Jack Tan is all set for an upcoming project in China. Photo: YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
As a teenager, Jack Tan had no idea what he was going to do with his life.
Although he was active and an outdoorsy person, he was thinking of just going into the family business – running a food machinery repair factory.
Fixing appliances is something he knew how to do as he and his siblings were taught the trade by his father.
“I can’t cook but I can change the lightbulb, fix household appliances like TV and toaster, totally dismantling them and putting them back again,” said the KL-born, who’s the second child among five siblings, comprising two boys and three girls.
More recently, Tan and his wife, singer-host Hoon Mei Sim – who share Tan’s passion for extreme sports, travel and adventure – fixed-up and modified a 37-year-old car and drove it around Peninsular Malaysia for one of their many holiday trips.
Obviously, Tan’s career path took a different turn when he accompanied a friend to a showbiz audition at the age of 17. While waiting, Tan was asked to audition as well and he got accepted into the artiste training programme.
“I had seen people breakdancing on a TV show and thought that it was a really cool thing to do. So, I was learning to breakdance at that time, and that’s what I did for the audition,” the 33-year-old recalled to StarLifestyle with a laugh.
Hanging out with the cool Tony Leung (left) and Wu Kang Ren (right) at the 17th Asian Film Awards. Photo: Jack Tan/InstagramFrom there, under the tutelage of producer extraordinaire Ong Lay Jin who was a trainer in the programme, Tan got a sense of what he wanted to do with his life.
“It was Abang Adik director, Jin, who really guided me and taught me a lot from when I was 17 years old. At that age, all you want to do is hang out, go to parties and have fun. But Jin not only got me acting opportunities, he also taught me to think of long-term goals.
“He arranged for me to go to Taiwan to work on a drama. When I came back he asked if acting was something I like to do. I said ‘It was OK’. Then he got me a second drama and that was when I started to enjoy acting,” said Tan, who also dabbled in singing as part of the musical duo Thomas Jack.
His acting career started flourishing. Now, the Taiwan-based actor works in Malaysia (Fly By Night, Air Force: The Movie Selagi Bernyawa) and Taiwan (See You At The Rally). He also has an upcoming project in China.
Along the way too, he’s had the chance to work with some of the greats such as Taiwanese stars Sylvia Chang in Shuttle Life and Wu Kang Ren in Abang Adik.
Currently, Tan is headlining Adrian Teh’s film Gold, portraying national para-badminton gold medallist Cheah Liek Hou in the biopic. For the role, Tan completely transformed himself, not only learning to play badminton... but playing it with his left hand, which is not his dominant hand.
He also had to lose about 10kg to look fit, and then gain 20kg for crucial scenes in the film.
With success following him almost every step of the way, we asked Tan what his parents think of his career. He deadpanned the answer: ‘They think I’m rich now (laughs)...
“They are proud of me. They are very supportive of what I do... and always have been.
“Whatever I wanted to do or learn when I was young, they’d always encourage me. I wanted to learn taekwondo, they let me do it. Then when I wanted to get into mountain biking, they said OK.
“My dad always tells me to challenge myself. My dad’s hobby is off-road 4x4 driving. So, I probably got a love for extreme sports from him.”
In a conversation with StarLifestyle, Tan talked about looking forward to becoming a parent one day, the advice Hong Kong star Tony Leung Chiu Wai imparted to him and the food he likes to eat.
When you really love acting, you will do whatever it takes to be that character.
I never think about why I have to push myself just for a role. I just do what I need to do as an actor... prepare as much as possible.
People not recognising me from one role to another, I hear that all the time. It’s not just you, people have asked me if I am the same person who played (Sergeant) Hujan in Air Force The Movie or as Adik in Abang Adik.
I won’t be surprised if people don’t recognise that it’s me in Gold either.
Before training for Gold, I didn’t know how to play badminton.
Also, badminton requires a lot of footwork, leg training and using different muscles than what I am used to.
Jack Tan wears Louis Vuitton outfit, with styling by BYCOLIN. Photo: YAP CHEE HONG/The StarIt requires practice to get the shots perfect; like for example where you drop the shuttlecock, when you deliver a smash...
The problem now, when I do play badminton for leisure, is that I have to think about which hand to play with; because technique-wise my left hand is better. But for power, my right hand is stronger.
I also want that. But, there’s no time right now as I am really busy with movies and dramas.
Also, I am based in Taiwan, whereas my wife works in Malaysia; she’s a (radio) deejay as well as a singer.
So, yes. Let’s see when that happens (laughs).
They are actually very friendly people. But like Tony Leung and Kang Ren they are introverts who don’t talk much in public.
I figure this is because they give so much when they are filming, they prefer to just be still when not performing.
Tony told me that he really liked Abang Adik, and he was very interested to learn how we made the film and the process of getting into our characters.
He had a lot of questions about the movie that he invited us to the afterparty where we spoke some more.
The husband and wife share share the same passions which includes travelling, running cross-country races and driving around Malaysia is an old car. Photo: Jack Tan/Instagram
I think he usually leaves after the awards ceremony, but because he wanted to find out more about Abang Adik, he went to the afterparty and talked to Kang Ren, Jin and me.
He also opened up about how an actor should stay curious about everything – like always be reading a lot, observing the world, the people, seeking knowledge even when not working. I did not expect him to share this with me.
I eat nasi lemak without sambal, roti canai with white sugar.
When I went for a holiday in Leh, India, I had omelette and bread, erm, more omelette and bread (laughs). I also had chow mein. In Leh, they call (fried noodles) chow mein too. I was surprised to learn that.
My mum is a very good cook, which is why I never learned to cook. And when she cooks for me, she won’t add any spicy ingredients... not even pepper.
And my wife, who eats spicy food, always says it’s boring to have dinner with me because she cannot eat Thai food or any spicy food (laughs).
Gold opened at cinemas nationwide on July 11.
