FASHION personality and television host Wak Doyok makes his acting debut in Syafiq Yusof’s action comedy Abang Long Fadil 2, out in cinemas on Aug 24.
He left such a strong impression that the director promised to cast him in the lead role in his next film.
“I have an idea of what kind of role will suit him best, but at the moment, we’re still in discussions,” said Syafiq, 24, at the screening of Abang Long Fadil 2 at GSC Pavilion KL recently.
The young filmmaker only had good things to say about the newcomer’s performance.
“He is the type who just doesn’t know how to give up. At one time, we were filming till 3am and his enthusiasm never diminished.
“Usually, you can detect tiredness in many actors when filming takes long hours, but not Wak Doyok. He never complained, not even once.”
Wak Doyok, 36, said he found acting in Abang Long Fadil 2 challenging.
“But now that I’ve watched the final product, I realised that I could act well,” said the entrepreneur, laughing.
“I’ve caught the acting bug, and I can’t wait to appear in more films.”
In Abang Long Fadil 2, Wak Doyok plays mafia Taji Samprit’s evil and arrogant son, also named Wak Doyok.
Wak Doyok had requested that Syafiq incorporate the former’s suave fashion sense into the character, as he thought it would suit the character well.
“I don’t mind changing my image, if my role requires me to. I welcome all sorts of characters, even that of a grave digger.
“If the storyline is great, I want (to be) in it.”
Previously, Wak Doyok hosted TV9’s travelogue Ke Korea Ke Kita and its two following seasons. He directed the short film Kayuh for the Ikal Mayang Festival 2015.
“I received many acting offers before this, but back then, I wasn’t ready. I finally decided to do it when Syafiq offered me this role. It felt right,”
But, fashion remains Wak Doyok’s priority. “Acting is to fill up my free time.”
He sat on the judging panel of the Indonesian hairstyling reality show The Cut.
Due to the popularity of the show, he built a huge following over there.
When fans found out that he was part of the Abang Long Fadil 2 cast, they wanted to have the film screened in the republic.
Syafiq said: “We will have to see how it fares in Malaysia first. Indonesian distributors usually gauge Malaysian films’ performance here first before deciding to bring it over or not.”
He added that the film would need to go through a dubbing process to suit Indonesian audiences.