The Malay Mail, November 03 2006
By ADLY SYAIRI RAMLY

Poo’s on a roll

FROM chartered accountant to Miss Malaysia. She then ventures into acting in renowned director Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution and moves into TV hosting in the space of 12 months.

It looks like nothing is going to stop Miss Malaysia 2005, Chermaine Poo, from spreading her wings in the entertainment industry.

“Life has been happening for me in the 12 months and things are moving fast.

“Initially, it was something that I did aside from my full-time job as a chartered accountant but since a lot of offers came streaming in the last couple of months, I decided to do this full time,” she said.

These offers include a role in Dain Iskandar Said’s Dukun and notably Ang Lee’s World War II-era espionage thriller, Lust, Caution, in which she acted alongside Taiwanese heart-throb Wang Lee-Hom, Tony Leung and Joan Chen.

“I received a call from the producers saying that they wanted to see me.

Knowing that they already had auditions and even shortlisted a couple of people, I didn’t harbour any hopes of landing a role.

To my surprise, I got casted and the whole thing was an amazing experience,” explained Poo of how she landed the role.

From Monday, she will be making her theatre debut in Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple (Female Version) at The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre alongside Samantha Schubert, Bernie Chan, Sarah Shahrum and Elaine Daly.

Speaking on how she landed a role in one of the most successful plays in the history of Malaysian theatre, Poo said the offer came when she was in Joe Hasham’s Advance Acting class a couple of months back.

“I saw it last year and I thought it was a great show, it’s a sell-out. So, I didn’t think twice when they approached me to be a part of the cast. Not only is it a proven play, it’s also a great opportunity for me to brush up my acting skills,” she said.

On her experience of preparing for the play, Poo jokingly said that the experience was like being thrown into the deep end.

“I’m the only new cast member, the rest, Samantha, Bernie and Elaine are from last year’s show and they basically know what to do. To make things more difficult, this is my first time in a play,” she said with a laugh.

“To catch up, I have to put in double the hard work throughout the intensive two weeks rehearsal. I’m also lucky to have all the support and understanding from the rest of the cast,” she said.

How different is acting in a film compared to a play? “In theatre, there’s no such thing as a retake. So if you fumble, you have to be quick enough to improvise.”

Having done almost everything that is related to the entertainment industry apart from singing, we asked Poo which field she feels at home the most.

Her answer was unexpected.

“Being a chartered accountant is something that I see myself doing for the rest of my life,” she said.

“I’m doing offshore investment, too. Acting is something new to me and has always been a passion of mine.”

NEIL Simon’s The Odd Couple (Female Version) will be staged at Pentas 1, The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, from Nov 6 to Nov 12. Show starts at 8.30pm except Sundays when it will be staged at 3pm. Tickets are priced at RM60, RM40 and RM30. Details, call 0340479000.