SINGAPORE, Oct 2 — Suhaimi Yusof is now a renowned comedian in the local showbiz scene and he had help from a big Hong Kong star in the beginning.
The 57-year-old actor-host was a radio DJ from 1987 to 2001 before he was offered the role of a maintenance man in the beloved English-language Singapore-Hong Kong sitcom Living with Lydia, also starring the popular late Hong Kong actress Lydia Shum.
In an Instagram post on Oct 1, Suhaimi looked back on his early acting days fondly.
“Honestly, I was never given an acting role in any Malay TV dramas before this sitcom. I was known as the funny TV host,” he said, sharing a snippet from Living With Lydia.
In the scene, which happens in episode three of the second season, his character Sulaiman meets Lydia for the first time.
“By the way, my name is Sulaiman,” he says, and Lydia funnily replies: “Oh, Soh Lye Mun!”
Suhaimi revealed the scene was his first acting job and his first appearance on the English-language Channel 5. He was meant to have only two cameo roles in the show.
“It went on into full seasons because the late Lydia encouraged and taught me comedy acting, and I taught her English jokes,” he said.
“The cast became a family. The producers, writers and directors trusted my skills… The rest is history.”
He added with a teary emoji: “Lesson learned — Go to the people who lift you up and you lift them up higher after that. Miss you Lydia.”
Lydia, also affectionately known as Fei Fei, died on Feb 19, 2008, at age 62 after battling liver cancer.
Living With Lydia follows Hong Kong restaurateur Lydia who relocates to Singapore after her dim sum eatery is hit with a case of food poisoning. It ran from 2001 to 2005 with four seasons. — AsiaOne
