Following the Apple TV+ show’s debut, the Brookline native discusses his new role, tragedy, advocating for Asian American rights and more.
What steps did you take toward acting as you grew up in Boston?
“I acted a lot in Elementary School in Brookline but then gave it up in High School. I started back up in my 30s and was an extra in The Departed and remembered how cool it was to see Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio work. I also tried to get back into theater, but no one would hire me until Company One gave me my first chance in the play After the Quake, directed by Shawn Lacount. From there, I did whatever I could to learn to improve my craft, and I studied with many teachers in Boston until I started going more to NY and L.A.”
What do you hope viewers will get from your much-anticipated series City on Fire?
“I hope audiences will enjoy spending time in this world of NY in 2003, from the underground music scene to the Upper East Side wealthy elite and the mystery that unfolds.”
What have you learned from your character Joe Yeung?
“I’ve learned from my character Joe Yeung that you can have a choice to live in a world of feeling sorry for yourself and dwelling on the negatives in life or life being present and appreciating what you already have. He chose the former.”
How does your new role in City on Fire compare to your breakout role in the Oscar-winning film The Sound of Metal in 2018?
“Working With Darius Marder and Riz Ahmed was fantastic, but the emotional highs and lows that I have to go through as Joe Yeung in City on Fire are on another level. When I filmed City on Fire last summer, in real life, I had not experienced a major tragedy, so I had to really work to put myself in a really dark place to be able to portray a father about to lose his daughter. In a true-life imitating art scenario, my 19-year-old daughter Alana died unexpectedly a month after filming City of Fire in very similar circumstances.
How has the loss of your daughter shaped your acting?
“My performances now are much more raw and present. I’ve now experienced the worst kind of tragedy any person could have, and for an emotional scene, it doesn’t take much for me to tap into that emotion. While it can be very difficult and draining, I also really embrace it because when I go to those places to inhabit a role, it connects me spiritually with my daughter.”
How are these feelings channeled in your role in “City on Fire?”
“Even though City on Fire was filmed before her passing, I believe from the bottom of my heart that this role was a gift from my daughter Alana. Almost every scene that I have in City on Fire happened to me in real life two months later. I believe this role was a gift from her to help me better prepare me mentally and emotionally for her death. Uncannily, all the roles I’ve had since then have also all connected very strongly to my daughter.”
What are ways you’ve advocated for Asian American rights? How has this passion shown in your acting?
“It’s very important to have a voice and have it heard. Under Tow Arboleda Films, my producing partner Teja Arboleda and I made a lot of popular shorts and parodies addressing Asian American issues and injustices. Most times, we try to do this through a humorous lens so that the video is light on the surface, but underneath is a serious message. From an acting perspective, I know how rare it was to see people who look like me on TV and in film, so every time I get a chance to be on screen, I don’t take it lightly.”
How do you believe your role in the acting industry has broken stereotypes placed on AAPI performers?
“I try to bring humanity to every role I play. I want to show that these characters are layered, they are unique, they are sexual, they have hopes and dreams. This way, even if a role on the surface may be stereotypical, bringing a unique three-dimensional character to the screen in itself will break stereotypes."
Can you tease any of your upcoming roles in Taylor Sheridan’s Lioness and STARZ’s Raising Kanan?
“I can’t say too much about either role as plot lines are kept under wraps, but in Lioness, I get to work with big stars like Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldana. In Raising Kanan, I get to do a scene that has rarely or maybe has never been seen for an Asian American male on TV. Lioness comes out this July, and Raising Kanan probably in the fall.”
Photography by: Photo by Peter Mellekas
