Jimmy O. Yang Exudes Main Character Energy
omfort and tactic sort of like, alright, I know you’re making me into another trope here, I’m just another Asian dude who wants the blond girl, but I’m in on the joke. And then it gets disturbing later on.”In another scene, Willis finds himself in conversation with a character credited only as Generic Asian Man. “When we filmed that scene, when we actually made it,” Yang remembers, “we’re like, ‘Let’s do this extra cheesy, extra bad Asian actory stuff,’ that’s not great work. That’s the shit that traps us in these limited roles. And then, throughout the show, you see these other things that are real and meaningful.”The fact that Interior Chinatown is able to treat its multifaceted subject matter with both the levity and gravity it deserves is a testament to the surefootedness of its creator and the diverse prowess of a cast that includes Yang, Tzi Ma, and Chrissie Fit. Each of them plays multiple roles in the series, reflecting the fractured, multifaceted nature of Asian-American identity itself.“It feels authentic,” says Yang. “It feels different from anything else I’ve ever done. It’s raw and funny and absurd and emotional at the same time.” The series gestures to a future of greater representation and complexity in storytelling—hopefully one where warriors and maids and chefs are no longer the only parts available to Asian actors in Hollywood.And for Yang, who has dabbled in all those roles and more throughout his career, it feels like a transformation. “Now, there is a new phase,” he predicts. “If you’re not balancing out the laundry dude and the martial artist with real, fleshed-out, multifaceted characters, there’s something wrong with the industry.” “I think I have that main character energy, that leading man vibe,” he adds. “And I want to ride that train until I can’t ride it anymore.”Raymond Ang is the image editor at HYPEBEAST and GQ Hype Hub, where he helped launch the publication’s first Instagram account. You can see more of his work at raydoes.work.
