‘Interior Chinatown’ Starring Jimmy O. Yang in TV Adaptation of Award-Winning Novel: NPR

When actor Jimmy O. Yang first read Interior Chinatownhe felt a spark of recognition. Charles Yu’s National Book Award-winning novel tells the story of an Asian-American waiter named Willis who becomes embroiled in a mystery after witnessing a crime. Although Yang had not been central to a crime drama, he could relate to Willis’s outsider status.

“I really felt that (the novel) spoke to me as an Asian American, as an actor, as an artist … who felt like I was always in the background of my life and I always have to find a way to sneak up on,” Yang says. “It almost sounded like the book was based on my rise and struggle in my career.”

Born in Hong Kong, Yang immigrated to Los Angeles with his family when he was 13. He discovered comedy while still in college and began performing in clubs almost every night. But when he tried to break into acting, he often felt relegated to the background: “I was ‘Chinese teenager No. 2,’ I was ‘person in line,'” he says.

Yang’s big break came in 2014 when he was cast as tech guy Jìan-Yáng in the HBO series Silicon Valley. It was originally a two-line role, but Yang managed to spin it into a recurring character. Parts in the movies Crazy rich Asians and Patriots Day followed, as did numerous standup offerings, and in 2018, Yang wrote a book called How to Americanize: An Immigrant’s Guide to Disappointing Your Parents.

Now Yang Willis stars in the Hulu series Interior Chinatown. Like the novel it’s based on, the show is a funny, sometimes fantastical take on the role Asian Americans play in pop culture and in real life. Yang notes that the show’s tagline — “Break out of your role” — is something he takes to heart.

“It’s breaking out of a role that your family expects of you … like my family expects me to be an engineer, a good student, definitely not a comedian and an actor,” he says. “Society expects me to be the model minority, and then I have to kick my way out or (get) thrown out of these certain windows … so that I can kind of prove to myself that this is possible.”

Interview highlights

On dealing with Willis’ “invisibility” on Interior Chinatown

I didn’t go to Juilliard or NYU. … I had to do open mics where I paid $5 for five minutes of stage time. … Even Silicon ValleyI snuck up on that. I had a two-line part as a technician. And then I had to be funny and subvert people’s expectations to get a bigger part. And then in season 2 I became a series regular. So in a way, I think it’s very true to my own experience, and I think about the Asian-American experience, where a lot of times we feel invisible, and that invisibility has become internalized that we don’t think about it every day, but we just accept it. And in a way that is even more dangerous.

On buying a beat-up car to get into his mindset Silicon Valley character – and then not recognized on the set

I bought a $1,500 Toyota Corolla on Craigslist. It barely worked. It was like a 1998. And on the paddle shifter you know how you have like D, R and N for like, reverse and drive – this one has no letters on it. So you have to guess what your shifter is. And to get into the driver’s side, you have to climb in from the passenger side (side). Just the anxiety and hassle you have to go through to get to work, to get from (point) A to B, was very enlightening for someone who was struggling.

But then it was interesting. I showed up for work the first day on set. I am the manager of the show. I’m number one on the call sheet. I felt quite proud of that. I’ve worked my whole life to get there. And then when I got to the gate at Fox Studios, the gateman was like, “Do you have ID?” My legal name is slightly different. So I thought, “Just check under Jimmy.” And she says, “Well, your name’s not there. Pull over to the side. You’ve got two minutes. Call them, you’re here to see. If not, turn around.” I was like, “No, no, no, no. I’m the leader of this show!” She said, “I don’t know you. I don’t care. Just pull over.” And I was treated so badly. It really helped me get into character. …

This is the struggle that Willis and many, many people have gone through. And it will either crumble you or light a fire under your butt. And I think that’s what it did for Willis, and that’s what it did for me.

About finding his place in stand-up comedy

When I was in college, I studied economics. … but I secretly minored in theater and music. It never materialized. I think you need seven classes, but I took like six classes in each one, and I remember those are the things I got good at and those are the things I was best at , because I was passionate about it. And then later, after I graduated, when I was trying to figure myself out, stand-up was just one of many things that I tried and it just spoke to me. You can literally create something out of thin air without anyone’s permission. And I found that very liberating.

The thing about stand-up: There’s no barrier to entry and you don’t have to look a certain way. There is no safe look for a stand-up comedian. … The weirder you are, the more like a stand-up comedian you are. So all the anxiety and insecurity that I didn’t fit in this country was kind of washed away on the stand-up comedy stage because everyone was on an equal footing. It’s not about who you are, how rich you are, how tall you are, what ethnicity you are, it’s just how funny you are.

On his father became an actor after his success

He always wanted to be an artist. He always wanted to draw, paint. He was a movie buff and stuff like that. But for him it was really impossible when he was growing up. So when he saw me able to do it, he said, “Well, let me try it.” And apparently older Asian guys are missing from the talent pool. And he started booking a lot of things. And he is obviously very good and a very charismatic guy. …

At first I thought it was like… he kind of transcends my world that I created for myself, what is this nepo-dad business? I don’t like it. But now I’m thinking, if that’s what’s going to make him happy, really, if a little bit of fame and recognition makes him really happy, and he’s going to be a part of my journey too, and I’m going to be a part of his, it’s really nice. How many people can say they can do that with their dad?

About getting his father a job with him on the film Patriots Day

Everything I do, especially when it comes to language, Cantonese, Mandarin, I want it to be very authentic. But on Patriots Daythey hired someone to play my father … (but he) spoke Mandarin with a Cantonese accent. And that to me is very unrealistic. So I told Peter Berg, the director, that I thought, “Hey, I’m sorry to bring this up, but it’s kind of weird. Nobody would notice except for Chinese speakers. But it’s weird to me.” And the story in Patriots Day was based on real people. So he said, “No, no, we’ve got to get this right, to make it authentic. Why don’t you do a couple of auditions with me?” I’m like, “OK, I can do it, or you can just hire my dad. He’s amazing. He’s acted and done commercials and stuff. And he speaks perfect Mandarin.” And he says, “Done deal.” Boom. And the next day my dad and I flew to Boston and he played my dad Patriots Dayand that’s how he got his SAG card.

On some Asian American actors refusing to play roles with accents due to stereotypes

I have a slightly different perspective than people born here in America. Because I get it. It is very unfair to have the constant foreigner stereotype. And this is something we often internalize. But I live in a strange space where I was actually a foreigner. … And I remember when I first came to the country … it was sad that even Koreans and Chinese born here – ABCs, American-born Chinese – they didn’t accept me because they didn’t want to be connected with me because I made them look like strangers too because I was actually a stranger. It felt a little sad.

So in a way I always have a soft spot for immigrant foreign characters and outsiders. … It’s a strange policy to say, “I’m not playing anybody with an accent.” At this point in my career, I could choose to do certain things and not do certain things based on artistically, do I feel passionate about this or not? But any day of the week, if e.g. … the character from Patriots Day come to my desk, I would love to do that. That guy was amazing and…he happened to be an immigrant who had a thick accent. And I think doing those kinds of roles is just as important, if not more so at times.

Therese Madden and Susan Nyakundi produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Beth Novey adapted it for the web.