The Grind’s Chantalle Ng and Richie Koh on work stress, ambitions and fame

SINGAPORE – It was during their dinner break when Chantalle Ng learnt that Richie Koh had earned a Golden Horse Best Actor nomination for his drag-queen performance in A Good Child (2025).

“Richie had just been on his phone taking calls. When we were walking to the hawker centre, he showed me a message on his phone. It was his nomination,” Ng, 30, tells The Straits Times on Dec 18.

“I was so elated and overwhelmed with happiness to see an actor of my generation have such an achievement. My hands were shaking so much that I couldn’t hold my chopsticks properly.” 

The local actors were filming The Grind, in which they play a couple working in the same company. The 20-part series explores career struggles, ambitions and societal pressures faced by young Singaporeans. 

The drama, which also stars Noah Yap, He Yingying and Yvonne Lim, premieres on mewatch on Jan 5 and Channel 8 on Jan 9.

Calling Koh her favourite co-star, Ng says he “connects with his heart” when acting. 

“He makes it easy and comfortable to bounce off him emotionally in scenes,” says Ng. The two had worked together on the drama The Distance Between in 2018.

Ng, who plays a former badminton national player in The Grind, had to put in hours to learn the sport so she could look authentic on court. 

During the three-month shoot,

the Emerald Hill (2025) star was hit by a viral infection

just days before the scheduled wrap in September and had to be hospitalised. She felt guilty for pushing back the production schedule.

The experience underscored the show’s central message about the human cost of non-stop work. She told Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao on the set of The Grind in July that she had been filming for 20 consecutive days without a break.

During the time, the Mediacorp actress was also preparing to host the Star Awards 2025, her first major hosting gig.

She credits a strong support network of friends, inside and outside the industry, and her mother, actress Lin Meijiao, for helping her stay afloat during those busy times. 

She also attends therapy regularly, something she started as a teenager. The sessions serve as a professional space to sort out daily stresses, which the actress finds beneficial for her mental health.

After 12 years of being in show business, Ng says she is learning to be more selective with work. “In my 20s, I was chasing fame and exposure, but now I just want to find meaning in whatever I do.”

Becoming a versatile actor

Meanwhile, Koh is riding a new wave in his career following his breakthrough performance in A Good Child, which is based on the life of Singaporean full-time drag queen Sammi Zhen.

The Golden Horse nomination has reshaped how he views storytelling and the projects he hopes to take on. 

When he was at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards ceremony in Taipei in November, he was impressed by film-makers from the region. “They are really proud of their work and unafraid to reflect uncomfortable social issues on screen,” says Koh.

He hopes the success of A Good Child will open doors to better, more on-the-ground local stories.

Koh found his collaboration with Ng on The Grind much deeper than their previous one.

“We did not have many lines together in The Distance Between and mostly acted in a group then,” says Koh. 

He praises Ng’s transparency and purity. “She’s very professional and never forgets her lines. She’s open to suggestions on how to improve scenes.”

The Grind is a corporate drama where the rat race and workplace tensions sit at the heart of the story. Koh believes office politics are a part of social dynamics, which is why it shows up everywhere people work together. 

For him, the emotional landscape – ambition, insecurity and comparison – is the same, whether one is in a TV studio or an office. By recognising how these dynamics play out in real life, he can better portray characters navigating similar pressures in dramas such as The Grind.

Koh had impressed with his powerful performance of a character who is intellectually disabled in the 2023 drama Your World Is Mine. The actor believes in living fully and absorbing real-life experiences as a way to improve his craft.

“Each life stage matters,” Koh says, adding that everyday life is like training. 

“If I had not lived my life well in my 20s, I would not be able to portray someone of that age truthfully. Now that I’m in my 30s, I’m learning new responsibilities, such as a son with ageing parents.” 

While he knows it will be hard to reach the high of a Golden Horse nomination again, he hopes the recognition for A Good Child will show film-makers a glimpse of the range of what he can do. 

Says Koh: “I’ve done male, female, villain, the good guy. So what’s next? I want to be a fully versatile actor.”