Jesseca Liu endured months of husband Jeremy Chan acting like a child at home for ghost drama Soul Detective
In the supernatural drama series, which also stars Bryan Wong, Phyllis Quek and Priscelia Chan, Liu’s hubby stayed in character as a childlike spirit – and the rest of the cast even started talking like him. “It was so annoying,” quipped the actress.
It’s not uncommon for wives to refer to their husbands as overgrown children, but in Jesseca Liu’s case, she had to endure several months of husband Jeremy Chan literally acting like a child.
The married actors both star in the new supernatural-themed drama Soul Detective, in which Chan plays the spirit of an orphaned boy who has escaped from the underworld into the human realm.
The show is the third in a trilogy of dramas that includes Leave No Soul Behind, which starred Felicia Chin; and Soul Doctor, which starred Rebecca Lim and Pierre Png.
Soul Detective also stars Bryan Wong, an underworld detective in charge of tracking down and corralling escaped spirits. He and Liu, whose character is a human who can see ghostly activity, begin a suspenseful cross-border romance.
Much of the action follows a human policeman, played by James Seah, who also happens to be Liu’s character’s nephew.
Other cast members include Carrie Wong, Priscelia Chan, Guo Liang, Nick Teo, Cavin Soh and Phyllis Quek, with Zheng Geping serving as executive producer.
Jeremy explained that his character, while alive, “suffered a fever as a child that damaged his brain”, resulting in his perpetual childlikeness. “He stays in the human world because he wants to find his mother.” He’s also able to possess people, which is why he’s number one on the underworld’s most wanted list.
To play his part more convincingly, Jeremy said, “I put on a little weight. I also shaved my head, because kids don’t style their hair”. As homework, he also studied the speech and mannerisms of Liu’s young nephew, he shared, while demonstrating how he pitched his voice higher and drew out the last syllables of his sentences.
He also revealed that he found it easier to stay in character throughout the filming process – even at home with his wife.
This, as you can imagine, did not go down so well with Liu.
But that wasn’t even the worst of it. “One of him was irritating enough. But everyone else on set started talking like him – the crew, the directors, the other actors. It was so annoying,” she said with a grimace.
On the other hand, Bryan was the perfect co-star, she said. There was one scene in which she was supposed to become emotional at the thought of him while sitting alone. But, try as she might, the tears would not come. So, the director cued Bryan to help her along.
“I sat down beside her and I just squeezed her hand,” Wong said. “The moment he did, my tears flowed,” Liu said. “When I’m not in the right emotional state, Bryan takes my hand and channels the emotions to me. Even when he’s not in the scene, he stays for my sake. So, I thank him for that.”
“How come I didn’t know about this?” Jeremy quipped.
Carrie revealed that in the scenes in which her character gets possessed by Jeremy’s, she insisted that he remain on set with her, so that she could play him convincingly. It was fun because of the character’s childlikeness, she said, while Jeremy joked that he had to do two people’s jobs on one person’s salary.
For Bryan, the many underworld scenes requiring green screen work were the most enjoyable – because they were filmed in a comfortably air-conditioned studio. “Ghosts can’t be sweaty,” he remarked.
But Phyllis – who agreed to a part in the show at Zheng’s invitation – found herself dangling on a wire for a stunt in which her character gets thrown off a bridge.
The actress, who was a familiar face on television in the 90s, is no stranger to wire work, having starred in several martial arts dramas back in the day. But that was a while ago, she said, and, even though she had a stunt double for the really dangerous parts, it was still quite frightening when she was dropped from a height.
Priscelia, who plays another escaped spirit with a traumatic past, shared that playing a ghost was a “fun” opportunity to view things from a refreshed perspective.
“During the three months of filming, I started to look at things differently,” she said. “I cherished my life more. I realised that something like a daily cup of coffee is so easily taken for granted. In the script, ghosts might be able to smell food but not eat it. I began to enjoy little things like the feeling of warm coffee going down my throat.”
Perhaps that’s why stories about undead spirits with unfinished business will always be relevant – they make us reflect on life.
Ultimately, the show’s main message, Bryan said, is that “ghosts aren't scary. The scariest thing is the darkness of the human heart”.
Soul Detective is available from Nov 21 on demand for free on meWATCH and at 9pm on Channel 8.