Angela Lin 0:19
Today we’re continuing our quest to find Asians doing cool shit. And we have found a really cool Asian named Amy, who’s here to talk about her alternative track well, compared to what Asian parents think we should be doing with our lives. So, Amy, feel free to introduce yourself however you want to. And we’d love if you answer the opening question, “But where are you really from?”
Full Transcript (Note: Transcribed via AI, may contain errors)
Amy 0:45
I am Amy. And I am from LA. I am an actor, slash filmmaker over here. And I’ve been here about seven years now. I was an actor in Hong Kong, and I moved here to pursue better opportunities. And where am I really from? Well, it’s that’s kind of a funny question for me. I mean, it’s hard for me to answer that question. When people ask me that, because I am really from here. I was born in Boston, but then I moved to Hong Kong when I was a teenager, and then I lived there most of my life. So when people ask me that, I do say, oh, I’m from Hong Kong, because I just got here from Hong Kong. Like, not too long ago, but then they say, oh, your English is so good. And I’m like, Well, okay, people speak English in Hong Kong. Also, well, then I kind of go through the whole thing where oh, well, you know, I was born here. And then I moved to Hong Kong and then I met now back. So yeah.
Angela Lin 2:00
Do you have family in Hong Kong? Or what was the driving like, reason for moving to Hong Kong when you were a teen?
Amy 2:06
My dad switched careers. Yeah, he, he was he had a restaurant here, when we were growing up in Connecticut. And then he decided he wanted to get into metals, import/ export. And he just had us all move over to Hong Kong when I was 14.
Angela Lin 2:31
Wow, you know what, we actually have like a somewhat loose connection in that because my dad when I was growing up, my dad had his own business. He had a factory in Shenzhen. So across, the water from Hong Kong, but he was doing like home decor, home accent type manufacturing, and it was like, related to my uncle who’s import export of that kind of stuff. So I feel like within that, like Shenzhen and Hong Kong area, that’s like the big reason people are there to do business.
Amy 3:05
Yeah, it’s very similar. Yeah, very, very similar. My dad actually worked in Guangzhou, and then he would commute back and forth from Hong Kong to Guangzhou. But we of course, as a family, we moved to Hong Kong. I, yeah. And most of my relatives are there. So I wanted at one point, I actually wanted to go back to New York to study. So then I took I went to New York, for my senior year of high school. And that was actually the year 911 happened. Yeah. 911 happened while I was still in Hong Kong. And then I didn’t go back. I took a gap year. And my dad had me go to Beijing to study Mandarin and art over there. Yeah, I was going to study art and design in New York, then I changed course. And, yeah.
Jesse Lin 4:06
Interesting. So you were gonna do some kind of artistic pursuit? Like always.
Amy 4:12
Yeah, it was always been my interest to do something creative. I drew since I was like, I was three. And I was always like, very interested in art. And I was really good at it. But I never actually thought I’d become an actor. When I was a kid, yeah.
Angela Lin 4:33
Let’s talk a little bit about your pursuit of artistic things as you know, viable career path because I think Jesse and I have talked about like, Asian parents often have a thing where like, when you’re a kid, they’re very much like, okay, you’re going to do art, you’re gonna do violin, you’re gonna do piano, you’re gonna do all these things. But then like, that’s really just to like beef up your resume when you’re playing college, but like, you real career better not be one of those things. So unless you’re like a prodigy, so I’m curious, I guess what your parents attitude was towards you saying like, hey, I want to go into something in the fields of art and then you know, eventually acting, but was it because you were a prodigy or is it like they had different attitudes towards that than like the stereotypical Asian parent?
Amy 5:26
Oh, well, you know, I was, it was very half half. My mom, she was always very encouraging of my artistic pursuits ever since I was a kid. And she saw that from when I was very, very young, she saw that, I would just pick up a pencil and I would start drawing and I would, you know, put my own in my playroom, I would have my own art gallery, I would just, like put pictures up and I was so proud to show my parents, you know, hey, look at what I did. And so she did recognize that in me, and so she was, I was very lucky. She, she pushed me in that direction. She helped, you know, foster that. And she had me go to art classes and music classes, like just anything that helped me in that direction. And she herself, she was a singer. So she really understood that. Yeah, and then, but my dad, he was more traditional. And he, he was not so much pushing me into a certain direction, but he really was worried that I wouldn’t make money. So that’s like, the main thing, like, as long as if I made money, and I made big money from it, then that would be okay. But he just didn’t really see that in, like art, the art fields. So he was very hesitant, and he was not that supporting when I said I wanted to become an actor. Yeah, for sure. But um, he did actually put me he encouraged me to go to art school, and do it the right way. So I did end up going to Ching Hua arts university in Beijing. But when I said I wanted to become an actor, he was not only shocked, but he was quite mad because I, I dropped out of art school to become an actor. Hmm. Yeah.
