'We got another actress to stand by': Jack Neo reveals Patricia Mok almost lost role in latest Money No Enough 3 movie

For local actress-comedian Patricia Mok, her birthday in October last year might have been one of her most memorable ones.

The 52-year-old was set to participate in Jack Neo's latest Money No Enough 3 movie, 25 years after she acted in the first one, and was preparing to start filming her scenes in about three days after her birthday.

Then she tested positive for Covid-19.

"She almost didn't get to act in this movie," director Jack Neo revealed at the press conference for the movie today (Jan 31).

Patricia, who plays Henry Thia's sister in the movie, shared: "I got Covid-19 and coincidentally on my birthday, so I quickly went to the doctor and received medication."

"We actually got another actress to stand by, for real," Jack added.

Patricia then joked that the actress they had on standby may not be able to perform as well as her as she and Mark Lee, 55, who are both Jack's proteges, are the only ones who could handle Jack's ever-changing script.

She said: "We can almost remember everyone's lines."

At the press conference, Patricia also got emotional when asked by the host, radio DJ Mary Bukoh, on how she felt reuniting and working with Jack, Mark and Henry again.

"I felt like I had come home," she said tearfully.

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In a separate interview, Jack told AsiaOne that they almost replaced Patricia because she was due to be in a major scene with most of the main cast on her first day of filming.

He said: "Patricia must be present… Everybody must be around. So if she was not present for the scene, then she would not be able to participate in the whole movie. Because she is one of the important members [of Ah Hui's family].

"We were actually really worried about her and kept telling her to do the ART test to check her condition. At first, she still had two lines on the test kit and it later became one and a half. We thought we still had a chance [for her to participate]."

Jack, who shared that they can't reveal the actress on standby, added that luckily, Patricia tested negative for Covid-19 about five to six hours before they started filming.

Money No Enough 3 centres around three lifelong friends, Ah Hui (Henry), Ah Qiang (Jack) and Ah Huang (Mark), who are young seniors with their own family and financial problems.

When single father Ah Huang's mounting debts drive him to desperate measures, he borrows money from Ah Hui and Ah Qiang to operate an illegal business, which eventually prospers. However, he refuses to repay the money to his trusted friends, encouraging them to invest more money into cryptocurrency instead.

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Ah Huang's business eventually collapses from his unethical business tactics, which affects not just his daughter (Regina Lim) but also Ah Hui and Ah Qiang's loved ones, which make them reflect on whether money is really the solution to everything.

Catch Money No Enough 3 in the cinema from Feb 1.

Jack Neo, Xiang Yun, Regina Lim, Ivan Lo, Braven Yeo, Denise Fong and Kelly Wong will also be meeting fans and viewers at the Money No Enough 3 Meet-&-Greet on Feb 3, 6pm at Our Tampines Hub, Festive Plaza.

ALSO READ: 'If I manage you don't manage, if you manage I don't manage': Mark Lee and Jack Neo on the rules when friends do business together

yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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