5 Questions with Norman Hakim
The actor talks about hosting a women’s talk show. he hopes to speak from the heart on relationship issues.
FOR years, strapping actor Norman Hakim has built his career playing macho action roles, most notably, on local police series Gerak Khas.
This month, the 43-year-old actor is venturing into new territory in his showbiz journey: He will be anchoring women’s talk show, Mingguan Wanita.
Norman, joined by co-hosts Erra Fazira and Siti Elizad, will be discussing issues relating to marriage and family relationships specifically in the segment, Cerita Dalam Kain.
The family man says he often gets people coming to him for advice.
The Kuantan native is married to actress and host Memey Suhaiza and have three kids together.
He has three more children from his previous marriage with actress Abby Abadi. Though divorced, Norman still maintains a good relationship with Abby, celebrating Hari Raya together every year (complete with matching Raya outfits!), for instance.
He reveals quite a number of children of divorced parents have reached out to him, hoping the same for their family.
As such, Norman believes Mingguan Wanita will be a great way for him to share his experiences and advice on a bigger platform.
1. How are you preparing yourself as a Mingguan Wanita host discussing marriage and family issues?
Every morning, after my prayers, I devote about an hour and a half to reading.
Usually, I read motivational and business books, but since taking on this role, I’ve switched to reading books on psychology, particularly on women. I’ve been doing this for a month.
We also had a meeting to discuss what topics we will be talking about on the show and we’ve identified 33 topics.
Having identified what these topics are, I now know what sort of reading materials to focus on.
I’m trying to gain as much knowledge as I can and coupled with my own life experience, hopefully, I’ll be prepared for the task.
2. Is there a particular relationship topic you’re passionate about?
There are a few topics. One of them is my own scenario. I got divorced with Abby.
And now I’ve remarried, and Memey and I have kids together.
But I still get along with my ex-wife and her family.
It’s important. I did it for the sake of the kids. This is one topic the show will be looking into.
3. You’ve been on Gerak Khas formorethana decade collectively. Do you ever get tired of playing the same role for such a long time?
To be honest, there was a period of time when I felt I was getting bored.
My character Haris was an inspector then. I took a break for two years.
Then (director and star) Datuk Yusof Haslam called me for a new season and he promoted my character.
He is now second highest-ranked police officer on the show (after Yusof ’s character).
I don’t feel bored now. I keep coming back because my character keeps going through changes.
For example, back in the earlier years, my character receives orders. Now he gives orders.
And playing him for so long, I feel like I’ve grown with him over the years.
4. You’re a certified personal trainer? Share with us your fitness routine.
Yes, I took the course, not intending to be a trainer, but just for my own knowledge and for me to understand my body.
For my own fitness routine, I focus less on building muscle. My muscle mass doesn’t go down much because I’ve learned that my muscles are very responsive.
My body responds very well to bodyweight exercises which I do twice a week.
I focus more on cardio. I go on the stair climber machine for about 30 minutes, seven days a week. The idea is that I just need to burn what I eat every day.
5. Do you have a strict diet?
As for my diet, I eat everything, but you will never see me drink sweet drinks. I always take plain water.
But whatever I share with you, it doesn’t mean it’ll be suitable for everyone. Different people have different body types and methods.
Beginning July 8, Mingguan Wanita airs weekdays at 11am on Astro Prima (Ch 105).