SENI FOKUS: Shaheizy Sam Is More Than Just A Spectacle; Hopes To Push Acting Career Further

EVERYBODY is talking about Shaheizy Sam’s body transformation in Polis Evo, but we’re not interested in his badan sado.

We’re here to talk about him as an actor and how he carried the role of Inspector Khai in the film that has thus far raked RM13 million in the box-office. With poor collections for local films in the past few years, Sam didn’t expect Polis Evo to blow up the box-office. However, he believed that the film would turn out great since he worked with one of the best production teams in Malaysia.

This year, Sam has only appeared in two films, Polis Evo with Zizan Razak and Rembat with Ah Niu. According to him, he decided to rebrand himself as an actor by only choosing films with good scripts and reliable production teams.

“What I’ve been doing prior to last year was just accepting any acting offers. It’s a small industry and it’s not a high-paying job so I had to do a lot to sustain myself financially,” said Sam.

“Until it comes a point where I think that duit takkan cukup but I need to satisfy myself by picking good roles.”

Sam’s move to be selective proved to have paid off. He has since appeared in both aforementioned films and will soon be appearing in Dain Said’s Interchange as well as Bront Palarae’s Dawn Raid: The Hands That Rattled The Queen.

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Sado Super Cop

The 33 year-old actor mentioned that it was the story of Polis Evo that appealed to him in accepting the role as Inspector Khai.

“I think the story brings a fresh and interesting twist to the entertainment industry. And knowing that I’ll be working with the best people in the industry who can bring out the best in me, being part of Polis Evo would be something that’s very… memuaskan hati,” gushed Sam.

He added that he loved the characterisation of Inspector Khai. Although his character didn’t have many lines — Inspector Khai is the strong and silent type — Sam worked hard on how Inspector Khai slowly eased up as the film progresses.

He further pointed out that he had to develop his character as opposed to the talkative and family-oriented Inspector Sani (Zizan Razak).

“Inspector Khai lost his brother to drugs, which led to an estranged relationship with his mother. When he met Sani, they initially could not hit it off because of their differing personalities.”

“But the longer they worked together, Khai slowly realised that Sani is like a brother to him and eventually opened up,” he explained.

When it comes to realising the film from script to screen, Sam revealed the challenges in filming Polis Evo.

“First of all, I was working with some of the best people in the industry — from the director, scriptwriter, art department, technical crew, and actors. And the challenge was that I needed to be on par with them. I had to make sure I was giving them my best as they are giving to me.”

“Secondly, the character of Inspector Khai is known as a super cop. To be a super cop, I had to be really super inside and out. I must appear intelligent and at the same time, physically strong,” he laughed.

Sam spent about 5 months getting in shape, learning martial arts, body combat, as well as the right way to give signals and instructions from the Unit Tindakan Khas Polis.

“Finally, I was working without any source of carbohydrates but it’s an action film. We shot between 15 to 18 hours a day. There was a day where we shot for almost 24 hours. Without having any carbs in my body, it was tough for me to maintain the same level of energy from the start until it was time to wrap.”

However, Sam did not let the challenges of filming this action-packed film deter his performance. Instead, he let the adrenaline fuel his passion. For most of the stunts, Sam did not use a double.

“I’m a perfectionist. Only I know how the character would react to something such as getting punched so I’d rather do the stunts myself.”

Sam then excitedly told us how he only had one take to film a scene where Inspector Khai pursues Jimbo (Pablo Amirul) after his attempted arson. In the heat of the chase, Inspector Khai was hit by a car, causing the windscreen to crack.

“I really kicked the windscreen,” said Sam proudly.

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Acting as a means of living

Sam has been in the industry ever since he was a young boy, starring in television films and dramas in the 1990s. However, Sam didn’t always dream of becoming an actor.

“When I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to be a singer. When my sister (Zizie Izette) started acting, I gave it a try and realised my talent is more towards acting rather than singing,” he informed us.

Sam confessed that he is essentially a very shy person, and acting becomes another form of expression. The world of acting was a space for Sam to be whoever he wanted to be.

“I’m always in my own world. I don’t talk much but observe more. So there’s more input than output. Acting is where I channel what I’ve observed from the people around me.”

To date, Sam said that the toughest roles he has ever carried go to Am in Songlap and Detective Man in Interchange.

Telling the story of two brothers’ struggle within a baby trafficking network, Songlap holds the record as the film with the most nominations in the history of Festival Filem Malaysia (FFM), when it was nominated in 15 out of the festival’s 23 categories back during its 25th edition.

Sam won Best Actor at both Anugerah Skrin and the Asean International Film Festival & Awards (AIFFA) for his role as Am in the film.

In preparing for a role, Sam explained the process he undergoes whenever he receives a script.

“I’m very detailed. I’ll go through the script a few times to know the chronology of the story before going through my lines. From there, I’ll decide the direction I should go with my character.”

“The communication between actor and director is important to m, it helps me know what the director wants,” he pointed out.

He added that he will choose a character that relates to him on a personal level. However, compared to Hollywood, Sam explained that the Malaysian film industry do not generally give actors a long period of time to prepare for a role.

“I’ve always wanted to do a biographical story. Because most of the times, I work with fictional character where I have to be more creative to prep myself with these characters. But if I’m doing biography, it’s more of an imitation and putting more research. Everything is there.”

Sam got the chance play his dream role of a non-fictional character as Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in Dawn Raid: The Hands That Rattled The Queen. They have just recently finished shooting the trailer of the film.

With his name making a comeback in the industry with some highly notable films, Sam is aiming to push his career further, perhaps even to international recognition.

As an endnote, Sam shared some thoughts about our film industry.

“All this while, I thought that people are getting bored with our local films. But oh, how wrong I was. We still have supporters who really want watch local films. It all boils down to the production value.”

“I really hope that Polis Evo will set a benchmark for our local producers to follow; for example, giving a big-budget to good creative people to make a movie. With a team that gives their all in making the film, the effort will be seen in the final product.”