PUBLISHED ONFebruary 08, 2024 4:32 AMByYeo Shu HuiMinor spoilers ahead
Some of the most interesting experiences for actors could be to temporarily live different lives through the characters they play.
But sometimes, the experience could be harrowing if you are portraying someone who died in the most brutal way.
Local actress Chantalle Ng had to have her entire head encased to create a lifecast for her character Sera in the recent Mediacorp drama Kill Sera Sera, who died under mysterious circumstances and was dismembered.
In a behind-the-scenes Instagram video uploaded on Feb 6, the 28-year-old actress said that at first, she thought the experience would be relaxing, but it turned out to be exactly the opposite.
"I realised it was really scary!" she said.
In the video, the staff prepared materials, believed to be silicon rubber and latex, and slathered the thick green concoction on Chantalle's head and neck. Only her nostrils were uncovered to allow her to breathe.
At one point, Chantalle appeared uncomfortable, as a staff member asked her: "What can we do to help you?", and Chantalle communicated with them by typing messages on her mobile phone.
[[nid:670404]]
Chantalle shared in the video clip: "The material was spread to my neck, it also went into my ear and when they covered up my eyes, I was really scared and freaked out. I didn't expect that I would have such a reaction.
"It feels like I'm in a coma."
She also shared that when the mould was set and they were trying to remove it from her head, it blocked her nostrils and she was unable to breathe.
There were at least three staff members who had to work together to lift the tight cast off her head.
"It feels like I was trapped inside, so that was the second time I was fearful," she added.
After a while of tugging and cutting the mould open, Chantalle and the staff managed to lift it off her head as she whimpered and wept from fear.
While the staff encouraged and consoled her, telling her that she had done well, she also apologised to them.
At the end of the video, she said positively: "I feel that if I could do it one more time, I would do better."
Kill Sera Sera centres around renowned art sculptor May Shaw (Hong Kong actress Jessica Hsuan) whose daughter Sera Sun (Chantalle) was murdered and dismembered on a leap year four years ago. Living in guilt and despair over a fight that she had with Sera before her death and devastated that her murder remains unsolved, May seeks to find her daughter's killer.
In the process, she finds out that Sera had been running a pornography website which her husband and Sera's father Allan (Christopher Lee) was a patron of.
As May continues looking for the murderer and unexpectedly finding emotional connection with pastor James Chang (Taiwanese actor James Wen), she accidentally commits a homicide which she tries to hide by imitating Sera's murder.
Kill Sera Sera, rated M18 and which also stars local actors Xu Bin and Damien Teo, is now available on demand for free on mewatch and YouTube.
[[nid:670160]]
No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.