Christopher Lee, Unfiltered

THE ONCE-DELLICTANT ACTOR FOUND BEACE IN A JOB THAT CRAVED DRAMA. THE VETERAN ACTOR RECOUNTS HIS JOURNEY TO BECOMING THE MAN HE NEVER KNEW HE COULD BE.

- WORDS FARHAN SHAH PHOTOGRAPHY WEE KHIM FASHION DIRECTION + STYLING KARIN TAN OUTFITS + WATCHES LOUIS VUITTON TRANSLATION ANNITA HO

THIS IS AN IRONIC SENTENCE to begin a story, but award-winning thespian Christopher Lee didn't like acting—at least in the beginning. He burst onto the scene after winning first runner-up in the 1995 edition of Star Search, a popular talent television show scouting for Chinese-speaking actors. That nabbed him a contract with local broadcaster TCS. Two years later, Lee won the Best Actor award at the 1997 Star Awards, an annual presentation recognising the best Chinese performers for the year.

Yet, despite all that, Lee couldn't "find anything enjoyable about the job." He admits that many of his issues were self-inflicted. "I had many personal issues back then. I was new to acting. My Mandarin wasn't good enough," he says in Mandarin, his hands gesticulating in tandem with his voice's cadence. "For the first few years, I was groping in the dark. This was the hardest phase of my acting career. I didn't know where I was heading, what my future held, and whether I truly enjoyed my work."

These formative years, however, shaped the actor he wanted to be. Lee admired distinctive entertainers such as Stephen Chow, Tony Leung, and Johnny Depp. They were a different breed, treading their own path during a time when male actors veered towards action blockbusters. Chow proved that Asian comedy could be a global success. Leung was a method actor in Asia before it became part of the acting lexicon. And Depp rejected his teen idol persona for a more anti-macho, gender-fluid image.

As for Lee, he starred as the male protagonist in a series called The Return of the Condor Heroes. It aired in 1998 and comprised 40 episodes. I must confess. I've never watched the show before because I barely understand Mandarin and my entertainment diet back then was primarily English shows. But all my Chinese friends in school would discuss it incessantly.