Web of courage
Actor Wu Chun hates spiders but stars in a film filled with them.
BRUNEIAN actor Wu Chun isn’t a fan of spiders.
“I hate them. Sometimes I imagine myself sleeping and there are spiders crawling all over my body, it’s disgusting,” the 38-year-old shares with a roomful of reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
Interestingly, Wu Chun – who sports a necktie with spider motives – seems to be embracing the eight-legged creature wholeheartedly in his latest film, Guardians Of The Tomb.
The science fiction thriller sees Wu Chun playing a scientist searching for a medical breakthrough in an ancient tomb filled with spiders.
“It’s something I know I won’t experience in real-life,” the actor explains why he signed on to the film despite his aversion towards spiders.
“Also, I knew they’d be fake,” he adds with a laugh, referring to the film’s use of CGI to bring the spiders to life.
However, not having real spiders on set also meant he needed to rely on the power of his imagination, something Wu Chun admits was quite challenging.
Another thing that’s different about working on Guardians Of The Tomb, compared to his previous projects, is it features a cast of international actors.
Its lead roles are helmed by recognisable names like Frasier’s Kelsey Grammer, Twilight’s Kellan Lutz and, of course, one of China’s most popular actresses Li Bing Bing.
On working with the Chinese actress, Wu Chun says he initially felt pressured paired with such a revered name but discovered she was really nice and down-to-earth on set, coming across like a sister to him.
Li plays the leader of a group of scientists trying to find her brother, played by Wu Chun, who gets lost while on his mission.
Dubbed the largest Chinese-Australian co-production to date, Guardians’ crew members themselves come from various walks of life.
“I wanted to be involved in this film because it’s my first time taking part in a production with such an international group of people.
“I experienced a great exchange of cultures on the set,” he adds.
Primarily shot in Gold Coast, Australia, Wu Chun describes what the working culture was like on set: “It’s so different from working in China. They really know how to create a balance between work and life.
“For example, during weekends, we didn’t work. This won’t happen in China. There, we work almost every day.”
Speaking of work-life balance, Wu Chun is a pro when it comes to juggling the two.
He is married to his high school sweetheart Lin Liying and has a seven-year-old daughter and four-year-old son living in Brunei. As his work takes him all over the Asian region, the ex-member of the Taiwanese boy band Fahrenheit shares how he stays in touch with his family.
“Time management is very important for me. I always tell my manager to squeeze in as much work as possible on back-to-back days so I really make use of the time while I’m away from my family who is in Brunei. And when I’m working outside of Brunei, I will FaceTime with them almost every day.” Guardians Of The Tomb is currently playing in cinemas nationwide.