have to memorise entire pages of dialogue, and make sure they’re looking at the cameras at the right time.

“That said, I really enjoyed the experience. I didn’t expect myself to pull it off, but after my shoots the feedback from the cast and crew was that I did pretty well for a first-timer.”

Besides the role on Sadiq & Co, Dawn’s recent forays into the local entertainment scene include part-time hosting on online entertainment portal Gua.com.my, modelling stints, and participating in the Miss Malaysia/World 2007 beauty pageant (in which she finished as first runner-up, behind winner Deborah Henry) – all within a year of coming home after graduating in broadcast journalism from the University of San Francisco.

Kiasu student

Studying in the United States was an eye-opening experience for her, and one that opened doors for her, thanks to her determination to milk the experience and the opportunity for all that it was worth.

“I was a bit kiasu when I was there – I took five or six classes a week instead of the usual four, and graduated with honours much earlier than everyone else my age. Of course, that also meant that I didn’t have much of a life over there...” she laughed.

However, it was the three (yes, count ’em, three) internships she did over there – one in a TV station, one at the US Department of State and one more at a PR firm – that gave her the edge when she returned to Malaysia.

“I insisted on having three internships because I really wanted to be ahead of my peers when I graduated. My total working experience over there including an internship was three years, so by the time I came back here, I had a whole lot more experience than the average 21-year-old.

“Once I returned, my my parents were like, ‘Get a real job!’ so I prioritised my life such that I wouldn’t just be doing full-time modelling or in entertainment,” she said.

The daughter of a former managing director for a telecommunications equipment manufacturer and a homemaker, Dawn decided to join Ntv7 as a PR executive because she wanted to see what a TV station in Malaysia was like. Because she clicked with her bosses there, they allowed her to do things on the side as long as it didn’t interfere with her work.

“I was not exactly aiming to go into the entertainment industry full-time, anyway. It was just something really fun and new to me – it adds colour to my life, makes me feel whole. I’m really happy with my job right now, but I also want to get my feet wet and try out things that I’m not so good at, like hosting, acting and so on.”

Last-minute beauty contestant

One of those things Dawn wanted to try out was to participate in the Miss Malaysia/World beauty pageant, which she calls “the best pageant in Malaysia”.

According to her, she stumbled upon last year’s pageant at the very last minute and only joined the line-up three days before the final whereas all the other girls had two or three months to prepare – to diet, to keep fit and so on.

“I had no time to diet or prepare myself! When I went in, I basically had a crash course on everything that they’d already done, including the choreography and so on. But that’s what I loved about the pageant – it’s not driven by looks alone. It is also very intellectual – with above-average looks and a lot of smarts, you’ll stand a better chance (of winning) than a full-time model who is super-gorgeous but has nothing in her brain?” For someone who joined so late, finishing first runner-up was a great honour, she said.

“I knew I could do well because I was confident about the Q&A sessions but I really didn’t expect to get into the top three,” she said.

Now, before you start wondering what an over-achiever like her is doing joining a beauty pageant, let’s just say that she views pageants a lot differently and with more respect than most of us give them credit for.

“At first, I used to think that pageants were shallow, that only pretty faces can win them. But later I realised that it wasn’t merely about that.

“I’ve met pageant winners who are really smart and achieved a lot. I have a lot of respect for pageants, especially Miss Malaysia/World, because it supports causes that I care for, such as World Vision, cancer research and so on.

“I like doing community work – I used to do a lot of it in the States. You know that movie Pursuit of Happyness? I’ve basically volunteered in all the social welfare centres the characters went to – cooking soup for kids, helping homeless people, etc.”

Oh, so she’s a social worker now, eh? Well, another title to add to the list then...