Breakout star Anna Jobling is enjoying a surge of popularity from the success of 'Melur Untuk Firdaus'. photo: Yap Chee Hong/The Star; Styling: EJ; Hair: hairbylala.8; makeup: Anna Jobling
Just an hour before she transforms herself into an effervescent, charming, scene-stealing personality for our cover shoot, Anna Jobling arrives at our studio in a black zip-up sports blazer and thick black-framed glasses, looking like the girl next door and almost blending into the background.
Off-screen and off-camera, the 22-year-old actress exudes a soft-spoken demeanour while sprinkling occasional quips of dry humour.
With an unassuming presence, she wields the ability to turn on the charm when the situation calls for it.
Revealing that she is actually an introvert, Jobling says that she struggled with anxiety at a young age.
“I think growing up I just had anxiety and stage fright, so I never really felt like I was going to become an actor. It was kind of a dream job, but I felt like it was never going to happen for me,” she says.
“I started going to castings for TV commercials since I was five years old, but I don’t think it ever worked out because I was very shy, I didn’t know what I was doing.”
Revealing that she is actually an introvert, Jobling says that she struggled with anxiety at a young age. photo: Winston GomezShe stopped auditioning, focused on schoolwork and being an athlete, making waves as a swimmer for the state of Selangor in her early teenage years.
At around 15, Jobling decided to shift her focus to breaking into the entertainment industry once more, starting with modelling school.
“It really helped with my confidence and my anxiety when it comes to being in front of people. I think that’s where it started and I started doing TV commercials again, and then I went into all sorts of modelling. And then I slowly went into acting,” she says.
Her hard work has paid off – she recently experienced a surge of popularity almost overnight for her role in the film Melur Untuk Firdaus, where she acts alongside another rising star, Meerqeen.
Accolades began pouring in upon its release, along with several award nominations and wins.
“I didn’t expect anything from it (the role), but then when I gained recognition from multiple countries, not just Malaysia, mainly Indonesia, it was like an overnight sensation,” says Jobling.
Despite the appreciation for her acting ability and sudden fame, all the attention was a little hard to adjust to, as Jobling had never experienced anything like it before.
“So then there was like, no more privacy. Everyone felt they had a right to have their opinions on me whether it was negative or positive, yet I felt like I wasn’t allowed to have my own opinions,” she shares.
“That was hard for me because I’m a pretty private person, I don’t really share much. With the sudden fame and attention, things kind of shifted and I had to adjust to it.”
It’s early days, and Jobling is determined to stay grounded by keeping her family and close-knit circle close.
“I always have this mindset where, no matter how good I am, there’s always going to be someone that’s better than me.”
Making it work
When Jobling decided to get serious about acting, she knew it wasn’t just about honing her talent – she realised it was essential that she master the Malay language to truly break into the local entertainment industry.
Born to a British father and a Malay mother, she didn’t grow up speaking Malay as she always thought she would end up living abroad.
“I learned Malay a few years ago,” says Jobling. “When I first started acting, I never accepted roles because I could not speak the language. Growing up, my mum would speak to me in Malay but I would just never respond in Malay, and everyone around me spoke English.”
“So, what I did was I basically forced my mum to tutor me in Malay every night,” she recalls. “She would buy me all those SPM books and say you have to sit down and do homework in Malay, and that’s how I learned.”
Part of the reason she worked hard at mastering the language wasn’t just to sound authentic in roles but also to avoid being a stereotypical “mixed-race” actress who only speaks English.
Jobling is looking forward to exploring a variety of roles in the future. photo: Yap Chee Hong/The StarRiding on the wave of her recent success, Jobling has a few projects in the pipeline, after taking a short two-month break upon wrapping her latest drama.
She is currently filming a project in Bali with an Indonesian production team, and has another project lined up back home later in the year.
Having played several main character roles – antagonist, protagonist, the “homewrecker”, among others, Jobling is looking forward to taking on more serious roles in the future.
“I enjoy what I’ve been doing so far, but I’m looking to venture into heavier roles, different types of roles,” she says, adding that she would love to challenge herself by playing someone who is mentally unstable.
Jobling has dabbled in theatre, appearing in a production in 2022, which she found to be a different sort of challenge.
“There’s a difference between acting on stage and on screen – on television you have minimal movements, you can use your facial expressions because it’s a really tight shot, but when it comes to theatre, there’s the ability to maximise your movements and your personality,” she says.
“I prefer acting in a normal drama because you can have many takes, and if you mess up, it’s fine. But working in theatre requires a lot of commitment, doing rehearsals every single day for a month. It is quite a short amount of time, but it’s more challenging and I feel like it’s more rewarding and fulfilling once you’re done with it.”
If she weren’t an actress, she reveals that she would have loved to become a veterinarian, or delve into criminal psychology, but for now she has to contend with perhaps playing these roles at some point in the future.
For someone as young as Jobling who is experiencing success early on in her career, the world truly is her oyster, and she is taking it all in stride.
I prefer acting in a normal drama because you can have many takes, and if you mess up, it’s fine. Working in theatre is more challenging but I feel like it’s more rewarding and fulfilling once you’re done with it.
Breakout star Anna Jobling is enjoying a surge of popularity from the success of 'Melur Untuk Firdaus'. photo: Yap Chee Hong/The Star; Styling: EJ; Hair: hairbylala.8; makeup: Anna Jobling
Jobling is looking forward to exploring a variety of roles in the future. photo: Yap Chee Hong/The Star
Revealing that she is actually an introvert, Jobling says that she struggled with anxiety at a young age. photo: Winston Gomez
