The Sweet Dreams star recently took on his most challenging role yet as director – here's what he loves about it
Actor, YouTuber, TV host and now, filmmaker—Sean Lee doesn't sound like someone who shies away from venturing into new territories in his career. But the soft-spoken Demi Rindumu star quickly dismisses this notion. He shares that in 2019, the thought of directing his first short film, 261 Sundays, was fraught with uncertainty and hesitation.
Rising to fame in Malaysia's entertainment scene through lead roles in popular Malay TV dramas like Astro's Sweet Dreams and Astro Ria's Demi Rindumu, Lee's acting career took off in 2015. Since then, he's also made a name for himself as a successful YouTube creator, amassing over 70K subscribers and a 749K-strong Instagram following.
Related: 6 Malaysian Actors That Should Be On Your Radar
“I've never taken a course on how to be a director,” says Lee, who studied performing arts at Sunway University. “But as an actor, I have met many directors and I’ve had the chance to see how they work while on set. I decided to just go for it because at the end of the day, if you don’t try you’ll never really know the outcome.”
261 Sundays premiered on Lee’s YouTube channel on December 25, 2020. It's a soul-searching story that follows the main character Ben who grapples with loss and love in the span of five years (which is equivalent to 261 Sundays), and how he breaks free from that cycle and moves forward. The 25-minute short film has since garnered 28k views.
Naming the late Yasmin Ahmad among his greatest inspirations, the 27-year-old aspires to create uniquely Malaysian stories that uplift audiences while exploring issues of race and faith meaningfully.
What challenges did you face at the start of your television career?
My first gig ever was for TV3; I had to speak Bahasa Malaysia (BM) fluently for the role, which I couldn’t do at that time. I worked hard to become more proficient in BM, and I was thankful because the team was very supportive. They taught me new slang and words during shoots. I picked up a lot while on set and I switched from listening to English content to watching videos and listening to interviews and songs all in BM. Every interaction I have in this industry is in BM.
How did the idea for 261 Sundays come about?
Funny story—on December 25, 2019, my friend and I took a picture of ourselves and I posted it on social media as a mock poster, just for fun. It had our names, a title, and even a premiere date. Then people started commenting about how they couldn’t wait to see it.
So you were forced to see it through into a short film?
For a while I just let it be, until a friend of mine came back from overseas and encouraged me to follow up on it. I said, “I kind of want to do it, but I’m not ready, I don’t know what I’m going to write and I don’t think I'll be able to execute it.” When he insisted that he’d work with me on it, I figured, why not try?
See also: 18 Film Directors To Know For Fans Of Asian Cinema