When she was told two months ago she would have to have her long locks shorn for her role in the new drama series Mercurial Men, Carrie Wong was at a loss.
“I’d not worn my hair short for two decades,” the 22-year-old said. “I felt insecure and I didn’t know whether a short hairstyle would suit me. I heard that tall girls don’t look good with short hair, so I was afraid.”
The actress even asked the Mercurial Men’s executive producer if she could don a wig instead of going for a haircut, but she was turned down — Soh Bee Lian said the character wouldn’t be convincing otherwise.
So Carrie took the plunge. After her hairstylist assured her her small face suited a bob cut, she had her hair — which reached halfway down her back — trimmed to skim her shoulders two weeks ago. And on Valentine’s Day, she went for it: a graduated, slightly asymmetrical bob.
Explaining her two-step haircut, Carrie said, “I couldn’t bear (to cut it all at once) — how would my fragile soul be able to handle it!”
Pretty boy
Since then, the actress said she’s received plenty of compliments on her new look. “Everyone says it looks good, and I think I look quite dashing now!” she said. “Like those kkotminam (pretty boys) in idol dramas!”
But Carrie doesn’t agree she’ll start attracting amorous attention from other girls, saying she’ll be sure to put on bright lipstick or wear skirts when she goes out.
And with her neck area now exposed, she said she’ll have to watch what she eats from now on, though her four-day trip to Hong Kong last week did her no favours.
So just how far would Carrie go for a role? “If it’s an outstanding character, I wouldn’t mind shaving my head” she said.
Chemistry
Carrie has a supporting role in Mercurial Men, about three ambitious brothers who find themselves in jobs typically associated with women.
The youngest brother, Nai Yi, played by Aloysius Pang, graduates with a fashion design qualification but winds up at an office that designs women’s undergarments. Carrie plays a shopgirl at an undergarment store who develops feelings for Nai Yi.
In her second collaboration with Aloysius (after Life — Fear Not, now airing on Channel 8), Carrie said the two are now good friends and have strong chemistry onscreen, and even a one-night stand scene in the script won’t make it awkward between them.
But the actress said she’s only friends with Aloysius and still very single, though if she does enter into a relationship she would inform the media. “Hiding and dodging is exhausting,” she said.
“And even though this short hairstyle looks good, boys all prefer girls with long hair, so I’ll have to grow mine out before anything happens!”
Mercurial Men debuts August 9, 9 pm on Channel 8.
Life — Fear Not airs weeknights, 7.30 pm on Channel 8; watch it on Toggle-It-First