Ayden Sng (Singapore Actor)

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Ayden Sng
Ayden Sng Profile.png
Born17 November 1993
EducationDegree in International Comparative Studies
Alma materRaffles Institution, Duke University
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)

Ayden Sng (born 17 November 1993) is a Singaporean actor. He is signed to Mediacorp as a full-time artiste and is most recognised for his roles in Mandarin productions. Outside of show business, Ayden is skilled in playing the erhu (a Chinese string instrument). As of September 2022, he has over 114,000 followers on Instagram and is a brand ambassador for Eu Yan Sang.[1][2]

Background

Early life & family

Ayden was born on 17 November 1993[3] and is the second oldest of five brothers.[4] During his teenage years, he was a member of the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra where he played the erhu.[5][6][7] In an interview with 8Days that was published in 2019, he said:

"... when I was younger, I was inclined to speak Mandarin because I was in Chinese orchestra. And my erhu teacher is [sic] from Shanghai and she influenced me a lot."[8]

Education

Ayden attended Raffles Institution from 2006 to 2011. In 2014, he furthered his studies at Duke University in the United States of America and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Comparative Studies in 2018.[9]

National Service

While serving his mandatory national service, he was a Commando in the 1st Commando Battalion and the assistant to the Company Sergeant Major. He was awarded National Serviceman of the Year for WY 12/13.[10]

Career

Early career

Ayden entered show business in September 2018 after being scouted by an entertainment industry insider.[11] At the time, he was still working as a product specialist at the digital consulting firm, Electric8 which he had joined upon graduating from university.[10] He left his corporate career in May 2019 when he signed a full-time contract with Mediacorp.[12]

Mediacorp

Television

Ayden pictured as Dong Sheng in Loving You (2020). Retrieved from 8 DAYS.

Fluent in both English and Mandarin, Ayden is a bilingual actor who has been involved in Channel 8 and meWATCH productions. In 2020, he made his debut as a lead actor in a drama series. In Loving You (2020), Ayden plays the character Dong Sheng, who is the much younger love interest of Lin Li (Jessica Lui).

Year Channel Title Character Role Refs.
2022 meWATCH The Unbreakable Bond Gu Yuncong Lead [13][14]
2021 meWATCH Truths About Us Ryan Lead [15][16]
2020 Channel 8 Loving You Dong Sheng Lead [17][18]
2019 meWATCH Last Madame Ah Tou Supporting [19][20]
My Agent Is A Hero S2 Ah Xiong [21]
The Wedding Survival Handbook Darren Lee [22]
Channel 8 Old is Gold Sean Tan [12][23]
meWATCH Wonder Kiss Young Great Grandfather [24]
Channel 8 Walk With Me Jun Wei [19]

Film

Ayden pictured on the promotional poster for The Playbook (2019). Retrieved from Facebook.

Ayden made his debut as a lead actor on the silver screen in The Playbook (2019), a feature film written and directed by Bryan Wong.[25] He was cast as Zhang Yu Heng, the love interest of Yuyan (Sheila Sim) - a wealthy woman who discovers that she only has 30 days to live. The feature film first premiered on Toggle (now meWATCH) in March 2019 and was screened at Shaw Paya Lebar Quarter in September that year.[26]

Year Title Character Role Refs.
2019 The Playbook Zhang Yu Heng Lead [27][28]

Other endeavours

Music

Apart from the erhu, Ayden is proficient in playing the violin[4] and the piano. In 2008, Ayden joined the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra (SNYCO) where he also gained some experience in orchestral conducting. In 2012, he was a finalist in the erhu open category at the Singapore Chinese Music Competition (SCMC).[29] During his time in university, Ayden founded Duke University’s first traditional Chinese music ensemble.[9] As of 2022, he has been playing the erhu for more than a decade and holds a Diploma certificate in erhu performance.[8][30]

Unexpected Sounds - Reimagining the Erhu (2020)

In support of the Singapore Biennale, Ayden put up an erhu performance in March 2020. Photo from A List Singapore.

In 2020, Ayden put up an erhu performance titled Unexpected sounds - Reimagining the Erhu in support of the Singapore Biennale.[30][31] The event was supposed to be held at the National Gallery Singapore on 22 March 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 situation in Singapore, his performance was live-streamed instead.[32]

YouTube Channel

In March 2020, Ayden created a YouTube channel where he uploads videos of his vocal covers and erhu performances.[33] As of September 2022, he has over 4,200 subscribers and has accumulated over 260,000 views.[34] The most popular video on his channel is his cover of 浪费 by Yoga Lin which has over 119,000 views.[35] The song was a part of the soundtrack for Loving You (2020), a Channel 8 drama in which he took on the lead role.

Media coverage

Harper's Bazaar (2021)

On September 3 2021, Harper’s Bazaar published an interview they did with Ayden.[36] In this interview, he talks about rejecting being boxed into his comfort zones, and trying out different roles within the entertainment industry.[36]

“There’s also this rhetoric that if you’re an actor, you’re not supposed to do anything else—you don’t  need to practise your hosting skills because you’re not meant to host; you don’t have to learn about improv because you’re given a script; you don’t need to play music because that lies outside of what you’re doing; you don’t need to engage in social media because you’re not an influencer. I think that’s a very archaic mindset.”[36]

He also discusses taking responsibility for his own career and success.[36]

“If your ambition is to be a good actor, then you need to get good practice. And if whatever you’ve signed up for isn’t able to give you that, will you resign yourself to that or find alternatives where you can gain experience and exposure?”[36]

Dishing with Chris Lee (2022)

