No Pierre Pressure

- Jonathan Fam

You would think for someone who has been on numerous red carpets (hello Star Awards!), taking to the red, sorry, jade carpet at the recent Crazy Rich Asians premiere in Hollywood would be a well, literal walk in the park. Not for Pierre Png, though. Maybe it was the sweltering 35 degrees Celsius heat, or maybe it was just plain ol’ nerves, but when the 44-year-old showed up at the TCL Chinese Theatres, he was, in his own words, “s****ing in his pants”. Thankfully, the actor wasn’t being literal ’cos it would have been a disaster as he was in an all-white Hugo Boss suit. Here he talks to us about the history-making event, what happened on the big day and making new friends in high places.

8 DAYS: Was the event everything you imagined?

PIERRE PNG: Yes! It’s really everything you would see on TV. You know, celebs walking from interviews to interviews with the questions just coming out and them answering off the cuff.

How nervous were you?

I was s****ing in my pants! (Guffaws) Firstly, you have to speak in a way that people understand what you’re saying. So I cannot say use Singlish terms like “kampong” or “cannot tahan”, which would be how we would speak to reporters at, like, the Star Awards. And it’s not like how I talk to you now and you can fill in the blanks. I think for once I knew what I feels like to be a state person.

Was there a lot of press?