Jaspers Lai Yit Hann (born 7 March 1987) is a Malaysian actor and comedian active in Singapore.
Early life and education Jaspers Lai was born in Kuala Lumpur on 7 March 1987. Lai attended Nanyang Junior College. Thereafter, Lai went to Hong Kong to be trained in acting, hosting, singing and songwriting when he was 18, and was in training for 5 years, along with Romeo Tan and Andie Chen. However, the artiste management company shuttered when he was 23 before he could debut. He returned to Singapore and enrolled into National University of Singapore, studying at the School of Computing.
Career While studying in NUS, he was a disc jockey for in988, an internet radio station.
In 2014, Lai made his film debut in The Lion Men. In the movie, he was cast as Sam, the leader of a rivalling lion dance troupe and the main villain of the film. He was selected for the role after passing an audition during his final university semester, and was also signed with Jack Neo's J-team Productions. However, acting jobs were scant for Lai, with him filming a movie once a year.
While attending a scriptwriting course, Lai started to develop the script, for what would eventually become the 2020 film Number 1, based on his personal experiences. While developing the script still, his co-actor, Mark Lee found out about the script and immediately staked for a role in the film. After the movie was released in 2020, the film received two nominations at the 57th Golden Horse Awards. It won one award for Best Costume & Makeup Design.
In 2021, Lai received the Most Talented Chinese Artiste Award (最有才华艺人奖) from the World Chinese Economic Forum.
Personal life According to his profile on J Team Productions, Jack Neo's artiste management company, Lai had obtained Singapore's permanent residency.
Filmography Film Year Title RoleNotes2014 The Lion Men Sam The Lion Men: Ultimate Showdown 2015 Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen CPL Handsome 2016 Long Long Time Ago Cameo 2017 Ah Boys to Men 4 2018 Wonderful! Liang Xi Mei Merlion King 2020 Number 1 Money 2023 What! The Heist Bao Ya Gu2026Dream StallAh Ji
Television series Year Title RoleNotesRef 2011 On the Fringe Xiao-ma 2015 Tiger Mum Peter The Dream Makers II Steve Lim 2021Mr Kiasu 2.0Mr Kiasu2023Whatever Will Be, Will BeRay
Variety series Year Title RoleNotesRef 2016 Happy Can Already! 2017 Happy Can Already! 2 Happy Can Already! 3 2018 Happy Can Already! 4
Discography Singles YearTitleAlbumNotesRef 2014 唯一的王 Non-album single OST for The Lion Men: Ultimate Showdown 2015 感觉心跳为爱情喝彩 Heartbeat Non-album single
References