E-Junkies: Kuo Shu-yao explains why she relied on Zong Zijie a lot offscreen and onscreen for new movie

While filming the new supernatural movie The Chosen One in Penang last year, local actor Zong Zijie would order breakfast and a drink of choice for Taiwanese actress Kuo Shu-yao every morning.

“As time passed, he would help me with a lot of things, such as asking if there were any daily necessities that he could help me buy,” 33-year-old Shu-yao told AsiaOne in an interview recently.

Zijie, 28, also helped her with her luggage and bought her durians, knowing that she loves the king of fruits.

“There was once he bought four to five boxes of different types of durians for me. I was grateful for his generosity and tried my best to finish it,” she said.

In fact, Zijie showed Shu-yao how considerate he was even before they met in person.

She shared: “Even before I was in Singapore, we chatted on Instagram and he reminded me to bring a cardigan because the office in Singapore can be quite cold. I felt that he is a very thoughtful person.”

If you are wondering whether this is the start of something more, Shu-yao denied rumours that the two were dating last September, after she was spotted having an hour-long video call with him late at night.

Shu-yao revealed to us that she actually takes time to warm up to others, adding: “I am someone who usually doesn’t want anyone to help me with anything because I am afraid of troubling them.”

However, to build chemistry with Zijie, who plays her romantic interest Li Yuanjie in The Chosen One, Shu-yao relied on him a lot, following the advice given by her acting coach.

“I knew our filming time was short and I couldn’t warm up to him slowly, so my acting coach gave me a tip, telling me I must feel that I need him a lot offscreen and onscreen, and express it,” she shared.

“This is interesting because it is also reflected in the script. My character is someone who is very reliant on Yuanjie.”

Once, he teased her that she is someone who doesn’t know how to order food deliveries on her own.

“I told him that he had underestimated me,” Shu-yao quipped.

In The Chosen One, Shu-yao plays the bubbly and naive Ah Jiao, who meets gangster Yuanjie, also known as Ah Jie. He has the ability to see supernatural beings and exorcise them, but chooses to cheat, con and fight instead of putting his powers to good use.

When famous paranormal vlogger Sora Ma (Angel Lim) stirs up a storm after recording some strange events in the neighbourhood, it is up to Ah Jie to confront his past and choose between accepting his fate as a Ghost Master or protecting his love with Ah Jiao.

Zijie shared during the same interview that he considers his connection with Shu-yao as fated, not just as fellow actors but in their ability “to be able to get along and have chemistry as human beings”.

He expressed: “There are many others who spend a lot of time and effort to establish chemistry with someone but may still be unable to do so.

“For us to be able to get along and work together successfully, I feel that we are very lucky.”

“That’s why we were able to film this movie successfully!” Shu-yao added, to which Zijie agreed.

He also praised her for her professionalism and commitment towards acting.

Zijie said: “Shu-yao left a deep impression on me after we worked together. She showed me a different side to actors. I have met a lot of actors in Singapore and because of the environment, I generally understand their working styles. Shu-yao showed me something different.”

He was surprised by how professional she was in terms of how Shu-yao thought of the bigger picture while building her character.

“She doesn’t just think about making her character interesting,” he said. “She thinks about how to make all the characters entertaining and how to make the story better… I can see that she is very professional and passionate about her work.”

The Chosen One, which also stars local comedian-actor Gurmit Singh, opens in Singapore cinemas on May 30.

Watch our E-Junkies video for more of the interview!