In new Mediacorp long-form drama The Heartland Hero, Chew Chor Meng, 52, plays Zhong Buzhang, a man who reluctantly lets his son's pal into their home as a tenant. (P/S: Chor Meng's onscreen son is played first by Shane Pow then James Seah, while Elvin Ng plays the unwanted house guest.)

But in real life, we’d imagine that Chor Meng’s a much more welcoming host to the friends of his two daughters, Chloe, 19, and Cheyenne, 17.

When 8days.sg caught up the actor over the phone after the drama's press conference, which featured an unintentional guest appearance from fellow Heartland Hero cast member Zoe Tay’s son, we had to ask about his girls.

After all, with so many second-gen stars making their mark as new faces to watch, who knows which celeb's kid (or kids) could be making their showbiz debut soon.

So are Chloe and Cheyenne interested in acting?

No eh! Not at all, not at all!” he laughs.

They have never brought this up to me, and I've never asked them about it too. I don't think they are,” he goes on to add.

According to Chor Meng, Chloe, who is in the arts and social sciences faculty in NUS, and Cheyenne, who is a student in Anglo-Chinese Junior College, are not the type to instinctively seek out the spotlight.

For my daughters, since they were young, they've never really liked attracting the attention of others. They've never told anyone that their dad is so-and-so. They try to be more low-profile,” he says.

Chloe and Cheyenne's penchant for keeping things low-key means that they’d rather keep mum about the identity of their dad too.

They don't really bring friends back [home], unless it's their BFFs, or to do a project. [And when their friends come over, they would say,] 'Oh, so your dad's a public figure?’ says Chor Meng, adding that his daughters have “never deliberately revealed [his] identity”.

8 DAYS: You must have seen most of the second-gen stars grow up. ​​​​​​​

CHEW CHOR MENG: I'm more familiar with Chantalle [Ng] and Xiang Yun's son, [Chen] Yixi. In the past, when they were younger, they would come on set with their parents when we were filming. And now they're all in their teens and twenties. We’re all old now, aren’t we? (Laughs)

What do you think of their acting?

I did watch a little of My Star Bride and I really felt happy for [Lin] Meijiao after seeing Chantalle in it. Chantalle's a really obedient girl too.

Has the pandemic affected your health condition [Chor Meng was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy in 2008] in any way?

Actually, it hasn’t. I’m very thankful to God ‘cos when 2020 happened, I wasn't sure if it would affect [my health] but it's been okay. In fact, since last year, I haven't had a cold at all. And I think it might be due to the wearing of masks. Really, since last April or May, I haven't had a cold or any sinus issues.

Do you usually suffer from sinus issues?

No, it's just that I was surprised that I haven't had a cold in so long. When I look back, I realised that I haven't needed any flu medication [since 2020]. Or you know, it might be just my Ah Q [optimistic] spirit talking. I feel that no matter what happens, there's no way to change it, so you can only change your mindset to face it.

Speaking of the pandemic, the lockdowns and new restrictions have affected a lot of eateries, how are things on your side?

Business would definitely be affected. So, in these conditions, we can only wait for the pandemic to pass. I'm really thankful that our government has helped us out quite a bit, from last year till now. They've given us some rebates, and I'm also thankful to my staff. We've really all banded together to get through this difficult period together.

Actually, when we meet with something like this, you can really see that your staff are fighting for you. They would say: 'Oh, we'll get through this together. It's okay'. They don't think of jumping ship or grumble about the situation. But in any case, whatever the government gives us, we'll pass it on to them, so we're all in this together.

As long as you can continue to do business, and live on, you have a fighting chance, right? In this pandemic, to still be able to talk, to be okay, isn't this something to be very grateful for? I think as long as you have a mindset like that, everything will be okay.

The Heartland Hero is now available on demand for free on meWATCH.
It airs weekdays at 7.30pm on Ch 8 from Sep 1.

Photos: Chew Chor Meng/Instagram, Mediacorp, Salt And Light