SINGAPORE – Will Jeffrey Xu and Felicia Chin welcome a baby in the Year of the Dragon?
The Shanghai-born, Singapore-based actor certainly hopes so.
“My 59-year-old father and I are born in the Year of the Dragon. It would be perfect if a baby comes along and we can have three generations of Dragons,” he says.
“We will let nature take its course. Having a baby is a blessing and joy, Dragon Year or not.”
Xu, 35, and local actress Chin, 39, tied the knot in October 2022 after dating for seven years.
The couple moved into their new home in July 2023 and are ready to host their first Chinese New Year house party.
This will be the first year they give out hongbao.
“We were told we didn’t have to do so in the first year of marriage, but there’s no escaping now,” he says with a laugh.
“I’ve been receiving red packets all my life, I’m not sure what greetings to say when I give them out.”
The couple have also gifted each other clothes for the festivities.
For this Chinese New Year-themed interview and photo shoot with The Straits Times, he is decked out in one of two outfits that Chin bought him.
“We definitely follow festive traditions such as wearing new clothes to symbolise a new start. But, no, they don’t have to be in red,” the fashionista says of his khaki shirt-and-bermudas set.
In Chinese culture, the Dragon is considered the mightiest in the zodiac cycle.
Those born under this sign bear desirable traits such as intelligence, giftedness and good fortune – of which Xu humbly stakes claim to only being lucky.
The graduate from Shanghai Film Art Academy moved to Singapore after winning Channel 8’s talent competition Star Search in 2010.
Over the years, leading-man roles have mostly eluded him. But he still considers himself blessed to be cast in supporting roles, which gave him room to hone and flex his acting chops.
Among his treasured trophies include two Asian Television Awards for Best Supporting Actor – for his portrayal of a nurse in Channel U series Marry Me (2013) and a drug abuser in Channel 8 drama The Takedown (2021).
Even at low points in his career, there were benefactors who picked him up, he says. “And, of course, I married a good wife. I have been really blessed.”
Having recently watched the hit television series Blossoms Shanghai (2023) by famed Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, Xu feels the urge to visit his home town with Chin.
The 30-part drama, centring on a self-made millionaire during Shanghai’s economic boom in the 1990s, has sparked travel fever to the Chinese city.
“I have not been back in five years due to the pandemic and our work commitments,” says Xu, who will be busy with Channel 8 drama productions Never Too Late and AI Kin in 2024.
Chin, on the other hand, has taken a back seat from acting to create social media content at a faith-based non-profit organisation. She was last seen in Channel 8 series I Do, Do I? (2023).
Xu, an only child, adds that it is easier for his parents to fly over from Shanghai to catch up with them, as they did in December 2023.
His father, who plans to retire soon, works in real estate and his mother is a housewife.
This Year of the Dragon, Xu hopes to land a movie role – his previous one was in local comedy-drama Republic Of Food (2018), directed by Kelvin Tong – and will continue to upgrade himself.
That includes learning English and other words from Chin, who has been capturing these candid moments and occasionally sharing them on their social media platforms.
To his surprise, the funny videos turned out to be very well received by their combined Instagram following of 286,000. In one instance, he mispronounces “risotto” as “mee soto”.
“I wasn’t in favour of posting them initially. No man likes to show his embarrassment, right? But in the eyes of my loving wife, they are endearing.”
He adds: “Now, whenever I meet people, they would ask, ‘How’s your English learning? I want to speak English with you.’”
Xu, who has been conversing with this writer in Mandarin thus far, breaks into a smile and switches to English for his response: “So far, so good.”
