After over a decade of learning the ropes and racking up regional awards, Malaysian-born, Singapore-based actor Lawrence Wong has become one of the rising stars in Asian entertainment.
Mr Wong’s first role in a Chinese television drama, Story Of Yanxi Palace, put him in the spotlight and since then his star has only gotten brighter; lead roles in My One In A Million (2019) and Girlfriend (2020) raised his profile even more, and we can next see him on screen in this year’s The Ferryman: Legends Of Nanyang.
On top of his acting accomplishments, Mr Wong is also the founder of innovative natural skincare brand Grail which he launched after years of suffering from his own skin problems. Despite these issues that he obviously overcame, standing in front of the camera became his career.
Ironically, however, Mr Wong actually prefers being behind the camera, rather than in front of it: “To be very frank, I prefer to be behind the lens because I take that as a different way to express myself given that I’m usually in front of the lens. As I’m in front of the lens a lot, the grass seems greener on the other side.”
“I’ve done so many photo shoots throughout my career and I’ve been on so many magazine covers. There were definitely some shoots where I felt like that’s really me, whereas there were other shoots that portrayed a side of me that’s entirely different, or one that I’ve never discovered before.
“But no matter which side it is, I enjoy it, and I’m glad I’m able to experience and explore different facets of my personality.”
In fact, Mr Wong loves photography: “I think it is such a great medium to express emotions and to show the world how I feel and to influence people. The possibilities are endless.
“I also like the process of finding interesting things to shoot – finding things that speak to me and that inspire me, and then I will try and frame them. By doing this, it allows me to express my emotions and point of view to the world. Images of the same thing can come up entirely differently, and I think that’s very interesting and makes the process of creating images and telling stories through my photos an enjoyable one.”
His love for photography meant that he was particularly happy to be chosen as the new celebrity brand ambassador for the Oppo Reno7 Series of smartphones.
“This is why I was very impressed by the OPPO Reno7 Pro when I first got the chance to experience it. It met all of my fast-paced day-to-day needs superbly, not to mention that they were all packed into a sleek and light smartphone body, which is a huge plus.”
Those ‘day-to-day’ needs of Mr Wong’s are the same as for most of us. He jokes that his personal relationship with his mobile phone is “too close for comfort”, just like most of us.
“I think I’m highly dependent on my phone. In fact, I don’t even have a computer or a laptop. I have not touched a laptop for more than five years. My whole life is on my mobile phone,” laughs Mr Wong.
“Games, staying in touch, photography. Staying in touch for sure because I travel quite a bit for work and filming, so I’m always using my phone to connect with my friends and family. And of course, I need my phone a lot for my work as well.”
Mr Wong loves his smartphone when he’s hanging out on set: “I play games on my phone, sleep, and chat with my friends.”
The thing he misses the most when he is on location? His bed!
“I miss my bed and my home the most when I’m on location. When I’m on location shooting, there’s often a lot of waiting. During my downtime is when I miss my home the most,” says Mr Wong.
Follow Lawrence Wong on Instagram at @ohohlawrence. For more information about Grail, go to grailskin.com.
From 15 January – 4 March, 2022, you can buy the Reno7 Pro 5G for S$919 (U.P S$999) at OPPO Concept Stores, and OPPO’s Shopee and Lazada Flagship Stores. Comes with a pair of OPPO Enco Air earphones and a pair of movie tickets for ‘Reunion Dinner’, while stocks last. At OPPO Concept Stores, and OPPO’s Shopee and Lazada flagship stores, the OPPO Watch Free is available for S$99 (U.P S$129) when buying the OPPO Reno7 Pro during this period.
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