‘I threw a cup at him’: Henry Thia recalls disagreement with Jack Neo, how Mark Lee helped him with lines

Looking back at his acting career that spans close to three decades, local comedian Henry Thia said he had never thought he would become a star.

Sharing his experiences in the latest episode of the YouTube series R U Okay released yesterday (Aug 11), the 72-year-old said that he started off as a factory worker in the 1990s, earning a living to provide for his wife and three daughters.

When the economic crisis hit in 1997, his company couldn’t afford to pay him for his overtime and his basic income wasn’t sufficient to provide for his family, so he had to look for a side gig.

“I saw in the newspaper that a company is recruiting extras for an advertisement, so I signed up,” said Henry, adding that he received about $20 per job and could earn a few hundred dollars a month.

Henry had been a student at director Jack Neo’s acting classes, but his real opportunity to brush shoulders with him came when he played a patient alongside Jack’s doctor role one day.

“He walked in, saw me and said I looked familiar. I said, ‘Yes, I went to your training classes’… He asked me, ‘Are you free tomorrow?’ I said yes and he told me to go and give him a hand,” Henry recounted.

The following day happened to be a Monday, which was when Jack’s immensely popular TV show Comedy Nite aired weekly.

And that was how Henry joined the variety programme, playing a court officer who announced the start of session at the beginning of the skit series Shen Jing Yi Fa.

“I did that role for two years,” he said, adding that he was on the show for 10 years.

Henry, who announced his semi-retirement from showbiz and left actor Mark Lee’s King Kong Media Production in April, also shared that his popularity started from playing Ms Lim in Comedy Nite, with the signature “Alamak!” catchphrase.

“I didn’t dream of becoming a star. I just polished myself… I didn’t expect this to happen,” he said.

With his acting experiences gained over the years, Henry shared that there were instances when he knew the problem in his or his colleagues’ performances, but he didn’t voice it out as he found it difficult to express himself.

“Sometimes when I filmed a scene, I knew it. I knew my way of acting was not it, but I couldn’t say anything, because I am illiterate,” he added.

Actress Charlene Huang, who is one of the hosts, asked him how he reads his scripts, to which he responded that he doesn’t. He shared that he performed based on how he was instructed by Jack or told to ad-lib by other directors.

“I’ve improved, but I can’t write. I use the voice-chat function to reply to messages,” he added.

He was also asked who he likes to work with more, Jack or Mark.

“I can’t make comparisons, because we’re brothers,” said Henry.

He explained that because he can’t read and is at a “disadvantage”, he would need Jack and Mark’s support.

“It’s not to make use of them or anything. Mark is great. We have good compatibility on stage. He would tell me, ‘You say this later.’ We could communicate on stage and no one could tell… He would say, ‘Remember your lines, it’s…’ He would keep reminding me. He helped me a lot when we performed together,” Henry revealed.

Even siblings related by blood have their share of disagreements, and more so when they are not.

Henry was asked if the trio had conflicts, to which he revealed: “Yes, I threw a cup at Jack once.”

He recounted that Jack “kept singing Mark’s praises” and did not include him, which made him “mad”.

“In the end, I brought Jack a drink and apologised,” he said.

The three of them recently worked together in the movie Money No Enough 3 released earlier this year.