One would think that the last thing the Queen of Caldecott would be at an audition is nervous. Yet that was exactly how Zoe Tay was feeling when she auditioned for the female lead in Mister John, the Anglo-Irish art-house murder mystery set in Singapore.

“I wasn’t nervous because of the audition. I was nervous because it was all in English,” the 46 year old actress told TODAY with a laugh.

“I was very hesitant at first and spoke to my husband about this. And he said to me, ‘If you want to do something, you should do something well and don’t do it halfway. Make up your mind!’” she shared. “So I thought about it and decided I wanted to do this. This kind of chance doesn’t come by all the time.”

Her husband’s gentle rebuke obviously made a difference. She landed the part, making it her first official part in an English language film.

The reigning Ah Jie knew she had to move away from her comfort zone, admitting to being “so comfortable” where she is, professionally. “I remember asking myself ‘Why should I do this? I don’t have to do this!’ Sometimes I feel in Singapore, we just don’t have the fighting spirit, that hunger (to go and chase film roles)” she revealed candidly. “But I knew I had to fight. To try something new to challenge myself. To do something different. This was going to be a good experience for me.”

In Mister John, Zoe plays Kim, a widow with an unusual entanglement with her brother-in-Law Gerry Devine, an Irish businessman who flees London and his own wife’s infidelities to fly to Singapore to settle his deceased brother’s matters. Aiden Gillen, best known for his roles in critically acclaimed HBO dramas The Wire and Game of Thrones, plays the brooding Devine while London-based husband-and-wife team Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor directs.

The mother of three might have a plethora of awards and 20 years of show-business under her belt, but intimate scenes still never ceases to make her feel uneasy. And in Mister John, she had more than a fair share of those “scary” scenes with Gillen. “I was nervous for the intimate scenes. I have a phobia of these kind of scenes. I feel so awkward doing them that I break out in cold sweat,” she shared. “But the team from London were very professional. They assured me not to worry and that they would make me comfortable. I was very touched with their sincerity.”

“And Aiden was just a gentleman. He’s a quiet guy but such a gentleman.”

So now that she’s pushed herself to overcome her phobia in Mister John, the sky looks to be the limit. Is there anything Zoe wouldn’t do?

“I don’t know what the future holds,so I won’t draw a line. Yet!”she said with a laugh. “But I can’t say yes to everything.”

Mister John is showing as part of the 4th Southeast Asian Film Festival. The festival which runs till 4 May (Sunday) at the Moving Image Gallery at SAM at 8Q. Tickets ($10 for each film screening or $8 concession for students with valid ID, senior citizens and NSFs) are available from SISTIC. Visit www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/seaff for more information.