Angela Lin 7:37
What was the inspiration that had you kind of change course? Because it’s related, but it is different?
Amy 7:44
Yeah, it is. It is it is related. And it’s like, I don’t know, I don’t think it’s that different actually. Because it’s, it’s still creating, it’s still from the same kind of creative muscle. except you’re not alone by yourself, creating a room, something like drawing or designing and you’re not interacting with people. Acting is you have to be collaborating with many other people, and you’re out there and you’re, it’s more extroverted, I guess. And you’re essentially a piece of the puzzle, as opposed to, you know, if you’re an artist, like drawing, or you’re, you know, a writer, or like anything that’s like the other arts, you’re kind of essentially working on your own, until you have the product, right, until you have the thing that you’ve completed. I think what happened was, I was watching a lot of movies, when I was in Beijing, there was a lot of like, pirated DVDs. And I just, I just had so much access to like all movies from around the world. And I just spent so much of my time watching movies, instead of like, focusing on, you know, design art and design what I was pursuing at the time, I was just so fascinated with like, how stories could touch and make me feel and how powerful story telling was, you know, and I think one of the reasons I loved art, art and design was I was, I could express myself and I could express stories through that. But with film, TV, film, you know, moving pictures, you’re essentially like expressing a whole story. And I just felt so much when I was watching the actors that, you know, I admired on screen, and I was like, wow, I would love to do that, you know, be able to tell like stories and not be living in my own world. I want to be experiencing other people’s lives, you know?
Jesse Lin 9:58
So like, when did you know that it was the moment where you’re like, actually, I can’t do the school anymore. Like, I need to go pursue this.
Amy 10:05
I don’t think I really had like, a moment, I might have had a series of moments. Um, I was always very introspective. And I was always very, very feeling person. And I use my intuition more than my logic. And it was just that that time, I was very lost. I was in this situation where, okay, I am doing art and design, and I’m going to school for it. But it’s not New York where I really wanted to go. And, you know, I was also like, you know, kind of being a mother at the same time to my my siblings. Because my mom had passed away at that time. And it was just very tumultuous time. And the more I thought about it, the more I was, like, you know, life is short, why don’t I just try what I feel like I want to do. And the thing that made me want to go try that I’ve heard time and time again, in my immediate community was to do Miss Hong Kong, which is like a beauty pageant. And if you do that, that would lead to an acting career. I was like, okay, if I can get in and I can compete. And if I win, then I’ll do it. If I don’t, then I’ll just give it up. And I’ll just go back to my regular path. Yeah.
Angela Lin 11:33
Are we talking to a former Miss Hong Kong?
Amy 11:37
I did not win. But I did get to final five, which was okay. Yeah. And that was, that was long time ago. And, but when people ask me, that’s really what got me in the industry was that.
Angela Lin 11:54
In the past, Jesse and I have talked about media representation, and kind of a lack thereof, especially for Asian Americans on screen. It’s gotten better, but it’s, you know, still a ways to go and certainly when we’re recording up, non non existent pretty much, right, yeah, it sounds like I if I had imagined there was maybe a like, lower hurdle, imaginary hurdle, if you were in Hong Kong, because there’s also Asian actors and everything that is produced there. So maybe it wasn’t as big of a turn as if you’re grown up in the US.
Amy 12:29
Um, it would definitely would have been very different. If I started out here. I always think about what my fellow Asian American actor friends go through, and now I’m in it, so I get it. But starting out, it was a different hurdle for me, I realized my Cantonese is not really up to par to be able to act. And so it was a lot of like, learning lines from pinyin. Just like just writing down phonetic, like English phonetics, and just like memorizing sounds, as opposed to like, actually memorizing what I was saying. But yeah, I think getting in the industry, I wouldn’t say it was that it would be as hard, you know, because I just, I didn’t focus on my race, because everybody’s, everybody’s Chinese over there. So I wasn’t focused on that. And I wasn’t thinking so much about what kind of roles what to get, what kind of roles would I not get? It was open for me, you know, the only the only thing that I guess I struggled with was just to learn my own language, learn just to learn Chinese, but I didn’t have the same struggles, as you know, most Asian American actors have here.
