“We have Zhang Linghe at home.” How Ayden Sng, the Singaporean actor is taking China by storm

If Ayden Sng’s life were a drama pitch, it might sound a touch too ambitious: Raffles Institution alumnus, Duke University graduate, former product specialist, investment-banking intern, commando-trained parachutist, musician and actor with six cats waiting at home. But the 32-year-old is very much living it.

While Ayden has been acting for some time and has earned recognition and praise in Singapore, it wasn’t until his acting debut in China that he truly went viral — not just for his performance, but for his impressive proficiency in English. With his dashing good looks, polished style and towering height, fans are even touting him as Singapore’s very own Zhang Linghe.

Here are 10 things you might not know about the Singaporean star, from his serious erhu skills to his unexpectedly stacked LinkedIn profile.

He has found fame in China — and it came with airport mobs

For years, Ayden was familiar to local viewers through Mediacorp dramas such as The Unbreakable Bond and All That Glitters. But 2026 has delivered a whole new chapter, and it is not exactly a quiet one.

This year, the Singaporean star found a fresh wave of global fame when he took on the role of Lu Feng in the Chinese boys’ love web drama Double Helix. He starred as a wealthy, rebellious heir who falls for Cheng Yichen, his studious and quietly principled classmate, portrayed by Chinese actor Lv Sitong.

Since its premiere in May, the drama has propelled Ayden and Sitong into the spotlight as one of the internet’s most talked-about on-screen pairings. The attention reached fever pitch in July, when the two actors were mobbed by fans at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

He studied at Raffles Institution and Duke University

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that would make most Asian parents very pleased. He attended Raffles Institution before moving to the United States for further studies, where he graduated from Duke University with a degree in International Comparative Studies.

The prestigious university is also the alma mater of Apple CEO Tim Cook and actor-comedian Ken Jeong. 

Ayden did not just turn up for lectures, either. As a student, he took on leadership roles, performed in arts groups and found time for activities ranging from rowing and Chinese dance to theatre.

He has serious musical chops

Ayden can play the violin, piano and erhu, a traditional two-stringed Chinese instrument. 

He joined the Raffles Institution Chinese Orchestra to learn the erhu, then went on to play competitively and lead the orchestra in concerts.

He was also part of the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra, and later founded Duke University’s first traditional Chinese music ensemble while studying there. He has since taken his love for the instrument onstage, including an erhu performance of Vivaldi’s Summer at the Weibo Cultural Exchange Night in Bangkok.

He left a $6,000-a-month job to pursue acting

Before acting became his full-time gig, Ayden worked as a product manager at a consulting firm, developing digital products such as apps and websites. It was a stable corporate job with a reported monthly salary of more than $6,000 — not exactly the sort of thing one gives up on a whim.

But after getting a taste of acting through Bryan Wong’s short film The Playbook, he decided to take the leap. He finished serving his notice in June 2019 and began acting full-time the following month.

His first lead role came seven months later

The gamble paid off rather quickly. Less than a year after going full-time, Ayden landed his first leading role in Mediacorp’s 2020 drama Loving You, opposite actress Jesseca Liu.

He played Dong Sheng, a 22-year-old who falls for Lin Li, a woman 18 years his senior who is trying to hold her life together amid a troubled marriage, work problems and a cancer diagnosis. It was a hefty first lead for a newcomer, and not the breeziest of love stories to ease into.

Even the star himself once admitted that he “wouldn’t be interested” in dating someone much older in real life.

“My experience with people that are older is that they take it upon themselves to be more mature and responsible and they will impose their thoughts on you. There’s a power imbalance when that happens and you can’t say anything against that ‘cos it’s technically true, but not being allowed to have your own opinion is detrimental to your own growth,” Ayden said in an interview with 8 Days. 

 He was a commando during National Service

Long before scripts, fan meets and camera calls, Ayden served in the 1st Commando Battalion during National Service, with responsibilities spanning logistics, administration, equipment and daily operations.

He also completed the Basic Airborne Course and made seven military parachute jumps, qualifying as a military parachutist. So yes, if a future role calls for him to jump out of a plane, he may have fewer nerves than the rest of his colleagues.

He has worked in investment banking

Ayden’s pre-acting CV is stacked enough to make the rest of us reconsider our life choices. 

Did you know that, in 2016, he was an investment-banking analyst intern at BDA Partners in New York? 

His work included research, transaction analysis and pitch materials for potential deals across the technology, healthcare, consumer and chemicals sectors. The jargon-heavy world of pitchbooks and financial modelling may be far removed from showbiz, but it proves he could have easily gone down a very different path.

His LinkedIn page is not for show

Most actors have an Instagram grid. Ayden has that, and a super polished LinkedIn profile detailed enough to make all of us corporate rats feel mildly stressed.

Apart from listing his current work as an artiste, his page documents roles in product development, investment banking and public service. He was also an intern with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he researched political developments in Latin America and prepared materials for official visits.

We don’t think his LinkedIn page is exactly a backup plan, given how far his acting career has come. Still, it is nice to know he could probably lead your next strategy meeting if the cameras ever stopped rolling.

He is a cat dad of six

Ayden has six cats — and they are a big reason he still sees Singapore as home, even when work takes him elsewhere. “It’s where my six cats are,” he told The Straits Times recently. 

He has four Bengals, a British Shorthair, and a Toyger. His oldest feline is five years old, while the youngest is the British Shorthair, who’s three. 

According to an interview with Augustman in 2025, Ayden has a full-time helper who looks after them whenever he is not in town. 

He’s no longer signed to Mediacorp

Ayden parted ways with Mediacorp’s The Celebrity Agency in May 2026 after his contract concluded, closing a seven-year chapter with the national broadcaster. He has since signed with Chinese agency Major Entertainment.

Singapore viewers need not take this as a permanent goodbye, though. TCA’s farewell post hinted at possible future collaborations — so a return to local productions may still be on the cards.