SINGAPORE – Home-grown actor Mark Lee has a new feather in his cap after winning the Best Actor accolade at the 1st Asian Art Film Awards in Macau on April 23.

The 56-year-old clinched the award under the Pioneer Trend section for his role as a drag queen in comedy-drama Number 2.

He beat South Korea’s Kim Dae-gun, China’s Xiaoshenyang, Sun Junsheng and Yao Lu, as well as Kazakhstan’s Azamat Nigmanov.

Number 2 is a sequel to Number 1, which earned Lee a nomination for Best Leading Actor at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards in 2020.

The win in Macau was Lee’s second international film award. He was named Best Actor at the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival in April 2024 for his role as a single father in the period film Wonderland.

Lee was unable to attend the ceremony in Macau due to work commitments. The award was accepted on his behalf by his co-star Jaspers Lai, who was also the screenwriter of Number 2.

“I have prepared an acceptance speech for Jaspers, thinking it would not be used, but it was,” Lee told Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao. “I am very excited to win the award, but it’s a pity that I can’t be there in person.”

Lee’s wife Cathering Ng posted a video of the Best Actor announcement on Instagram late on April 23, tagging him in the post.

“This honour belongs to you, and all the partners who have put their heart and soul into the film,” she wrote in Chinese. “Your professionalism, persistence and enthusiasm have helped the movie and him to succeed.”

Lee told Zaobao that he will be filming two movies overseas in June and July, without disclosing further details.

Another Singapore film to win an award at the 1st Asian Art Film Awards was director Kelvin Sng’s King Of Hawkers.

The movie, starring actors such as Dawn Yeoh, Ryan Lian and Hugo Ng, clinched Best Feature Film under the Times Torrent section.

Mediacorp artiste Gini Chang, who made her big screen debut in King Of Hawkers playing Yeoh’s daughter, was nominated for Best Actress.

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