Jesse Lin 13:46
I’m curious to ask a question though. Because you you had been there for a few years, and you were studying in university and something that I get a lot when I move or not move, but when I go back to Asia as people can clock me immediately that I’m like, not local. Oh, yeah. Did you? Are you like, do you go and you go into, like, shoots and stuff, and they’re like, you’re not from around here are you?
Amy 14:06
Yeah, totally. Totally. It’s, it’s a vibe. I mean, I don’t have to open my mouth. And yeah, oh, Can Can I Oh, she’s ABC. It’s just the way I guess, the way I hold myself and the style. I don’t know, there’s a little bit something that’s slightly different.
Jesse Lin 14:24
Je ne sais quoi
Amy 14:27
It’s just kinda, it’s just kinda like, I don’t know, there’s certain gestures that you know, local Hong Kong kids wouldn’t do and I would just, I wouldn’t do those things and they wouldn’t do what I do. And
Jesse Lin 14:40
but that didn’t give you like any advantage or disadvantage as you’ve started your career, right? You’re saying it’s basically like negligible effect.
Amy 14:47
You know, I think it gave a slight advantage because there was this like thing where people were there were really into ABCs at the time. I don’t know at the time like Daniel Wu was coming up and like Maggie Q.
Angela Lin 15:04
I do think there’s a certain like halo effect with ABC when you’re abroad while abroad compare relative to the US, right? But like, Jesse has talked about when he’s there, he feels like he’s a celebrity.
Jesse Lin 15:20
Famous.
Angela Lin 15:21
And I, when I was younger, I was obsessed with Meteor Garden that Taiwanese drama and F4. My loves and my favorite one was Vaness, who is an ABC. Oh, I remember digging into his whole thing. And he had a similar situation with you as like, his Chinese wasn’t that good. So that everyone have to like his scripts, they’d have to like, recite it to him, essentially, for him to memorize it, because he couldn’t read it.
Amy 15:52
Yeah, yeah, I totally remember that era. Actually, you know, Taiwanese stars was really popular in Hong Kong. So I knew all about like all the Taiwanese, like celebs. And no, it was it was it was a fun time, I think.
Angela Lin 16:13
So then you got your start. You got some experience there in Hong Kong? And then when did you decide like, Alright, I’m going back home to the US. And I want to keep pursuing acting and like, what was that transition like?
Amy 16:26
Yeah, I don’t know. I just felt like really stale. I was doing the same things over and over. And I was kind of pigeon holed into some certain roles. And I was just getting really, really bored. I just didn’t like the kind of work I was doing. It was like, mostly soaps. And I was kind of stuck in the TV world. And I always knew that I wanted to go to LA, and I wanted to act in English. But I didn’t have like a plan. Really, it was another tumultuous period of my life. My dad had just passed away. And then for a year, I was just kind of like trying to find myself trying to like, heal. You know, I had a lot of time to think about what I want in life, you know, and what I really want to see myself in 10 years, so I just packed my bags in, like two suitcases and I booked a ticket to LA like a year after I decided and came over here. I didn’t really think about it that much. I’m just that type that’s sort of impulsive. And I don’t really plan too much ahead. I don’t I don’t have I don’t have parents to tell me what to do anymore. You know? Yeah. So it’s kind of like, well, I want to do this. And I never really told my friends and they’re like, Where did you go? I had already. I had already moved over here. And they’re like, what you’re in LA. Um like my relatives, everyone’s like, Where are you coming back? I’m like, I’m not. I moved here. So Wow. Yeah.
Jesse Lin 18:09
That’s amazing. That’s like completely the opposite person that I am. I always look at people who are able to just take that risk and go for it. I’m like, I’m so envious like that, like drive and that like fortitude and you’re kind of just like, I can just land here and it will work.
Amy 18:25
Yeah, I mean, it’s just like one thing leads to another and I was kind of lost when I first got here. It was like a year of figuring things out.
Angela Lin 18:36
How did you end up finding your like community out there.
