Actor/Comic Jimmy O. Yang Breaks Out Of The Background
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This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley. Today, our guest is actor and stand-up comic Jimmy O. Yang. He co-starred in the HBO show Silicon Valley and the film Crazy Rich Asians. Now he's the star of the new television show Interior Chinatown, based on the National Book Award-winning novel of the same name. He recently spoke to Fresh Air's Anne-Marie Baldonado.
What if one of the background characters at the beginning of an episode of a show like Law & Order became the main character? That's the premise of the new show Interior Chinatown. Here's the beginning of the first episode. It's the back alley behind a Chinese restaurant. Two workers, played by Ronnie Chang and our guest, Jimmy O. Yang, are talking while they're bringing bags of garbage to the dumpster.
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.
Jimmy O. Yang's character, Willis Wu, then does witness a crime, and that launches him into the center of the story. The show takes place in an off-kilter version of Chinatown, both real place and the setting of a TV police procedural called Black and White. The show Interior Chinatown, like the book it's based on, is a funny, dramatic, fantastical take on the role Asian Americans play in pop culture and in real life. And it's a perfect fit for Jimmy O. Yang. A lot of his comedy is about what it means to be Asian in America. He was born in Hong Kong. His family immigrated to Los Angeles when Jimmy was 13. He found comedy while still in college and started performing in clubs almost every night. His big acting break came in 2014 when he was cast in the HBO comedy Silicon Valley. Roles in the films Crazy Rich Asians and Patriot's Day were to follow. He has numerous stand-up specials, and he wrote a book called How to American, An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents.
Jimmy O. Yang, welcome to Fresh Air.
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.
Okay. I'll be there.
That was wonderful. Thank you.
I want to start by talking about your new show, Interior Chinatown. I read that when you heard about this project, you felt like you had to get the role of Willis. Why did you feel so strongly about this story?
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.
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