Singapore actor and host Bryan Wong has described his role in upcoming local drama Keep It Down as one of the most emotionally challenging experiences of his career, revealing that immersing himself in the character left him mentally and emotionally drained.
The 55-year-old plays Ong Khe Hui, a serial exhibitionist whose troubled past and disturbing behaviour make him a complex antagonist in the medical drama.
Speaking to AsiaOne, Bryan said he was eager to take on the role precisely because the character was so different from himself.
The experience, however, proved far more intense than he had anticipated.
“I had to embrace and just be him and that was the darkest moment of my life in 2026,” he said, describing the emotional toll of portraying someone whose life was marked by misery and a deeply distorted outlook.
Bryan Wong explores the character’s troubled past
Rather than portraying Khe Hui as a one-dimensional villain, Bryan said he tried to understand the childhood experiences and emotional circumstances that shaped the character.
“If we were to look into Khe Hui’s life, we would realise that his childhood plays a very important role in sculpting who he becomes in the future and his twisted way of looking at life,” he said.
Bryan described the character as tragic, explaining that he had to understand Khe Hui’s perspective without judging him while acting.
He added that the role reminded him to appreciate the family and friends who provide support in his own life — something he felt Khe Hui lacked.
The actor also had to tackle physically demanding and uncomfortable scenes, including one involving masturbation. He said the greater challenge, however, was capturing the character’s psychological complexity.
Emotional toll continued after filming
Bryan recalled filming emotionally charged scenes over three consecutive days, leaving him feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted.
When he returned home, he confided in his friends that he was feeling down. They responded by organising a group video call that lasted about two hours, helping him work through his emotions.
The experience reinforced the importance of having a support network, particularly after spending extended periods immersed in a dark or emotionally demanding role.
Despite the difficulties, Bryan said he felt rewarded by the opportunity to push himself into unfamiliar territory as an actor.
Now that filming has ended, he said he was able to look back on the experience with a sense of satisfaction at having taken on such a challenging character.
A serious surgery scene leads to unexpected laughter
Despite the drama’s heavy subject matter, Bryan also shared a lighter behind-the-scenes moment involving a surgery scene with fellow actor Paige Chua.
In the series, Chua plays urologist Tang Yijun, who must perform a life-saving operation on Khe Hui after he develops penile cancer.
The procedure becomes particularly complicated when Yijun recognises him as the man who traumatised her in the past. Khe Hui subsequently accuses her of medical malpractice, setting off a conflict that threatens her career.
Bryan said the filming process was unexpectedly funny. While he lay down for the scene, the production team staged the operation around his thighs, with Chua pretending to perform the procedure.
He recalled nearly bursting out laughing as she remained serious while working around his knees.
Bryan explained that editing, camera angles, music and the actors’ expressions would transform the seemingly comical filming process into a convincing medical scene on screen.
What to expect from Keep It Down
The medical drama follows Yijun as she navigates difficult patient cases and her own unresolved trauma. She works alongside psychotherapist Zac Lee, played by Romeo Tan, and gynaecologist Lam Weikang, played by Desmond Tan.
As the doctors confront complex medical and personal challenges, their professional relationships become intertwined with questions of intimacy, trust and emotional healing.
Keep It Down will be available free on demand on meWATCH from Oct 19, 2026, and will premiere on Channel 8 on the same day, airing on weekdays at 9pm.
For Bryan, the role represents more than an opportunity to play a disturbing character. It also tested his ability to separate his own values from those of the person he was portraying — and to find a way back to himself after stepping into a much darker world.
