GEORGE TOWN, Nov 4 — Julie Tan and Benjamin Kheng have gotten along so well on the set of Wonder Boy that when we sat down for an interview with them in Penang on October 28, it was almost impossible to get serious answers out of them. They naturally demonstrated their camaraderie on camera with loads of quips.

“It was terrible, the worst experience; we were arguing all the time,” complained Kheng about their time together, as his onscreen love interest played along with the sarcasm by rolling her eyes.

The 26-year-old singer stars as Richard, who later becomes known as Dick Lee, in the semi-autobiographical take on the musical maestro’s pre-fame years. Tan portrays a mysterious girl named Linda.

Their “official” answers about each other, however, are much more flattering. “He’s very helpful and talented,” said Tan, who also could not help but constantly gush over the fact that her co-star is “Benjamin Kheng from the Sam Willows, oh my God!” Kheng, on the other hand, praised the 24-year-old’s intensity and professionalism, particularly during “some really tough scenes”.

One of those “tough scenes” is speculated to be a hot and heavy bedroom sequence, but details are being kept tightly under wraps. A week before the Penang set visit, all Tan would divulge was that “everyone will be in for a shock” upon seeing it.

However, Lee, who is co-directing the film with Daniel Yam, warned us not to expect anything “too explicit” as there are ratings to consider. That said, he echoed Tan’s cryptic comment about viewers being in for a surprise, as “you would not have seen Julie or Ben like that before”.

“We won’t have any nudity, but it’s expressed so well,” said the 60-year-old. “At first we were tentative on how far they would go, but Julie surprised all of us — she was all for it and she trusted us, and I think (she would have been game to do an actual nude scene)!”

If you follow Kheng and Tan on their social media accounts, you might know of their recent “Chinese idiom battle”, where they took turns to recite Chinese idioms until the loser was left speechless.

Despite Tan’s higher proficiency in Mandarin, Kheng ended up winning it.

But don’t expect to see Kheng join Tan in Channel 8 projects any time soon. “I do love Mandarin but you can tell when someone is not comfortable speaking a language, and I want to be comfortable (before I take on any Mandarin-speaking roles),” he said.

Speaking of being comfortable in a language, Tan, who cut short her stay in New York City to do Wonder Boy, confessed that one of the hardest things to get used to was the fact that “everyone speaks very good English”. However, her stint at the New York Film Academy still proved fruitful, as she learned to “reconnect with (her) sensitive side”.

Being involved in Wonder Boy has even brought her back to the very state where she was born. “I feel at ease here,” she said. “Especially with Benjamin Kheng around! “TOGGLE

Wonder Boy is targeted for theatrical release in the third quarter of 2017. It is presented by mm2 Entertainment and Bert Pictures with the support of the Singapore Film Commission, in partnership with Dick Lee Asia, a joint venture with mm2. — TODAY