Megan Zheng
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Megan Zheng (also known as Megan Tay, ) is a
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
an actress & novelist who starred in two Singaporean movies: ''
Homerun HOMERUN was a secret US aerial reconnaissance operation against the USSR in 1956. History Project HOMERUN was conducted between March and May 1956. During that time RB-47E and RB-47H reconnaissance aircraft flew almost daily flights over the North ...
'' and '' One More Chance''. For her role in ''Homerun'', Zheng, then 10 years old, became the first Singaporean to win a
Golden Horse Award The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is us ...
, sharing her Best New Performer award with
Wang Baoqiang Wang Baoqiang (; born 29 May 1984) is a Chinese actor, martial artist and director. His debut role was that of Yuan Fengming in the movie '' Blind Shaft'', for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards. Ear ...
.


Acting career

When Zheng was five, she accompanied her elder sister (who had a part in a documentary) to a TV station. Upon realising that the producer wanted her to play a part, a terrified Zheng hid behind a sofa."Marvellous Megan: 10-year-old shows S'poreans can win international awards",
Channel NewsAsia CNA (stylised as cna), which is an acronym derived from its previous name, Channel NewsAsia, is a Singaporean multinational news channel owned by the country's national public broadcaster Mediacorp. It broadcasts free-to-air domestically in Sin ...
, 15 December 2003
Jack Neo Jack Neo (born 24 January 1960) is a Singaporean actor, television host, comedian and film director. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1983 to 2003. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was best known for his cross-dressing roles ...
, who wrote and
directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...
''Homerun'', placed a newspaper advertisement about
audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...
s for a role in the movie, stating that he was looking for a "girl about nine, who is dark, skinny, and can cry and act". After seeing the advertisement, Zheng's father joked that she fitted the bill, prompting the girl to call Neo's J Team Productions and arrange an audition. Just before the audition ended, Zheng reminded Neo that he had yet to see her cry and she then proceeded to demonstrate her ability to do so. This anecdote, coupled with Neo's belief that Zheng could take direction and "her eyes could communicate", convinced Neo to select Zheng over 1006 other children."I just want to sleep",
The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...
, 16 December 2003
During the school holidays, Zheng and the rest of the ''Homerun'' cast flew to
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
for on-location shoot. Although Zheng was usually able to cry on cue, the cast and crew once had to wait 20 minutes for her to begin. Seeing Zheng crying uncontrollably while shooting a particularly emotional scene, an impressed
Xiang Yun Chen Cuichang (born 27 October 1961), better known by her stage name Xiang Yun, is a Singaporean actress & television host. She is commonly referred to as MediaCorp's first "Ah Jie" (Senior actress) for being among the first locally trained arti ...
commented "Wah, this little kid is very absorbed in her role". In an interview shortly after Zheng won the award, her mother indicated a desire to see her act again because "this is her interest".Foong Woei Wan, "Megan scores Homerun",
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
, 14 December 2003
Neo intended to cast Zheng in his next film, ''
The Best Bet ''The Best Bet'' () is a Singaporean comedy film written and directed by Jack Neo and distributed by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures. The film stars Richard Low, Mark Lee, Christopher Lee, Chen Liping and Joanne Peh. Released in cinemas on 9 June ...
'', but his plans never materialised. Instead, Zheng was given the role of Zeng Xiaowei in '' One More Chance''. She is scheduled to star in ''My Family, My Heart''.


Awards

For her role in ''Homerun'', Zheng was one of four considered for the Best New Performer Award at the 40th Golden Horse Awards. One of the other nominees,
Ariel Lin Ariel Lin Yi-chen (; born 29 October 1982) is a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese actress and singer. She rose to fame for her role as Yuan Xiangqin in the Taiwanese drama ''It Started with a Kiss (TV series), It Started with a Kiss'' (2005) and the Chi ...
, was subsequently disqualified after it was revealed that she had previously made an unreleased movie. ''Homerun'' was also nominated for Best Theme Song. At the awards ceremony, Zheng and
Wang Baoqiang Wang Baoqiang (; born 29 May 1984) is a Chinese actor, martial artist and director. His debut role was that of Yuan Fengming in the movie '' Blind Shaft'', for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards. Ear ...
(of
Blind Shaft ''Blind Shaft'' () is a 2003 in film, 2003 film about a pair of brutal con artists operating in the illegal coal mines of present-day North China, northern China. The film was written and Film director, directed by Li Yang (director), Li Yang (æ ...
) were named co-winners of the Best New Performer award, making her the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse Award."'Homerun' wins first-ever Golden Horse award for Singapore",
Channel NewsAsia CNA (stylised as cna), which is an acronym derived from its previous name, Channel NewsAsia, is a Singaporean multinational news channel owned by the country's national public broadcaster Mediacorp. It broadcasts free-to-air domestically in Sin ...
, 13 December 2003
Raintree Pictures Mediacorp Raintree Pictures () was a film production company based in Singapore. The company, a division of Mediacorp Group, was established on 1 August 1998. It produced the Singaporean comedy, '' Liang Po Po: The Movie'' featuring the cross-dres ...
' CEO
Daniel Yun Daniel Yun () is a Singaporean veteran film producer. He joined Singapore Broadcasting Corporation Radio as vice-president of Radio Sales in 1991 and became head of Programming in 1992. He was the head of Marketing Communications, and Programming ...
commented that Zheng's achievement "puts Singapore film-making on the Asian map", while Dr Wong Lung Hsiang, secretary of the Singapore Film Society, described it as "a landmark for the Singapore film industry".


Personal life

Zheng studied at
Jurong Primary School Jurong East is a planning area and residential town situated in the West Region of Singapore. It borders Jurong West and Boon Lay to the west, Clementi to the east, Tengah and Bukit Batok to the north and Selat Jurong to the south. First d ...
and
Fairfield Methodist Secondary School Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) and Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) are two schools located on Dover Road. Founded in 1888 as the Anglo-Chinese Girls School, they are among the oldest primary and secondary schools in Singapore. Th ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Megan Singaporean film actresses 1993 births Living people Singaporean people of Chinese descent 21st-century Singaporean actresses