Everyone remembers Singaporean model-turned-actor Leon Jay Williams for the rich and successful ‘Prince Charming’ characters he played in some of Taiwan’s most popular idol dramas, including La Robe De Mariee Des Cieux (天国的嫁衣) and Green Forest, My Home (绿光森林).
But for the 47-year-old, his growing up years were far from entitled.
In an episode of Mediacorp talk show A Conversation with Minister, Leon opened up to Minister for Social and Family Development of Singapore Sun Xueling about his tough childhood.
Recalling how he’d spent most of his time alone at home as a child, Leon said: “My mum had to work, she was very busy. In the past there was such a thing as a ‘latchkey-kid’ [a child who is often left at home with no supervision because his parents are away at work]. I was one of them.”
“My kindergarten was just below my house at that time. My mum would leave me a ‘container’ packed with food and I would take it out to eat [when I got home from school],” he added.
Leon also shared that he and his mum, as well as his older brother, who is 11 years his senior, used to live in a rented apartment before their mum eventually bought the house.
“I remember my mum had at least two jobs, on top of a nine-to-five job, she also had another job at night,” he recalled.
The actor went on to confess that he used to be really stressed out by his financial situation at home.
“My dad wasn’t around and my mum had to work hard to make money. She didn’t have much time to do my homework with me, so my grades weren’t that great,” said Leon.
All he had with him were his toys.
Whipping out an old toy airplane he had brought with him to the interview, Leon said: “I’ve kept this for 40 years. It’s already broken but I can’t bear to throw it away because this is a memory from my childhood.”
He also shared that his toys were mostly secondhand ones he would buy from friends “after they tired of playing with them”.
His family’s circumstances also caused Leon to keep to himself a lot as a child.
When Minister Sun asked if it was because he felt inferior or estranged from the other kids, Leon responded: “I think it was both. If I played with the kids, I would need money to go out…”
It’s why the actor started working when he was only 12.
“I don’t know if that was legal but I just wanted earn some pocket money to lessen my mother’s load at that time. Basically my textbooks were secondhand or bought with my own money,” he said, adding he would always look for jobs during his holidays, which included working as a flyer distributer and waiter.
After his O’Levels, Leon decided to not further his studies. He then stumbled on modelling, which subsequently launched his acting career.
When asked if there’s anything he would like to change about his growing-up years, Leon said: “I wish I was given more opportunities in my education and my teachers were more patient and caring towards me.”
“Instead of harping on whether or not I studied well, [I wish they had] helped me discover other things I was good at. I think every child has different capabilities,” he said.