My Perfect Weekend with actor Leon Jay Williams

Who: Singaporean actor Leon Jay Williams, 48, whose latest big-screen role is that of a con artist in the crime comedy Let’s Get Rich.

Now showing in Singapore cinemas, the Mandarin film marks the directorial debut of Malaysian actor-screenwriter Jaspers Lai and also stars Taiwanese actress Janel Tsai and Singaporean actor Shane Pow.

Williams returned to Singapore in 2020 after more than 20 years in Taiwan and China, where he made his name through Taiwanese idol dramas like La Robe De Mariee Des Cieux (2004) and Green Forest, My Home (2005), and Chinese romantic comedy My Sassy Girl 2 (2010).

The artiste, who is of English, German, Japanese and Chinese descent, is married with a 10-year-old daughter, Harper.

“My perfect weekend will begin with a Saturday morning play session with Harper. We usually play indoor badminton, basketball and soccer and have Nerf gun battles in our gym room. We also have a simple stretching and workout routine.

This is followed by a catch-up session with my friends with kids on Saturday afternoons. We will have barbecues or casual meals like pizza and homemade salad at one another’s homes. Everything will be very child-friendly as the main focus is for the kids to have fun while the adults chat.

Sundays will kick off with a swim with my daughter and wife. We love the water and can spend hours in the pool or at the beach.

If the weather isn’t ideal for swimming, then it’s usually movie day at the cinema or at home. I try to introduce different genres of movies and television shows to Harper that are suitable for her age.

We also love playing board games and UNO. My mother will sometimes join us for the games and then dinner. My wife cooks on weekdays, so I usually take the family out for a meal on Sundays. It can be as simple as fast food and hawker fare or something nicer like steak or seafood. It depends on everyone’s mood.

During the school holidays, we are usually in Taiwan, where my in-laws live, or in Perth, where we enjoy the fresh air and open spaces.

Life moves at a slower pace in Australia and we love it. We can throw Frisbees and watch dogs run free, take beautiful nature hikes and just enjoy the peace. Harper loves the playgrounds there as well, and will work up a good sweat.

I always appreciate the weekend routine and enjoy any precious time I have with family and friends, as I’m never sure when I might have to go off for another filming project which might take me away for weeks on end.”