Hong Kong star Shaun Tam may be one of TVB's finest actors, but did you know he actually wanted to be a singer?

Last weekend, the 45-year-old was in Singapore as a guest of the Singapore auditions for TVB singing competition Midlife, Sing & Shine! Season 4. The show gives contestants aged 35 and above a chance to pursue their dreams to be a singer. 

Here, Shaun reunited with his old pal, Ocean Butterflies Music's co-founder and general manager, Kenny Wu. 

Turns out, Shaun, who grew up in Canada, lived in Singapore for over a year some two decades ago, as he revealed in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao. 

Speaking in fluent English, Shaun shared that he stayed in a flat at Telok Blangah Heights. The flat belonged to Kenny's mother and he would take the bus to Chinatown, where he worked, every day. 

Shaun, whose dad is '70s martial arts legend Ti Lung, entered showbiz as an actor in 2000 and he got acquainted with Kenny as well as Singaporean songwriter Eric Ng while he working in Taiwan.

Harbouring dreams of becoming a singer, Shaun put his acting career on hold and came to Singapore.

He worked as a studio engineer at Ocean Butterflies Music's office in Chinatown.

“Actually, my whole [foray into music] was a failure — be it as a studio engineer or a singer. The first time I heard JJ Lin andA-Do sing, I knew I should just go back to acting!" he said. Both JJ and A-Do got their start in music through Ocean Butterflies. 

Interestingly, Shaun's wife, Chinese actress Yann Ren, also lived in Singapore too. Yann Ren, who was born in Dalian, studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA).

The couple, however, only met each other when Shaun was working in China. Yann Ren retired from acting after marrying Shaun in 2015. They have a daughter, Renee, 10, and a son, Rex, seven. 

Shaun also turned 45 in Singapore and was joined by his wife and kids.

During the trip, the family checked off several tourist spots including Sentosa, Universal Studios, and the Night Safari.

“I had never been to Sentosa! Back then [when I was living here], it was just work, work, work. And I had no money!," he said.

Well, it's never too late to visit Sentosa.

Catch Shaun in Take Two on mewatch.