Jimmy O. Yang (performing a bit)
speaker
225 appearances
4 recordings
2 series
first heard Nov 2024
last heard Jan 2025
Jimmy O. Yang (performing a bit)’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
I would talk back. But one time this kid got to me and I don't know what what like got into me. Right. I just full on did turn around, did a roundhouse kick to his stomach, jumped up, karate chopped him in the back of the neck. And this is me with no martial arts training and 13 years old. And I just watched enough martial arts films growing up. And then all his friends got so freaked out.
And they're like, yo, don't mess with him. That's Bruce Lee, man. And I was like, hey, you know, if that's a stereotype and that's a stereotype that's going to save me from getting bullied, I'll take it. I will be Bruce Lee for you.
Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.
I'm not saying I want someone to die. So what are you saying? Well, I'm saying if someone's already dead, I would like to be the person who'll find the body. That's weird, man. Okay, you know how in cop shows, there's usually a cold open? Cold open? The first scene, before the main titles. Right.
Okay, so for a couple of minutes, you follow this random character who you've never met, who's not one of the leads. And part of you is thinking, why am I even watching this guy? Why are you watching this guy? You're watching because either he's about to get killed, or... Or... You've seriously never seen a cop show? How is that even possible? Video games and weed. Okay, what was I saying?
Somebody's about to find a dead body? Yes, that's the rule. The person in the first scene of a procedural is either a victim or a witness. Holy .
Somebody threw away an entire Peking duck with the sauce and everything.
You're a , man. I'm the . You were the one who was hoping it was a dead person.
Thank you so much, Anne-Marie. First of all, I'm a big fan. And second of all, I think you should introduce me at every single one of my shows from now on.
That was wonderful. Thank you.
Well, first of all, when I first got the script, I knew that it was based on a book. I love reading books, but I get distracted very quickly. And I'm like, oh, man, I got to read the script and the book. That's a lot of pages. But then I rifled through a book in like half a day. It was just so engaging. And I really felt like it spoke to me.
as an Asian American, as an actor, as an artist, and I think just as an outsider, as someone who felt like I was always in the background of my life and I always have to find a way to sneak in. And I'm like, man, It almost sounded like the book was based on my climb and struggle in my career. From Willis being a background guy, which I was. From Willis having a bit part, which I was.
I was Chinese teenager number two. I was person in line. And to Willis becoming the tech guy, which I was on Silicon Valley. So I just really connected to the role. And of course the book and the script were so well written by Charlie Yu. I felt really passionate about it. Rarely does a script or something land on my desk where I felt a personal connection with.
And from then on, I was like, man, I got to get this. I got to do this.
For sure. Before meeting him, I actually listened to a lot of his interviews, talks of his book. And the man is very smart and a deep thinker. And then when I got the part, I started talking to him more and more of what his ambition is about the show and how the book would adapt to the show. Which is, first of all, very rare for a novelist to be the showrunner.
But the show actually, I think, goes above and beyond the book. The book has a lot of metaphors and surrealism that the show captures. But at the same time, within the show, it's so grounded in reality. With Willis' parents, you know, he has a strained relationship with his father, which a lot of us Asians know, especially different generations who grew up in different countries.
And him and his mother trying to get over the grief of his brother. And of course, you know, just... the sheer will and want of someone who's been in the background like Willis Wu, and he wants to do more. He wants to be more and be something else. It's not just an Asian story.
Yeah, I think, first of all, that scene, it really made me smile when I think about it. It's almost like an old school physical comedy scene where Willis, me, I was trying to get into this door in the police precinct and I can't. Like a Monty Python or something, like a sketch. So it made me laugh and I had a lot of fun doing it.
But there's such a deeper meaning on, hey, you don't belong here, you know. And then he had to find a lot of ways to like sneak in, which in a way I kind of felt like that in my career. I didn't go to Juilliard or NYU, like a fancy acting school or something like that. I had to do open mics where I pay $5, five minutes of stage time, and then kind of snuck in by doing some commercials.
Even Silicon Valley, which you mentioned, I snuck in on that. I had a two-line part as a tech guy, right? And then I had to be funny and subvert people's expectation in order to get a bigger part. And then in season two, I became a series regular.
Showing 121–140 of 225 · page 7 of 12
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