A rising actor’s night took an unexpected turn. Once he began to cry in front of his fans, friends, and colleagues, he just couldn’t stop.
By industry standards, Malaysian actor Zhang Zetong is a rookie in the entertainment world. After winning the Chinese talent competition Star Search in 2019, he debuted in the series All Around You and A Jungle Survivor in 2020.
At the 2024 Star Awards, Zhang Zetong won the awards for “Most Hated Villain” and “Top 3 Most Popular Rising Stars” before receiving his final and most prestigious award of the night. Zhang landed “Best Supporting Actor” for his role in the 2023 Singapean drama All That Glitters.
As soon as presenter Jeanette Aw called out his name, Zhang began to tear up. Within seconds, he was so overcome with emotion that he struggled to begin his speech. Despite being a popular nominee, Zhang reportedly wasn’t confident that he would win because his fellow nominees were actors with far more experience.
As Zhang struggled to compose himself, the audience cheered to show support.
In the end, the rising star made it through most of his acceptance speech without sobbing, but thanking his mother and grandmother made him burst into tears all over again. He exclaimed, “Acting is really hard!” as the audience laughed.
He thanked his family members, friends, fans, and the crew of All The Glitters for believing in him. “Thank you for supporting me when I doubted myself,” he said.
Listen to Zhang’s speech here:
