Who: Malaysia-born, Singapore-based actor Zhang Yaodong, 46, kick-started his career by taking part in Mediacorp’s talent competition Star Search in 2001.
Since then, he has been a familiar face on local television, starring in series such as The Greatest Love Of All (2007) and Daybreak (2019), both of which earned him Best Actor nominations at the Star Awards.
He is now starring in the family drama Born To Shine, which airs on Channel 8 on weekdays at 9pm. The series revolves around the Primary School Leaving Examination and the stress it causes both students and parents. Zhang plays a single father of two children who struggle with their studies in different ways.
He is also nominated for Top 10 Most Popular Artistes at the upcoming Star Awards, which airs live on Channel 8 and Channel U, with simulcast on mewatch and Mediacorp Entertainment’s YouTube Channel, on April 21 at 7pm.
“An ideal weekend for me would start with morning exercise, like a slow walk or jog outside or spending an hour at the gym.
When I’m done, I’ll have a lavish champagne brunch at a high-end hotel, where I can look at the view of the Singapore River and just relax with a book. If I had someone I love, I would hold hands and take a stroll along the river with that person.
If I could get out of Singapore, I would go somewhere wintry – I love winter. Perhaps Paris, where we can have coffee and admire the old architecture, or travel to Norway or Finland and have either a cup of hot coffee or good wine while we watch the snow.
But as I’m still single, reality is different from my ideal. Actors don’t regularly have weekends off, but my free days are me-time to recharge and catch up on things I like to do.
Exercise-wise, I’d go to the gym. But if I have time, I also try to play a bit of badminton. I’m part of a badminton club that meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, usually at night. I can’t always make it because of work, but I try to go when I’m free.
Sometimes, I’ll spend my days reading books. I’m reading a Chinese book titled Psycho/Genius by Gao Ming, which is a non-fiction series of interviews with mentally ill patients. I prefer reading non-fiction and I’m usually drawn to books about philosophy or psychology.
I also catch movies alone. I watched Dune: Part Two recently and Oppenheimer in 2023. I occasionally watch movies in the morning, which is quite enjoyable.
In the afternoon, I’d head to a cafe. I don’t have a particular place I visit all the time, but I don’t like crowds, so I tend to go to places that are quieter.
For example, there are some nice cafes in the Dempsey area as well as Palais Renaissance. I usually order coffee or, sometimes, I’d get myself a glass of white wine.
At night, I’d chill out at a bar, preferably somewhere with a live band, and drink some wine. When I first came to Singapore over 20 years ago, I used to love going to Chijmes for the live music, which was mostly English-language pop.
I’m a Mandopop fan, so nowadays, I visit the venues by The Tin Box Group, like Simply Live in Bras Basah Road. I also go to JuGe Entertainment at 29 Carpenter Street, which also has live Mandopop performances.”
- Born To Shine airs on Channel 8 on weekdays at 9pm. It is also available on mewatch.