Amy 18:40
Um, it was one person at a time. It all started from an actor that came to Hong Kong. His name is Byron Mann. You might have seen him in multiple TV shows and stuff. And he’s like a really great actor. He came to Hong Kong, he worked he works like international. He’s like Canada, Hong Kong, here. And he he came to Hong Kong and he was looking for actors to rehearse with for a film he was shooting. I was an actor that was recommended to him to help rehearse. And he met up with me based on this recommendation, and he talked to me. And he was like, huh, you’re Chinese isn’t that good. And so then, like, he couldn’t use me to rehearse with. And he’s like, anything you need. If you’re if you anything you want to, like need help with, if you go to LA or whatever, I can help you. And I was like, Okay, I’ll take your offer. So I called him up. And I was like, Hey, I’m gonna come to LA next month, can you help me out. And so he did. He was like he, he was so generous and he was so just like, he enjoyed when I got to LA. He made me my place I was renting was good. It was in a safe area. He went there before I got there. Yeah. And he made sure that it was safe. And he let me stay at his place for a day or two before I moved in. And he introduced me to like all the friends that he thought I should know. And from there, I just like, made friends. And then from those friends, I made other friends. And then yeah, what happened, I was like, really open, I was really open to meeting new people. I mean, the Asian American community here is awesome. They’re like, they just know you’re new here. And they introduce you to everyone. So I was very grateful for that.
Angela Lin 20:45
Now that you’re here, and you’ve been here many years now in the in the biz now. What is your experience? Like? What the roles that you are able to get in and like now that you’re on the Asian Americans side of the industry are you seeing anything in terms of like, roadblocks or anything that are related to either being a minority or being a woman? Like, anything distinct? That’s different from the Hong Kong times?
Amy 21:17
Oh, yeah, I would say so. The difference is that I had to, I’ve had to think about my race a lot more than ever. I didn’t really think about it. I’ve always just like, when I was in Hong Kong, I was always like, okay, I’m an actor now. Yeah, you know, I’m here, I have to kind of pull back and think, oh, I’m an Asian American actor. What kind of roles are out there for me? It’s it. That was how it was, when I first started here, there are certain boxes that people will put you in, you know, I’ve had people say that I should really, really focus on the smart roles, because that’s what Asian American actors usually get to play, you know, this smart, like, lawyer scientist, yeah, the lawyer, the scientist, everything that, you know, we didn’t want to be right, you know, becoming an artist. Like, it’s suddenly like, kind of like, okay, you look like this. And so, you know, you need to, I don’t know, shape your, the way you look and the way you talk and stuff into that kind of mold. But I was I’ve been very lucky, I’ve been able to collaborate with a lot of people who don’t think that way, and are more like, chose me to be in their projects not based on I’m filling a diversity checkmark. I’ve been in projects where I’m just simply a person and not an Asian American.
Angela Lin 22:58
Isn’t that the dream? To be a person?
Amy 23:02
Yeah, no, it’s, it’s, it’s changing. I mean, I do, you know, there are struggles, but I’ve been seeing a lot more Asian American creators that are creating really awesome things now. And I’m not just talking about the big budget stuff like Crazy Rich Asians, and I’m talking about like, you know, really cool indie stuff. That’s, uh, you know, the, the young Asian American filmmakers are coming out and doing now.
Jesse Lin 23:32
So what’s your feel in terms of like, because we do here and feel kind of like the film and TV industry is changing in that sense that they’re being more accepting of actors in different roles and less typecasting, but I wonder, based off of your experience, do you feel like that’s mostly coming from those like independent projects? Because film is like, more accessible now? Like, it’s easier to get the equipment and you can start out much faster? Like, is growth coming from there? Or is it coming from studios or like a little bit of both?
Amy 24:01
It is coming from both, but I just see, like, there’s just a lot more creators now. Because of the access that we have, you know, whether it’s people putting stuff up on YouTube, or raising money on the different platforms to create their own feature films and going through the festivals. There’s a lot more voices now than ever before. I think it’s because our generation is finally stepping up and telling the stories that we didn’t before. And it starts from the script, it starts from the screenplay. I’ve also noticed that there’s stories that I want to tell and aren’t out there right now. So I’ve been writing and I am very interested in directing now too, because, again, it doesn’t start from trying to be accepted to the table as an actor. It starts from the actual project in the, in the script. And, you know, there are a lot of new, like exciting filmmakers out there right now that are doing really cool things. Justin Chon? He’s a Korean American. I’m not sure if you guys seen his films like Gook, and oh, yeah, there’s like people like him that are starting to create, like, really cool Asian American stories. You know, you know, I was in a film that I shot last year, and now it’s being submitted to festivals. And he, the director is Korean American, and the story is, actually has nothing to do with Asian American identity. It just so happened the lead characters are Asian American. Yeah, yeah. But they’re, we’re not talking about assimilation or like, you know, it’s just we’re being we’re just being people. There’s so many talented Asian American content creators out here. It’s just a matter of time, I think. It’s a matter of time and just like having the balls to put out stories that aren’t safe, you know? Yeah. Like not not doing the same thing over and over. Like, how do we make it so that the white people like it? Like, we’re just telling stories, you know what I mean?
