Fat uncle. Beer-gut uncle. Bald uncle. Once an actor hits 40, he faces a grey future playing the unhot ageing uncle.
But now, say hello to sexy uncle.

I lost 10 kg.

Zhang Ge Ping, 44

A new, older generation of taut and terrific screen actors are giving fresh meaning to the phrase prime-time TV. They are flexing their (gym-honed) muscles as fit and fab 40-year-olds in the prime of their lives. One hot-bod 'uncle' is MediaCorp actor Zheng GePing, a 44-year-old father of two.

When he turned the Big Four-O, he swopped deep-fried chicken drumsticks for barbells and worked out to slim down.

The result: Viewers are turning on to his hunky new look, particularly when he flaunts his six-pack by wearing just a pair of boxer shorts in shows such as Channel 8 youth drama Table Of Glory.

The viewers' verdict is that there is no denying that Zheng looks hot even though he is over 40.

Zheng is not the only actor with a few decades under his belt who is sizzling on the screen these days. Forty-something stars Adrian Pang and Edmund Chen are others who look good by staying in shape.

LifeStyle speaks to the actors and finds out their secret to becoming a Daddy Cool and asks their wives if being married to hunky husbands puts pressure on them to be red-hot mamas.


Edmund Chen, 46

Married to actress Xiang Yun, 48. They have an 18-year-old son and a nine-year-old daughter.

Height: 1.75m

Weight: 68kg

He says: 'I jog thrice a week, for about 5km each time. Sometimes I take strolls in the park with my children or play badminton with my daughter.

Being healthy is both physical and mental, so I try not to push myself too hard. I used to do that a decade ago, setting targets for myself and hitting the gym every day. But I did not feel happy with the restrictions.

Now, I give myself some leeway and simply try to stay slim and toned.

As for my diet, I eat everything. It is a blessing to be able to eat everything, especially when I travel with my family.

Looking fit and good allows me to get more roles as I can play both a younger or an older person.

When I was younger, my looks were considered a curse. I was assigned roles such as a doctor, gentleman or Japanese because of my fair skin and rosy cheeks. I could not explore more challenging roles and had to play the same roles all the time.

It got better only after I became older. I gained more experience and could break away from stereotyped roles.'

Wife says: 'When we got married, many people commented that I looked older than he, and I was quite saddened and affected by it. But over the years, I've learnt to cope with it and am immune to it now.

Of course, since my husband is maintaining his figure so well, I feel pressured to look good as well. I go for regular facials and body slimming treatments to remain toned. As the saying goes: There are only lazy women and no ugly woman in the world.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.