Reblogged By: La Tray

Source: xinmsn

Media: Text and photos: Tammi Tan / Additional photo: Ch5 / Video: Teng Siew Eng

Posted: Sunday December 29, 2013 @ 3:55 p.m. PST

When Tiffany of Girls’ Generation scored the chance to play tour guide to charming Thor star Tom Hiddleston during his visit to South Korea, she became the envy of countless women – plus FLY Entertainment artiste Joakim Gomez.

Even though he named her as his favourite member of the K-pop supergroup – whom he got to interview when he emceed at their recent press conference here – Joakim seemed much keener to hang out with the British thespian instead.

“Tom seems like a really cool guy whom you can just sit down and have a beer and long conversations with,” he explained during our chat on the rooftop of VivoCity one rainy afternoon. “I’m envious of Tiffany!” (And we thought most guys would be dying to be in Tom’s shoes instead.)

Another well-known bunch Joakim would love to have a meal and chit-chat session with is Girls’ Generation’s label mate Super Junior.

“We’d talk about their favourite football teams, what they like to do in their spare time, and if they’ve had durian here in Singapore,” he said, adding that his favourite member is hunky “visual” Siwon.

Since completing his National Service in November last year, Joakim, who shot to fame as a top five finalist onSingapore Idol in 2006, embarked on a “year of learning”: he began his DJ stint (two Saturdays ago marked his first anniversary on 987FM), took on more hosting duties, and, come January 2014, will be seen in upcoming Ch5 sitcom Rule of Tham, his fourth small screen foray after two other Ch5 productions (Lifeline 2 and R.E.M The Next Generation) and Okto’s The Band.

The show chronicles the adventures of five undergraduates (played by Joakim, Edwin Goh, Kimberly Chia, Tan Shou Chen and Erin Lim) as they undergo a series of weekly challenges set by their teacher Professor Tham (played by Janice Koh) in order to pass their final year project.

Joakim described his character, Dinesh, as a soft-hearted but somewhat idiotic guy who loves cringe-worthy pick-up lines. He’s also lazy and sports a pot belly – which is the total opposite of what Joakim has been working towards lately.

“I’ve been hitting the gym a lot because I want to take better care of myself and look good,” Joakim revealed. “Zheng Ge Ping is my inspiration – he’s a man’s man. I want to have a body like his when I’m 49 too!”

Besides aspiring to acquire a physique like Ge Ping’s, Joakim also expressed his wish to work alongside the MediaCorp actor. Does this mean the Korean-Indian multi-hyphenate, who speaks Mandarin, has his eyes on Chinese projects? “I want to take on Mandarin dramas for the experience, not for the sake of doing it,” he said. “And I don’t want to be typecast as the non-Chinese-looking guy who can speak Chinese. (laughs)”

Before we get to catch Joakim on Rule of Tham, we’ll be seeing him take the stage at the Celebrate TV50 countdown extravaganza on New Year’s Eve. Together with fellow Singapore Idol alumnus Paul Twohill, he’ll perform a couple of well-known hits (but we’re not allowed to say what they are).

So is he nervous about the backlash that could potentially follow? After all, Joakim was at the mercy of harsh public opinion during his Idol stint (he called the dark period of disapproval a “hellhole”), with many blasting his lack of singing talent.

“I dealt with what I got and I’ve moved on,” he said. “Right now I’m learning to only focus on the constructive criticism. Negative comments no longer bother me as much as they used to.”

Rule of Tham airs every Tue at 8:30pm on Ch5, starting Jan 7.

Ch5

Left to right: Tan Shou Chen, Kimberly Chia, Edwin Goh, Erin Lim and Joakim

VIDEO LINK: JOAKIM GOMEZ INTERVIEW