Angela Lin 26:37
Yes. Totally, still big budget studio, but one movie I really liked. That was more like what you’re saying, like, had nothing to do with identity, but just happened to be Asian cast. Searching with John Cho. Oh, yeah. I love that movie. And I was Yeah, okay John Cho, he’s famous people know him. But what’s this? It’s gonna be an Asian thing. And then I watched, like, this has nothing to do with being Asian – awesome.
Amy 27:03
Yeah, I watched that movie, too. It was it was awesome. I watched it at the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival. Cool. And I think it was a centerpiece film.
Angela Lin 27:13
Very cool. All right. So I think we’ll move into our closing, we like to call it the Fortune Cookie because we like to end on a sweet treat. So we thought we’d ask you what is the project that you are most proud of that you’ve done so far in your career?
Amy 27:32
The project that I am most proud of thus far is called Love Shot. And that is a feature film I did about two years ago. And that is now it was on Netflix. Now it’s on Amazon Prime. So if you have Amazon Prime, you can see it there. And I play a K town karaoke hostess that gets saved by the day by a hitman that’s supposed to kill me, but he falls in love with me instead.
Angela Lin 28:07
Oh, love it. Are you most proud because it’s a feature film or is there something you just like really loved about like the people that you worked with on that or what makes that your favorite so far?
Amy 28:18
I just yeah, first of all, I loved all the I love the people. The director was very collaborative. And my co stars was really just awesome people. And his name is Dakota, Loesch. He is for sure a superstar in the making. He just, he’s just so such a good person. And so creative. I had a lot of fun with him. I was just allowed to be a person again. I wasn’t thinking so much about okay, how do I be a Asian American voice in this project?You know, even though that is important to me for certain projects, but I just want to be a person, you know, just like how you and me live every day. You me Jesse? Like, we just people every day, we’re not thinking about we’re not like walking around thinking how do I show my Asian Americannes?
Jesse Lin 29:25
Yeah, I think it’s a you know, from my perspective, it’s a balance like you want people to you want people to treat you as a person and like see you for you beyond those things that are like your ethnic background, but at the same time, like you also, like part of why we’re doing this project is so that we can kind of like rediscover that heritage a little bit and like, honor it without being like, this is the whole thing that we are.
Amy 29:47
Yeah, yeah.
Angela Lin 29:49
I think there’s a little bit also of like, the pushing the Asian American representation piece I feel like that is totally intertwined with though just wanting the end goals to be just we are just normal. Like, it’s because we’re, we’re not totally represented right now. So we have to be a little louder to, like, make sure we’re even in the sphere, right. But like, at the end of the day, we don’t want to be known as like just a loud Asian group, we just want to be a group, you know, just part of it.
Amy 30:20
You know, I think that is also one of the things that I always have in mind is like, I have to be louder than normal, because I’m actually a very quiet person. But when I’m in a room full of people, I always make my voice heard, because I don’t want to have them say, oh, she’s the quiet Asian girl. You know, yeah. Even though my person, like, I’m more introverted, and I don’t like to talk as much. I have been making it a point to speak up and say things like when I think, oh, that’s wrong, or like, what that’s not funny what you just said, you know, about Asians? That’s not funny. Yeah, for sure. And it’s the thing that we have to face, you know, we just kind of have to deal with and, you know, I think the African American community gets somewhere because they speak up, you know, in, in big numbers. And now I feel like more and more Asian Americans in every field. They’re doing that.
Angela Lin 31:27
Awesome. Well, this was fantastic. Having you. Thank you so much for joining us.
Amy 31:31
Ron, thank you so much for having me. It was so fun to talk to you guys.
Jesse Lin 31:36
Awesome guys. Well, we hope you enjoyed this episode. If you have any feedback for us or for Amy or you also work in film and TV and want to just chime in and give us your two cents. Feel free to reach out to us.