Peter Yu is back in showbiz
After staying out of showbiz for close to two decades, Peter Yu seems to have been bitten by the acting bug again.
Yu, who is now a taxi driver, will be starring in StarHub's new telemovie Zi Char, about a family running a restaurant.
He said his flexible working hours as a cabby allows him to take on acting gigs on the side.
This is the 48-year-old's second foray into the small screen this year.
He is also in Channel 8's year-end blockbuster TV drama Hero, where he plays an actor whose life falls apart after a divorce - a role that almost mirrors his own life .
Yu told The New Paper in a mix of Mandarin and English at Zi Char's media event on Tuesday: "I was curious why they (Zi Char's production crew) wanted me for the role.
"It turned out that a few of them had watched my previous TV shows and they liked the way I act."
Yu plays the head chef and owner of a zi char restaurant, who is a very strict and close-minded person.
The story is about his blind daughter, played by Taiwanese actress Zhou Yu Rou, following in his footsteps as a chef despite her disability and his disapproval.
Zi Char is slated to premiere in the first-half of next year on E City (StarHub TV Ch 111/825).
To prepare for his role, Yu took lessons on how to handle a knife and wash utensils as well as general kitchen safety and how to cook.
He was required to be on set for only six days out of the two-week shoot, but said: "It was very tiring as I was filming for more than 12 hours each day.
"But I'm very excited for this telemovie because the story is very special. You will be engrossed the moment you watch it."
When TNP asked about the parallels of Zi Char's storyline and his own parenting style, Yu declined to comment.
Yu and Taiwan-born local TV host Quan Yifeng ended their 10-year marriage in 2008.
They have a 17-year-old daughter, Eleanor, who is an actress and will appear in a Chinese period drama, Tribes And Empires, set to premiere later this year.
AGREEMENT
Yu said he does not talk about his daughter because of an agreement he has with Quan that they will not talk about each other or about Eleanor to the media.
"They live their lives, I live mine. Unless there's something important, we do not contact each other," he said.
Yu remarried in 2011.
He and his wife, Ms Brenda Leow, a 35-year-old sales executive, have a four-year-old son, Christian, and are expecting their second boy, whom they plan to name Israel. The baby is due at the end of the month.
Yu said: "Sometimes, my wife sees news about my daughter and updates me.
"It makes me happy, I feel happy for her. I just want her to be happy."
On whether he plans to give up driving a taxi to act full-time, he said he is keeping his options open.
"I will consider it if the production companies really want me," he said.
"But I live comfortably now, so they have to offer something better in order for me to want to go back."
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