‘I was prepared for the worst’: Christopher Lee thought career would end after drink-driving incident, planned to return to Malaysia

Although Christopher Lee is now highly acclaimed in the industry with two Best Actor wins at the Golden Bell Awards, he had his fair share of difficulties along the way. 

On the latest episode of his variety talk show Dishing with Chris Lee, the 50-year-old revealed how he managed to continue his career in showbiz after his drink-driving conviction in 2006. 

Chatting with his celebrity guests Shaun Chen, Zhang Yaodong and Chen Hanwei over popiah, Christopher said: “I thought I’d be packing up and leaving showbiz [after the incident]. I was prepared for the worst, which was moving back to Malaysia or going elsewhere to do a different job. That was my plan.” 

Although he admits that he is “lucky” to be able to continue his work as an actor, his close friend Hanwei says it’s more than that. 

“I don’t think it was luck. I think you handled it well. It wasn’t easy at that time. The best thing you did was facing the whole thing bravely, you didn’t avoid it,” he commended. 

“Because I felt it was the mature thing to do,” replied Christopher. 

Back then when legal proceedings were still ongoing, Christopher also clinched a spot in the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes at the 2006 Star Awards, where he promised to take full responsibility for his actions. 

[[nid:490979]]

“Nobody pushed you off the building, you jumped yourself, that’s how it felt,” he explained in the talk show. 

For drink-driving and committing a hit-and-run, Christopher was jailed four weeks, fined $4,500 and banned from driving for three years. 

However, the incident hasn’t stopped him from drinking. “I don’t think it’s about drinking. It’s about attitude and how you handle things,” he said. 

In a separate interview sans his guests, Christopher elaborated on why he chose to bring up his unpleasant past and offered some encouragement to those who may be going through adversity. 

“I’m telling the story not in order to change it or to win your sympathy, your encouragement or whatever. In life, there are times when things go well and times when they don’t,” he said.

“When things aren’t going well, I think you have to meet the adversity head-on, and when you do, you have to stay positive and active. Because only that way can you turn the tide.”  

Dishing with Chris is available on meWATCH.  

ALSO READ: Fann Wong and Christopher Lee returned from Maldives holiday after only 1 day because she missed Zed

claudiatan@asiaone.com