Another big difference is the eye on celebrity. I wouldn’t say I’m unrecognizable in Singapore, but as a person, I guess I’ve never really taken cele… - Tan Kheng Hua

Being in Hollywood has been wonderful. It’s a much, much bigger pond, a huge, well-oiled machinery. Being in an environment and industry where everyone is so good at what they do is invigorating rather than intimidating. I get to meet and work with many people in an industry that has such high stakes and works with such rigour! It’s rather different from what I’m used to in Singapore.

My parents are the coolest parents ever. From the minute their children became adults, they have always looked at us as the "experts" in the household, simply because both my mum and my dad never had a high education. They always trusted us. And in return, we never asked them for much and always made sure our decisions worked for us. So when I told my mum and dad I was going to quit my corporate high paying, big benefits job to act for awhile, they basically said "Good. Now you have more time to rest and to go on holiday with us."

I’ve never felt weak. I’ve never felt not seen. I do feel seen and heard, but I also have a responsibility to make all sorts of layers of representation work—myself as a woman, an older woman, a Chinese woman, a Singaporean in Los Angeles, an Asian actress in Hollywood. Bring it on, because all of them are so Kheng. This is who I am. I’m not an older woman wanting to be a younger woman. I’m not a Chinese woman wanting to be any other race.