Singaporean artists Chantalle Ng and Darren Deng have seen a sharp rise in popularity thanks to the drama series “The Little Nyonya: The Jadeite Mountain.” Both independently named this drama as their most challenging and most satisfying work of 2025. Mediacorp’s popular star Chantalle Ng took on her first-ever villain role in the series and admitted that the nearly six-month-long filming wasn’t easy. “Having to constantly stay in character and hold on to that ‘evil’ was actually very tough, but for me, it was a unique experience.” Darren Deng described “Bai Ali” as a major turning point in his acting career: “Because of this character, people finally got to know me, Darren Deng.”
While the challenges were constant on screen, Ng’s work pace off screen was equally relentless. The much-promoted Chantalle Ng filmed one drama after another, and during the filming of “Worth the Work?” last September, she was hospitalized with a high fever due to a viral infection. The experience made her deeply realize the importance of health: “Now I know better to take care of myself and have learned to rest when necessary.” She smiled and said she had just come back from a “recharging” trip to Finland with her mother, Lin Meijiao, and is now feeling much rejuvenated. Darren Deng, standing beside her, teased and praised her for looking “radiant.”
Darren Deng delivered an outstanding report card in 2025, not only winning “Best Rising Star” and “Most Popular Rising Star” at the Star Awards 2025, but also being nominated for Best Actor at the New York Television Festival for “Unforgivable Sins.” Moreover, his performance as “Bai Ali” in “The Little Nyonya: The Jadeite Mountain” earned him a Golden Xuan Award nomination for “Best Global Supporting Actor” at the Aollywood International TV Festival. He frankly stated that 2025 was a bountiful year for him: “This year has been truly fulfilling. Star Awards 2025 was my first time going on stage to receive an award. I finally had the chance to show everyone my efforts, and in a way, it’s payback for all the fans who’ve supported me.” As for the string of overseas accolades, he described them as motivation to keep moving forward and hopes to one day stand on the international stage and bring glory back to Singapore.
Talking about becoming the leading actor for the first time in the new drama “Lost but Fearless,” Darren Deng admitted feeling both pressure and joy. “The pressure is to hold up the whole show, and the joy is finally having the chance to play the male lead. But for me, it’s a kind of motivation and I hope to do the best I can with this project.”
On the 17th, before attending the exclusive Astro “Wanshi All Right Cool Dada” fan meet in Malaysia, the two accepted a joint media interview. Chantalle Ng laughed, saying that she and Darren Deng “really have a strong fate to go abroad together” as they have been work travel companions many times, but have never actually acted in the same scene. She couldn’t help but publicly hope for a chance to collaborate. Darren Deng immediately responded with a laugh: “Let’s play a couple, a very sweet CP.” Chantalle Ng excitedly agreed, “I want to wear a uniform, because he looks really handsome in uniform!”