In 1983, a 21-year-old delivered a single line in a Malaysian film called Mekanik. "White people, black people, brown people, blue people, aren't we all Malaysians?" Four decades later that line is still quoted in advertisements, in social commentary, and in arguments about what this country is and what it still refuses to become.The actress who said it is Susan Lankester. She is 64. Chinese-English by heritage, fluent across Malay, Cantonese and English, she built a career that most people said was impossible for someone who looked like her, working through Malay, Chinese and English-language productions when the industry wanted everyone to fit inside a single race or a single language box.Her biggest recognition came 41 years after she started. Best Actress at the 33rd Malaysia Film Festival, and Best Actress at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, both for Rain Town, at 62 years old. Not at the beginning, not at the peak, but now.In this episode she sits down with Abid Hussain to talk about that first film with Othman Hafsham, the line that would not die, learning street Malay on set, why comedy is the hardest craft of all, four-camera live sitcoms shot in front of a thousand students at UKM Bangi, the theatre that broke her open (Natrah at Istana Budaya, and 4.48 Psychosis), founding her own production company and the fight to fund stories about people instead of jump scares, casting influencers over trained actors, women's ageing being treated as a deficit while men's is called distinguished, and what forty years of surviving this industry actually taught her about acting, identity and staying in the room. Recorded at the Creative Stew office in Kuala Lumpur."Telling stories is the most precious thing we can do. It's better than therapy."CHAPTERS00:00 "If filmmaking doesn't support you, it can hurt you"01:31 Introduction: the line Malaysia still quotes02:47 Welcome, and back to 1983 on the set of Mekanik07:38 "Aren't we all Malaysians?" the line that went viral09:05 Do we still honour that quote?11:21 Chinese-English heritage and working across languages14:46 When your body is the instrument16:58 The cost: disrespect, advances, and knowing when to walk away18:03 Why comedy is the hardest craft19:22 Othman Hafsham, four cameras, and live sitcom at UKM Bangi22:48 Natrah, and what theatre demands of an actor26:46 4.48 Psychosis and the roles that stay with you30:16 Building a production company, and funding original stories34:05 Casting influencers over trained actors37:40 Women's ageing as a deficit, men's as distinguished41:53 What a lifetime brings to a performance44:16 Rain Town, and Tunku Mona Riza's eleventh-hour call48:53 Best Actress at 62, forty-one years in52:42 The hardest decade to survive58:27 On the receiving end of every decision1:00:34 The honest advice for a young actress1:05:42 The role she's proudest of, and the one still to come1:08:06 Closing thoughtsLISTEN TO WHAT'S STEWINGSpotify: http://tinyurl.com/3xctk9zcApple Podcasts: http://tinyurl.com/5n6tcc9vSUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/@CreativeStew/?sub_confirmation=1CONNECT WITH CREATIVE STEWWebsite: https://www.creativestew.tvInstagram: instagram.com/creativestewtvTikTok: tiktok.com/@creativestewFacebook: facebook.com/creativestewLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/creative-stewX (Twitter): x.com/creativestewtvEmail: info@creativestew.tv#WhatsStewing #CreativeStew #SusanLankester #MalaysianCinema #Mekanik #RainTown #MalaysianFilm #Acting #Theatre #Podcast #CreatedbyCreativeStew
