Brandon Wong Started Delivering Newspapers In Primary 1 To Help Out With His Family’s Expenses

In Mediacorp drama The Peculiar Pawnbroker, Brandon Wong plays a character obsessed with seizing control of Li Nanxing’s pawnshop.

In reality, pawnshops have had a lot of impact on the 50-year-old actor's view towards life and fatherhood.

"I wasn’t from a wealthy family," said Brandon, who grew up in Jelebu, Negiri Sembilan. "I saw my mother pawn her jewellery when I was younger. When you bring something to a pawn shop, there’s a certain deadline you have to meet to pay the the shop back, or whatever you pawned will become its property. There was a certain amount of pressure on her to get enough money to pay them back on time."

Brandon said seeing the stress his mum was under made him want to help out with his family’s expenses.

"I was in primary school when I became aware of this," he said. "And so I would deliver newspapers in the morning before coming home to change and then going to school."

Brandon in The Peculiar Pawnbroker

8 DAYS: How old were you when you started delivering newspapers?

BRANDON WONG: I started when I was in primary one. That’s why I always tell my kids about my younger years to remind them of how lucky they are.

I’m from a small town and at that time, there weren’t that many cars around so it was pretty safe. To be fair, even if it was unsafe, our family wouldn’t have a choice because we needed the money. It was very common for children in poor families to start working at my age. All of us were forced to ‘grow up’ early on in life and take on responsibilities like that.

My day would start with me accompanying my father at 4am in his tiny car to drive out of the valley our town is in. We would then head to the city, which was over 30km away, to pick up the papers. On the way back, we’d sell them to the towns that we passed and I’d reach home at about 6am.

I’d then distribute all the papers to the nearby areas, then go to school at 7.30am.

In my town, there were only two or three streets that had houses so I started by delivering the papers on foot. When I was in primary two, I would ride my bicycle to the nearby villages or kampungs to deliver them.

I’ve had the experience of being chased and bitten by dogs while doing that, and I remember getting bitten on the butt too (laughs).

Brandon with his three sons Yu Xuan, six, Yu Xin, 10, and Yu Jie, 12

What do your sons say when you tell them about your childhood?

They can’t understand what I went through because they never lived in that era and they have never been in such a situation. They only know ‘Oh, daddy had a hard time when he was young’ but they don’t know exactly how hard it was for me.

Having learned the value of money from a young age, do you expect your sons to be frugal?

I still spend on what’s necessary, but I won’t allow them to splurge on unnecessary things. However, I’ve never deprived them of any toys. I also buy them stuff like the cards that other kids play with. My reasoning is simple: if others have it and they don’t, will they feel left out?

When I was younger, I was very envious of the children that had toys to play with, but at the same time, I knew that our family was poor so I didn’t ask for it.

I don’t want my boys to have to go through this same experience because it doesn’t feel good. I’m willing to spend on stuff within my means, and as long as they’re not spending too much on it.

But in terms of their studies, I don’t mind shelling out more if it’s something that they want and if it’s good for them.

Brandon with Joanne Peh in The Last Madame, which he doesn't let his boys watch

Do you allow your sons to watch the shows that you’re in?

When my eldest son was four, we were watching Don’t Stop Believin’ and in one of the scenes, my character fell down the stairs. When he saw that, he started crying and hugged me and said, ‘I don’t want daddy to be in pain’. I was shocked because he thought it was real. And because of that he has refused to watch any dramas that I’m in. I even had to convince him to watch the shows that I’m hosting.

These days, I let my kids watch my shows selectively. For example, I’d never let them watch Last Madame, but our entire family watched My Friends From Afar together. They watched the start of Recipe Of Life when my character was still a good guy, but I told them not to do so after he turned nasty.

At the same time, there are dramas which I use as learning examples for my boys. In Daybreak, I played a paedophile disguised as a tuition teacher who sexually assaults a 10-year-old girl. I was afraid that the parents of my children’s classmates would say things about me or think negatively of me, or make fun of my boys.

That’s why I was very against taking on the role and told my manager about it too. I eventually took it because I knew that I had to be a professional about it. Still, I had to sit my boys down to explain to them that I was doing it as a role and that I was nothing like that in real life.

I told them that they should tell their teachers if they were made fun of. Thankfully, my boys understood this and they didn’t face any major problems at school.

The Peculiar Pawnbroker is available on demand for free on meWATCH.
It also airs weekdays, 9pm on Ch 8.

Photos: Brandon Wong/Instagram, Mediacorp