KUALA LUMPUR, October 17 — Versatile Singaporean actor and host Mark Lee is receiving praise for his role in the new family drama film Wonderland.

Directed by Chai Yee Wei (who previously directed horror comedies Blood Ties and Twisted), the film which has toured several international film festivals in 2023, has now arrived in Malaysian cinemas nationwide.

Wonderland has won several awards during including the Audience Choice Award at the 24th San Diego Asian Film Festival last November as well as the Jury Prize at the 35th Palm Springs International Film Festival in California in January this year.

Set in the 1980s and was inspired by true events which follows the story of Loke who sold his ancestral home to fund his daughter Ealain’s (played by actress Xenia Tan) studies in New York.

Loke who moves into a small public rental flat, forms an unlikely friendship with his neighbour Tan (played by actor Peter Yu) who would help him write letters to his daughter abroad.

His world however turns upside down with the revelation of devastating news.

Getting Into Character

Lee, who the Best Actor award at the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival in April this year for his portrayal of the illiterate single father Loke in the film, is best known for his roles in Chinese comedy films such as the Money No Enough films as well as the 2020’s musical comedy film Number 1.

He told Malay Mail that taking up the role is a way of challenging himself after years of doing comedies.

Although he has never done a film like Wonderland, Lee said that he felt confident playing the role of Loke is because he could relate to the character, as he is also a father of three.

"There are so many layers to this Loke character- from living alone with his daughter while running his shop and not talking to anybody to having accepting his new neighbours as friends.

"The character develops throughout the film and I felt very excited because the film has many stages and I’m required to deliver different (kind of) performances accordingly to connect with the audiences.

"But there are times that the director had to get me back on track because I was being too ‘Mark Lee’ and he would remind me of my character. For this film, the director helped me a lot,” Lee said.

Applying method acting for his character of Loke, he shared that he would be in character on set.

"Not like other movies where (on set) I would go around and tell jokes but for this movie, after getting my makeup done on set, I’m Loke.

"So when I open my eyes (after makeup), I try not to play jokes or play around with others and I would go in character already.”

A Performance to Remember

One of the heart-tugging scenes in the film was when Lee had receives a devastating phone call — and he admitted that for that scene, he ended up crying on set for almost two hours as he was unable to control his emotions.

Lee said that the scene reminds him of his real life experience after learning of the passing away of his brother when he was 16 years old.

"Crying was not the most tiring part of the scene — it's the emotion.

"When I was 16 years old, I received a call that my brother had gotten into an accident in Malaysia and passed away and I was the one who received the news.

"I still remember that during the first take, I just couldn’t stop crying because it brought me back to 1985 and although I’ve read the script before, I didn’t expect to lose control of my emotions during the first take,” he said.

Lee added that he had told the director that prior to filming the scene, he did not want the crew to come up on set and fix his makeup and asked the director to just give him instructions as he performed the scene.

Despite Wonderland film being proof of his abilities as an actor, Lee said that doesn’t mean that he will stop doing comedy in the future.

Besides from Lee, Wonderland also features other Singaporean actors including Xenia Tan, Candyce Toh as well as Rajeswary Nadarajan.

Peter Yu who played Tan in the film had also received the Best Supporting Actor award at the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival for his performance.