Elvin Ng: HDB Prince

Elvin Ng has made a career of playing wholesome, naïve boys-next-door.
He's an eternal boy (one often forgets he's 29, not 19), tanned and toothsome, his puppy eyes promising endless chaste love. (There is something asexual about his appeal, despite the muscles glimpsed now and then in sneaky shirtless scenes which he says he hates, “I’m just not all that comfortable about showing my body off on TV or in photoshoots and I'd always go do I have to?"). There’s something ‘safe’ about Elvin, and this niceness is a big part of his appeal. He’s like a gorgeous human puppy you can ride off with to the halogen sunset of the neighbourhood mall, sucking on a bubble tea.
It’s no surprise that his Best Actor nod in this year's Star Awards is for playing Tarzan (in Together), a role that is the apogee of his type: It’s like all the good cops, valiant buddies, sweet but ineffectual boyfriends of his career had been boiled down into an essence, then poured into the gorgeous form of the hunky-but-hapless dullard with a heart of gold. "Tarzan and I have a lot in common – we’re both simple, innocent and frank and playing him has made me feel very good," admits Elvin. His only outing as a villain, in last year’s The Ultimatum was universally decried (he says sheepishly: "I wanted to try something different").
That wrinkle aside, his four years with Mediacorp has otherwise been a smooth and steady rise. “I got into the Top 10 (Male Artistes) in my first Star Awards. I have three Top 10 trophies already, one for each year in the business. Although it gets less exciting for me each year, the awards are still very important. You might hear some other artistes say it’s just a game, or it’s just a show, but I don’t think they are speaking the truth.”
Q. Do you think you will win the Best Actor Award?
A. "It would be totally unexpected if I were to win this award because I think I’m not at that level yet. I can’t even look at my own acting! I don’t even dare to think about winning this award. There is some chance, of course; I’m just happy to be seated right in front this year instead of way back. The nomination is like a Toto ticket. I have some chance but it’s likely that the award will go to one of the three veterans.
"I hope I get it of course, but I think it would be an ‘accidental’ win."
(A version of this profile, and the full interview, appears in 8 Days)