In a 2022 interview with Chris Lee, Ayden talks about his childhood and how it shaped his experiences.[37] He states that he was “quite a homebody” and that “primary school was the most painful part of [his] life”.[37][38] Chris chalks it up to Ayden being gifted, citing that gifted children tend to be more withdrawn and introverted.[37] It was also revealed in 2021 that Ayden was admitted to Mensa Singapore, an institution exclusively for people with an IQ of 130 and above.[39]

References/ Citations

  1. aydenzs. “Ayden Sng 孙政”. Instagram. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  2. 15 minutes with Actor Ayden Sng”. SG Magazine. August 31, 2022. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  3. Ayden Sng”. Mediacorp. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Mediacorp CLASS 95. "Celebrity Guest Interview with Ayden Sng". Facebook. May 8, 2020. Accessed on 11 June 2020.
  5. Sng, Ayden. “Ayden Sng”. Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  6. Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra. Facebook. September 3, 2019. Accessed on 10 June 2020.
  7. Lee, Jan. “Mediacorp new hunk Ayden Sng plays younger boyfriend of Jesseca Liu in new Channel 8 drama”. The Straits Times. March 9, 2020. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Fam, Jonathan. “Is TV’s Next Big Thing Ayden Sng, An Erhu-Playing Godfrey Gao-Lookalike?”. 8 Days. March 14, 2019. Accessed on 10 June 2020.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Ayden Sng. “Education”. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 8 June 2020.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Ayden Sng. “Experience”. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 8 June 2020.
  11. Ayden Sng”. Buro. n.d. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Aravin Sandran. “Singaporean actor Ayden Sng on constructive criticism, Instagram and his upcoming YouTube channel”. Buro. September 4, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  13. The Unbreakable Bond”. meWATCH. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  14. The Unbreakable Bond”. IMDb. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  15. Truths About Us”. meWATCH. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  16. Tan, Tammi. “Ayden Sng’s New Mental Health Drama Is Important To Him As Someone With ‘A Lot Of Work-Induced Anxiety’”. 8 Days. February 28, 2022. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  17. Lee, Jan. “5 things to know about the new hunk on the block”. The Straits Times. March 10, 2020. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  18. Content Distribution. “Loving You爱...没有距离”. Mediacorp. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  19. 19.0 19.1 Tan, Tammi. “Newcomer Ayden Sng survives intense mutilation scene (with real weapons)”. 8 Days. December 27, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  20. Goh, Bryan. “#ManCrushMonday - Ayden Sng (aka Good Boy of the Acting World) Turns Evil”. Men’s Folio. October 14, 2019. Accessed on 10 June 2020.
  21. My Agent Is A Hero S2”. meWATCH. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  22. The Wedding Survival Handbook - Ep 8”. meWATCH. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  23. Chan, Ilsa. “We showed the ‘Old is Gold’ cast how they’d look in 50 years and here’s how they reacted”. 8 Days. December 27, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  24. Wonder Kiss - Ep 1”. meWATCH. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  25. Watch Bryan Wong’s full-length directorial debut at this charity screening”. Channel News Asia Lifestyle. September 8, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  26. Flora. "[InC-terview] Bryan Wong on his directorial debut in "The Playbook"". InCinemas.sg. September 18, 2019. Accessed on 11 June 2020.
  27. shaw theatres. “The Playbook Official Trailer”. YouTube. September 5, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  28. Tan, Kendra. “Bryan Wong Will Spend His Own Money, Joanne Peh Will Slide Into Your DMs & Ian Fang Will Relive His Drunken Youth For Their Directorial Debuts”. TodayOnline. March 8, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  29. Singapore Chinese Orchestra. Facebook. October 9, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  30. 30.0 30.1 Unexpected sounds - Reimagining the Erhu (ft. Ayden Sng)”. Singapore Biennale 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  31. aydenzs. “Unexpected Sounds: Reimagining the Erhu⁣. Excited to be sharing that in support of the Singapore Biennale, I’m going to be putting up a performance titled "Unexpected Sounds: Reimagining the Erhu” on 22 March (the closing day of the Biennale) at 2pm at National Gallery Singapore ⁣😁😁 When people think of the Erhu, they usually think of old uncles basking at Orchard Road. They expect to hear either CNY music or Teresa Teng oldies. But actually, the Erhu can do much more. For this performance, all songs are newly arranged and we’ll be using the Erhu in unconventional genres and performance styles. ⁣⁣If you’re free on that day, do come and support and hopefully, you’ll see this traditional Chinese instrument in a completely different light 🙂 ⁣#aydenxerhu #SingaporeBiennale #BiennaleFinale @singaporeartmuseum ⁣Poster shot by:⁣ @jaydenation Hair & Makeup: @benjioo”. Instagram. March 11, 2020. Accessed on 10 June 2020.
  32. Live Steaming of Unexpected sounds - Reimagining the Erhu”. Facebook. Accessed on 10 June 2020.
  33. Ayden Sng 孙政”. YouTube. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  34. Ayden Sng 孙政. “About”. YouTube. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  35. Ayden Sng 孙政. “「爱。。。没有距离」插曲:《浪费》二胡+翻唱版本 | Erhu 【Performed by Ayden Sng】”. YouTube. April 3, 2020. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  36. 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 Yan, Jeffery. “Ayden Sng Wants To Break Out Of Boxes And Tear Up The Rule Book”. Harper’s Bazaar. September 3, 2021. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 Dishing With Chris Lee - Ep 6”. meWATCH. n.d. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  38. Tan, Claudia. “Ayden Sng has never been to playground, says primary school was most 'painful' part of his life”. AsiaOne. May 9, 2022. Accessed on 27 September 2022.
  39. Ting, Camelia. “家里经济不稳定仍“冒险”当艺人 孙政哽咽:是我自私”. 8 World. February 5, 2021. Accessed on 27 September 2022.