For longtime followers of Ah Boys To Men actor Tosh Zhang (aka Tosh Rock), you’d be no stranger to his unfiltered, no-holds-barred commentaries during his YouTube days – from MRT rants to armpit hair woes and everything in between. Yet despite stumbling into stardom, the My Love Sinema actor didn’t let fame get into his head; instead using his celebrity influence to speak up against various deep-seated issues. Stopping by our studio, Tosh sat down to offer up his two cents on public misconceptions, online drama, social hostility and more.
ON LIFE AFTER FAME
“It feels fulfilling. At home, I no longer have to see my parents stressing out over bills. Both of my parents were hawkers, and there were times when business wasn’t as good and caused the relationship at home to sour. Now that my sister and I are able to help them with the bills, I can see that my parents are happier. I hope that I’ll be able to buy them a house or a car one day.”
ON PUBLIC PERCEPTION
“People think I’m loud and talkative, because I give that impression on YouTube. But in real life, I’m much more reserved. I wouldn’t know how to start a conversation if I’m alone in a room with someone I don’t know. I’m an awkward turtle!”
ON NEGATIVE COMMENTS
“I’d have fun with online trolls! When people attack me, it means that they bothered taking time out of their day to come to my page, follow me, and even like my photos – just to diss me. There was this guy who commented on a post where I was rapping with ShiGGa Shay, telling me to ‘stop acting like an African American’ because I’m Chinese. The next day, a black American guy praised my performance, and told me not to care about what others said. I took a screenshot and put it up on Instagram just to mess with the troll. Many people sent him messages and he ended up deleting the account.”
ON UNPOPULAR OPINIONS
“On social media, I see many Singaporeans saying xenophobic things that border on racism. The way they speak about foreigners makes my blood boil sometimes. I feel that Singapore should be all about ‘welcome to Singapore’ and not ‘go back to your country’. When I see people talking bad about foreigners, treating them as uncivilised, or taking pictures of them minding their own business, it makes us look ugly. We are not gracious by saying all these things. If we were gracious, we would teach them about the ways of society, rather than looking down on them. We shouldn’t judge people based on their nationality.”
ON SOCIAL MEDIA DRAMA
“Sometimes, people are too public about their relationship online. They would take sweet photos together, break up, and post all their dramas. I don’t think that’s good, because there are teenagers who could be directly influenced by what you do or say, and they might do what you did to other people. If you’re being yourself too much, you might be a bad influence; but if you cater to the public too much, you aren’t staying true to yourself. There’s a fine line between that.”
ON HIS FUTURE GOALS
“Directing! That was what I wanted to do initially, because I was a film student. I was actually going to Melbourne to further my studies, but Ah Boys To Men happened. I’d love to go behind the scenes next time, so now I’m learning all I can from Irene Ang, Jack Neo, and all the people on set. When I’m older, I hope to direct my own feature film. It won’t be a comedy. It will be something that tells a story about the street kids in Singapore – the dancers, the skaters, the graffiti artists, the punks, and a bunch of talented youngsters who are under-represented. I want to tell their stories in films.”
Bet you didn’t know he’s that wise of a person. Read the first part of our interview with Tosh in the October issue, where he spills on his misunderstood personality, the craziest sacrifice he’s ever done for a role, etc!
P/S: Don’t forget to check out our Whisper Challenge with Tosh! P/P/S: Hilarity ensues.
Main image credit: Joel Low
