In the recent episode of the YouTube talk show DNA where celebrity parents and their children have a chat with its host, actress Rebecca Lim, actor Joel Choo talked about how it’s like pursuing the same career as his father.
The 31-year-old is the younger son of veteran actor Zhu Houren, 71. Older son Jonathan is a filmmaker.
Joel’s interest in acting started in secondary school, joining the drama club’s end-of-year plays.
“They’d always ask me to act because, ‘Your father is an actor so you should be able to do it,'” he said.
Houren recalled seeing “silly videos” filmed by Joel and his friends back then and remarked frankly: “That’s when I realised he didn’t have much acting talent.
“His delivery had no rhythm at all. It was terrible.”
Houren admitted he was worried at first when Joel wanted to become a full-time actor.
“There are so many good-looking people who can’t act, why must it be my son?” he said to Rebecca, 39.
“Even now, I still think his acting isn’t quite there. But I don’t teach him. I can only remind him.”
Rebecca asked Joel if he goes through his scripts with his dad at home to practice.
“My first few acting jobs, yes,” he answered, prompting Rebecca to ask: “How was it?”
He immediately shook his head: “Not fun.”
While Rebecca laughed, he explained the scenes were mostly romantic ones with women, so it was hard to go through them with his father.
“His version of charming might not be my version of charming,” he said.
‘Very good branding’
How does he feel being known as Houren’s son?
“There’s pressure when it comes to acting. Everyone expects me to be at a certain standard. But other than that, I think it’s a very good branding. I embrace it,” said Joel.
He gets father-son projects which allows him to do what he loves together with Houren.
Rebecca then asked a tougher question: “Have you ever felt like you were given opportunities just because of your dad?”
Joel responded: “Definitely. I think the reason why Mediacorp wanted to sign me in the first place was because they wanted to leverage on this father-and-son branding.
“When I get jobs, there’s always this sense of… ‘I’m only here because of my dad.'”
Joel left The Celebrity Agency, the artiste management arm of Mediacorp, in 2021 and is currently signed with TCP Artistes.
He also shared how people would also treat him “nicer”, recalling how a director who was known to be impatient was more tolerant with him.
Even now, when he gets a role through Houren’s recommendation, he thinks, “Do I deserve it?”, hence why he “appreciates auditions more”.
“It gives me a chance to prove myself,” he said.
‘Don’t make him cry’
Joel married his girlfriend of 10 years in 2023, and two years on juggling responsibilities as an actor and husband, he feels he understands how hard it has been for Houren.
When Rebecca asked him what makes him appreciates the most about his father, Houren immediately quipped: “Don’t make him cry lah.”
“He wears many hats. A breadwinner, father, husband and he does everything very well,” said Joel before a long pause.
As he broke into tears, Houren chuckled lightly, looking a bit emotional himself, and rubbed Joel’s back.
Joel explained his experience now allows him to feel what it’s like to be in Houren’s shoes and how hard it is to juggle work and family.
“Although what I experience is maybe a small percentage of how he feels, it makes me appreciate him more,” he said.
Houren chimed in: “In a family, it’s often only when something happens that you realise how deep your bond really is.”
The father-and-son duo are starring in the upcoming film Pace, directed by Jonathan, set to premiere this year. The movie also stars actor Desmond Tan.
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