Ask most Singaporeans who Lim Bo Seng is and chances are they'll recognise the name.

But how much do we actually know about the war hero?

If your answer is "not much", well, neither did Adrian Pang — until he was cast as Lim.

Speaking to 8days.sg via Zoom from London, where he's currently starring as Mr Miyagi in The Karate Kid – The Musical, Adrian admitted he knew "very, very, very, very little" about him.

"I at least knew his name, but that was about the extent of it," said the 60-year-old theatre veteran, who voices Lim in Singapore-produced animated film The Violinist.

Set in colonial Singapore and Malaya, The Violinist follows musically gifted Peranakan girl Fei as she grows up to become a concert violinist while searching for her childhood friend Kai, who disappeared during the war.

The film, which opens in Singapore cinemas on Sep 17, is co-directed by Singaporean filmmaker and animator Ervin Han — aka National Day Rally 2026’s ‘crying guy’ — and Spanish animator Raul Garcia.

It has already made waves overseas, becoming the first Singapore-produced animated feature to win the Cristal for a Feature Film, the top feature prize at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It also took home the SACEM Award for Best Original Soundtrack in a Feature Film.

Without getting too "spoilerific", as Adrian put it, Lim plays a key role in the story, passing the titular violin to one of the protagonists to help her fulfil her dreams. 

The role also gave Adrian the chance to learn more about the man whose name he'd known for years.

"It was very enlightening and very educational, and... a very humbling experience," he said.

He has yet to see the finished film himself, but said those who have watched it have personally reached out to tell him how much they enjoyed it — and how much they learnt about Singapore's history from it.

It seems Adrian has become quite the go-to guy for playing prominent figures from Singapore's history.

In 2015, he took on the daunting role of Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in The LKY Musical, opposite Sharon Au as Madam Kwa Geok Choo.

He reprised the role when the musical returned in 2022, this time opposite Kit Chan as Mrs Lee.

The connection "inevitably" crossed Adrian's mind while working on The Violinist, and he made sure there were no "obvious overlaps" in how he portrayed the two men.

Though he joked: "In a world where both Lim Bo Seng and Lee Kuan Yew appear in the sequel to The Violinist, I'm hoping I can play both."

So why does Adrian think people keep coming to him to play such prominent figures?

"I work cheap," he quipped.

When 8days.sg suggested it could be his gravitas, Adrian shot back: "I would never say that. I've got a good face for voiceovers."

Jokes aside, playing Lee Kuan Yew and Lim Bo Seng were two very different propositions.

Unlike Mr Lee, whose voice and mannerisms are instantly recognisable to Singaporeans, there are few recordings of what Lim actually sounded like.

So which was harder?

"It's much, much more tricky to play someone that everybody knows and has an idea about, or thinks they have an idea about," said Adrian.

For The LKY Musical, Adrian had to portray the late prime minister from his school days into his 40s or 50s — live on stage and while singing.

Voicing Lim took "a little bit of pressure off".

"I was in a T-shirt and shorts in a studio playing this legendary figure," he said. "So there were many layers that I could hide behind."

So after Lee Kuan Yew and Lim Bo Seng, which Singapore figure does Adrian think he'll be called on to play next?

"Amos Yee," said Adrian without missing a beat.

He's joking, of course. 

Amos, now 27, first shot to notoriety in 2015 after posting a profanity-laced video criticising the late founding prime minister shortly after his death.

However, Adrian already has an idea of how he'd play him.

"I imagine a version of it where it's Amos Yee in his 80s and he's looking back at his storied, colourful life, and he's narrating his life in flashbacks."

And who knows what Amos might be like by then?

"Maybe by the time he reaches his 80s, he's found a new way to live his life and... he's become an important historical leader of some sort," said Adrian.

"You've always got to give someone a second chance, third chance, fourth chance."

 The Violinist will be out in Singapore cinemas on Sep 17.

The Violinist 

The LKY Musical

The Violinist

Photos: violinistmovie/Instagram, Robot Playground Media, Singapore Repertory Theatre, CNA