Child stars. Shirley Temple, Ron Howard, Jodie Foster, Scott Bai, Drew Barrymore - they were all child stars. If a movie storline calls for one, there has to be one. Or more.

In the case of Anna and the King, which is currently filming in Ipoh, 58 lucky children were picked to play the royal princes and princesses of King Mongkut's huge household. A casting crew for the movie had visited several schools in the country and shortlisted hundreds of children for the respective roles.

For the role of Princess Fa-Ying, the crew was looking for a little girl with the right character to portray the Siamese king's favourite daughter. Four little girls were shortlisted but the role finally went to eight-year old Malaysian Melissa Campbell, a regular face in local television commercials like Colgate, Johnson & Johnson, Mamee and Motorola.

The little pro, whose mother is Malaysian and father British Australian, had to go through four auditions before finally getting the part in February, but according to her proud mum Jackie Campbell, her daughter "enjoyed the audition" and was not nervous because she "does it all the time" when she attends castings for advertisments. In fact, Melissa did not even mind having her lovely locks shorn for the role and plans to keep her hair that way for the moment.

Naturally, Melissa was excited to get the part and couldn't wait to meet with the director, Andy Tennant, whom she thinks of as a "busy man". And what about the two stars of the show, Chow Yun-Fat and Jodie Foster? Well, when she first met them, Melissa thought Jodie Foster sounded like a "cow girl" and found "Uncle Chow" friendly.

"Uncle Chow is kind and sometimes funny, like when he gets his words muddled up. Once, he sneezed halfway through his lines," says Melissa with a laugh.

In the film, Melissa's character shares a special bond with Chow'sKing Mongkut but later contracts cholera. Melissa's filming schedule varies from day to day in which she wakes up any time between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., depending on how early the day's shoot has to begin. A day's filming can run on into the wee hours and Melissa has even gone to bed at 1 a.m. on a few occasions.

While Melissa admits that the shoots are tiring at times, she insists that she is having a lot of fun, especially with the other child stars Tom Felton and Keith Chin, who play Anna's son Louis Leonowens and Prince Chulalongkorn respectively.

"Tom's okay. He always talks about how he want to make a ghost movie. He's using his own (video) camera and he wants me to be the ghost! I enjoy working with everybody. It's fun and nice to be aprincess. Sometimes it is hard work like early in the morning when I have to wake up and get there (the filming site). It's really muddy and I have to keep my costume and hair clean."

Despite the tight filming schedule, Melissa's studies have not been neglected. The Sri Inai Junior School pupil has been provided with a private tutor to enable her to catch up with her school work. On the days that she is not required on the set, Melissa has to go through six hours of schooling, which also comes with homework.

"Melissa's school was very supportive and they were very proud that one of their students was selected," says Jackie, a homemaker.

"She's one of the top students so it's nice to see that she;s a good example. She never boasts, not even about this job.

"The shoots are fun but a bit tiring. In terms of attitude and realtionships, the crew are fantastic and always have smiles on their faces, even on bad days."

Melissa's father, general manager of a company in Shah Alam, is also proud of his daughter "for what she's achieved at such a tender age." To Alastair Campbell, although it means some "family discolation", it's a sacrifice the family has had to learn to accept.

"I think the important thing is a stable and balanced family life with lots of support from the parents. We've proved that by regular telephone contact and visits over the weekend," says Campbell.

The Campbell family has indeed adjusted to Melissa's schedule. weeend visits usually involve Campbell and Melissa's four-year-old brother Simon, playing regular visits to the film site near Ipoh or Jackie and Melissa coming back to their home in Kuala Lumpur once in a while on their days off.

Jackie turned down her own chance to be in the film in favour of being her daughter's chaperone and is constantly by Melissa's side except when she is in front of the camera. As a parent, Jackie says that she was more excited than her daughter when they found out Melissa got the part. To Jackie, she and her husband liken watching their daughter act to "watching her walk again."

"She can act and give the directors what they want. It's like a hidden talent we didn't realise she had. It's educational to see professionals like Chow and Foster do their job and it's preparing us for what may happen if Melissa chooses that path.

"She's already asked for more roles and she wants to do more movies and ads. Acting is one of her hobbies and it's what motivates her. She doesn't mind going for castings and shoots, or even if she doesn't get the job."

And what does Melissa herself have to say about that?

"I want to go to Hollywood. I want to become a film star.... but I don't want to be in love stories."

Written by Beverley Hon in The Star, Friday 7th May, 1999. Click here for more pictures.