KUALA LUMPUR - Rebecca Lim has crossed a new acting bridge.

Known for her self-admitted "goody two shoes, happy-go-lucky, girl-next-door" characters on TV, the Singapore actress marks a new milestone portraying a no-nonsense detective investigating a grisly murder in a 10-part series called The Bridge.

The remake of the 2011 Scandinavian TV series is produced by video streaming service Viu and HBO Asia.

"If Serena (her character) were someone who had to survive in the real world, I would really worry for her. Because, she isn't a likeable person," Lim, 32, told Malaysian newspaper The Star.

"She doesn't really care about her appearance," she added, noting that it took 40 minutes each day for the stylists to create her character's sunburnt look, with countless freckles on the face.

"She doesn't really care about the feelings of other people. And, she is socially awkward as well. Someone who is pretty much the opposite of who I am as well."

Lim, who won Best Actress this year at Mediacorp's Star Awards, found that the character stretched her to the limits "because there's a very fine line between annoying and awkward".

She also made sure she was not floored by something new to her - gritty action scenes.

"I've never done such huge fight scenes before. And it's pretty cool that there are scenes where I have to fight with big-sized men. So it's very empowering for women as well, and that's very exciting."

But a fight scene - which lasts two minutes on screen - took almost an entire day to film.

"I did a lot of training, and practised my moves. But, sometimes, my reaction is a bit slow, so I get hit.

"Despite wearing padding, I ended up with lots of bruises and body aches," she said.

The Bridge, which was shot mainly in Malaysia and is mostly in English, is helmed by two Malaysian directors - Jason Chong and Singapore-based Lee Thean-Jeen.