SINGAPORE – This might just be Romeo Tan’s year.

At the Star Awards on April 19, the local Mediacorp star might go home with five awards – making the most nominations he has received in a single year in his 16-year acting career.

His portrayal of the scheming, power-hungry Zhang Jinquan in period drama Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story (2025) has nabbed him nominations for Best Actor, Most Hated Villain, BYD Favourite Male Character and Favourite CP (couple pairing) with actress Dawn Yeoh, who plays his on-screen wife in Emerald Hill.

In the BYD Favourite Male Character category, he scored a second nomination for playing a matchmaking consultant in the family drama Where The Heart Belongs (2025).

And one award is already in the bag. Tan is set to receive the All-Time Favourite Artiste accolade, after winning 10 Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes prizes from 2014 to 2025.

In an interview with The Straits Times on April 6, he said he is grateful to “graduate” from the popularity polls.

The bachelor, who turns 41 on April 9, credited his popularity to his consistent acting performances and many good-guy roles in dramas such as Don’t Stop Believin’ (2012) and Say Cheese (2018).

Another popularity boost could have come from his approachable, down-to-earth personality, he hypothesised. When in public, he is often happy to take photos, chit-chat or sign autographs.

“You can call me a ‘yes man’,” he said. “I do not like rejecting people, or say I am off work because I am not filming. I am a public figure, so it is part of my job to be sensitive and polite to everyone all the time.”

Some fans, he recalled, have asked to take pictures with him while he was midway through a meal at a hawker centre. “I would still do it, because they might be in a hurry to go elsewhere.”