What Hollywood gets wrong about Singapore

Here are four major errors commonly seen in foreign depictions of Singapore in films, series and video games

- Teo Kai Xiang

A Singaporean Chinese businessman who speaks only Malay sits across from American investigators, requiring an interpreter to translate his words to English.

This bewildering scene, from an episode of American crime drama series Countdown (2025) which aired on Prime Video on Aug 20, sparked criticism from local netizens for its "badly misrepresented" portrayal of the Republic.

And yet, it exemplifies a persistent trend. When Singapore appears on global screens, many depictions miss the mark so dramatically that viewers find them cringeworthy rather than celebratory.

"As actors, if we were to really just stick to auditioning only for our own ethnicities or nationalities, or if we wait for roles with 100 per cent accurate representation, some of us would never ever work," says Valerie Loo, the Singaporean actress who played the interpreter in Countdown.

Her other acting credits include appearances on horror anthology series American Horror Stories (2021 to 2024), crime drama Criminal Minds (2005 to present) and TV movie Killing The Competition (2025).

Based in Los Angeles since 2019, she sees the challenges in securing authentic representation in Hollywood as a symptom of a deeper issue: the scarcity of Asian voices in film-making.

"Hollywood is built on connections," Loo, who declines to reveal her age, tells The Straits Times. "Because there aren't a ton of Singaporeans working here in America both in front of and behind the camera, it's hard to foster community. Newer actors like myself have to build from the bottom up, taking on as many different roles as possible to build our credits."

This is complicated by a painful double standard, she adds.