Exclusive Morgan Oey Successfully Overcomes Musician Transition Dilemma To Actor

Morgan Oey (Photo: Bambang E Ros, DI: Raga/VOI)

JAKARTA - Celebrity Morgan Oey will again fill the big screen of Indonesian cinema by competing acting with Valerie Thomas for the first time in a film directed by Adhya Pictures production house entitled Romeo Ingkar Janji and will start airing on July 25.

In an exclusive interview with VOI, Morgan Oey tried to tell his role as Romeo in this film. Previously, a teaser from the film Romeo Ingkar Promise had been officially released, as a Morgan player admitted that he was quite satisfied with the netizen's response.

Because he himself admitted that he liked the characters until the story that was uploaded in this film and he said there would be a plot twist that the audience might not expect later.

"Teaser. Yes, a lot of things are like, well, it's time for a bit to go out, I don't know. Fantasy-ish, that's it. So, they're happy to finally release a teaser like that because the title is really sexy, in my opinion, personally. Romeo Ingkar Janji, that's it," said Morgan Oey at the VOI office, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, Wednesday, June 19.

"So, the teaser is like giving a look at the audience. For example, Romeo looks really dear to Agatha, but the title is Romeo Ingkar Janji. Is this it? So, there will be a twist, that's it. Hopefully, hopefully," added Morgan.

Returning to play in a drama film, Morgan admits that he finds new challenges in playing the character as Romeo in this film. In shooting time, which was only one month old, he felt that during the shooting process he was required to continue working to maximize his character.

One of the things Morgan has to really try in this film is related to visuals. He said that he had to turn his skin on and sunbathe during the shooting process in order to get the visuals the director wanted, Emil Heradi.

"There are many challenges, yes. Different films, different challenges, different characters, different challenges, that's it. And if it's in Romeo, that's it. Everything is really like work, work, and work, that's it. So, because this is a character that is really good, visually, physically alone, it's different from the character Romeo, Morgan and Romeo," he said.

"This is different, that's it. So, how do I have to be at least close to the visual or reference who the director and producer want, that's it. So, I tanning, it's dry every day. If you're on break, keep drying. Gosong-gosong, already," Morgan said.

"Yes, a tattoo workshop, then my hair fell out, I was at the perm, but not temporary. In the meantime, it's like if we shampoo it, it's gone. It's really like it's in, yes, if the girls know, perm is like how it gets tangled with my hair, until it comes out, that's the main thing. Yes, it's visually," he explained.

Not only that, the limited time given to him made this 34-year-old man have to explore his character while filming. This was admitted by Morgan who said that during the shooting process he asked a lot of questions with Email Haradi regarding his character.

He also discussed a lot with actor Jeremy Thomas and his wife, Ina Indayanti, as the original owner of the story that was uploaded in this film.

"But in terms of Romeo, yes, I'm chasing too. Well, that's me slashing Mas Emil. Em, what kind of Romeo do you want?', that's it. In it, what kind of character is he like, and also this, this is the original story of Valerie's mother, Aunt Ina Thomas, and Uncle Jeremy, that's it. So, this is their project too, collaboration with Adhya Pictures," said Morgan.

"So, I also talked a lot with Uncle Jeremy, that's it, with Aunt Ina, that's it. What do they want to convey through the characters Romeo and Agatha? That's it, so it's quite work, work and work, that's it. It's like someone is being bullied, that's it. In a day. Do PR, that's it," he said.

Morgan Oey before his career as an actor was first known as a musician who was a member of an Indonesian boy group named SMASH. Unfortunately in 2013 Morgan finally decided to end his career as a singer and fulfill his dream since childhood to become an actor.

Experiencing the world change from the world of music to the world of cinema is not an easy thing for Morgan Oey to do. At first he felt a dilemma because of the different ways of working that he had to do when he decided to change professions.

"Yes, there is. There is, because the way it works is different, that's it. For example, if we are musicians, the term is entered the recording studio, that's it. Recording. Then when we perform too, we call it direct performance, that's how to forward our work to people, we immediately perform it, that's it. The efficiency is different, the enthusiasm is different, that's it. But it's the same as movies, "he said.

"We have the same interaction, it's like It takes a village to make a film, that's it. So many people are involved, then we interact with the camera, with the DOP, with the director, that's how the pleas are different, the satisfaction is different," Morgan Oey's story.

"And when I got the opportunity to act before I was in the film, I was really happy, that's it. Like, oh, it turns out this is, even though the working hours may be different, the way we work and work are different, but I'm happy. In my heart like, oh this is it, that's it. If for example I don't become a musician anymore, I want to be a filmmaker, "he added.

No wonder that in the end this Singkawang-born man had to work even more extra to build his image, which was originally known as a musician, now he is an actor where he must convince his fans that his decision was not only due to aji while.

Moreover, Morgan explained that he himself does not have an educational background in acting which requires him to study while doing his new job. This makes Morgan feel that he has to work twice compared to his other actors' friends.

"Yes, well, maybe if, for example, compared to other friends who enter the actor, maybe I have to work twice hard, for the convince people that I'm not aji while. Indeed, I love the acting world and I want to be serious in the film. So people's capital, the assumption is that these people can somehow make us down but sometimes it spurs me to continue to give the best in every work, that's it. Keep learning, that's it," he continued.

"Because I really don't exist, sorry to say, I don't have an academic background in acting or film school, that's it. So really I have to study in the field. And fortunately I got projects that the filmmakers had worked a lot. So I can learn directly from them. But if you say hard work, yes, the hard work is twice compared to friends who, for example, started out of the model, for example, then move to the film, "he admits.

Morgan further admitted that he still often misses his life as a musician several times. Not without reason, Morgan felt that the energy he got directly from the audience when he sang could not be replaced.

"Yes, yes, of course yes. I mean, one of the things that can't change is the euphoria of the audience when we perform directly, that's it. If for example we perform here, showcase, maybe the people who watch it are media friends. But if for example we do mini showcases or concerts, we have the opportunity to perform on a big stage, that's crazy, the energy is extraordinary, it's like that can't be replaced, that's it. But for now, I still want to see how far I can go in the film," he said.