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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.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old is the younger son of veteran actor Zhu Houren, 71. Older son Jonathan is a filmmaker.<\/p>\n
Joel’s interest in acting started in secondary school, joining the drama club’s end-of-year plays.<\/p>\n
“They’d always ask me to act because, ‘Your father is an actor so you should be able to do it,'” he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“His delivery had no rhythm at all. It was terrible.”<\/p>\n
Houren admitted he was worried at first when Joel wanted to become a full-time actor.<\/p>\n
“There are so many good-looking people who can’t act, why must it be my son?” he said to Rebecca, 39.<\/p>\n
“Even now, I still think his acting isn’t quite there. But I don’t teach him. I can only remind him.”<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked Joel if he goes through his scripts with his dad at home to practice.<\/p>\n
“My first few acting jobs, yes,” he answered, prompting Rebecca to ask: “How was it?”<\/p>\n
He immediately shook his head: “Not fun.”<\/p>\n
While Rebecca laughed, he explained the scenes were mostly romantic ones with women, so it was hard to go through them with his father.<\/p>\n
“His version of charming might not be my version of charming,” he said.<\/p>\n
How does he feel being known as Houren’s son?<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
He gets father-son projects which allows him to do what he loves together with Houren.<\/p>\n
Rebecca then asked a tougher question: “Have you ever felt like you were given opportunities just because of your dad?”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“When I get jobs, there’s always this sense of\u2026 ‘I’m only here because of my dad.'”<\/p>\n
Joel left The Celebrity Agency, the artiste management arm of Mediacorp, in 2021 and is currently signed with TCP Artistes.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Even now, when he gets a role through Houren’s recommendation, he thinks, “Do I deserve it?”, hence why he “appreciates auditions more”.<\/p>\n
“It gives me a chance to prove myself,” he said.<\/p>\n
Joel married his girlfriend of 10 years in 2023<\/a>, and two years on juggling responsibilities as an actor and husband, he feels he understands how hard it has been for Houren.<\/p>\n When Rebecca asked him what makes him appreciates the most about his father, Houren immediately quipped: “Don’t make him cry lah.”<\/p>\n “He wears many hats. A breadwinner, father, husband and he does everything very well,” said Joel before a long pause.<\/p>\n As he broke into tears, Houren chuckled lightly, looking a bit emotional himself, and rubbed Joel’s back.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “Although what I experience is maybe a small percentage of how he feels, it makes me appreciate him more,” he said.<\/p>\n Houren chimed in: “In a family, it’s often only when something happens that you realise how deep your bond really is.”<\/p>\n The father-and-son duo are starring in the upcoming film Pace<\/a>, directed by Jonathan, set to premiere this year. The movie also stars actor Desmond Tan<\/a>.<\/p>\n