‘I was Chinese teenager No. 1’

At Hulu “Interior Chinatown,” Jimmy O. Yang stars as Willis Wu, a “generic Asian man” stuck in the background of the police procedural show whose luck begins to change when he breaks into a lead role – a pitch that resonated with the actor.

“I felt that often in my life, especially when I was starting out as an actor,” Yang told TheWrap of the “almost invisible forces” keeping Willis on the sidelines. “I was a background actor. I was the No. 1 Chinese teenager on ‘Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD,’ a show that Chloe (Bennet) was actually the star of.”

Like Willis, Yang explained that he “sneaked (his) way into being a tech guy”, which he explains is “exactly what Willis has done in the book and on the show” as he secretly works with Detective Lana Lee (Bennet) to solve a series of crimes in Chinatown that may be related to his brother’s disappearance.

“Ironically, I’m finally the lead actor in the show, but I’m playing a background character,” Yang said. “A lot of what Willis goes through, I just have to … rewind like 10-15 years in my own life … I went through a lot of the similar journey of (being) kind of stuck but really wanting more out of life — it’s just an underdog story.”

Yang’s take on Willis isn’t the only meta aspect of the show, with a police procedural titled “Black and White” living in “Interior Chinatown.” As Willis’ world is turned upside down as he investigates mysterious disappearances with Lana, Yang was deliberate in keeping Willis’ motivation and journey grounded as he served as the audience’s point of view.

“In a way, when you first start it, it’s almost like he’s a kid going through this – he’s very insecure about himself. He doesn’t have the best relationship with his family, and he doesn’t know what he wants in life,” Yang said. “And then he evolves pretty quickly in an arc of growing up and … coming into his own. But I think … his wants and needs to be better, to be bigger , to be more – I think that’s something everyone can relate to.”

For Yang, the acreage of the single-room-only residence (SRO) that Willis and his family lived in added a tangible layer to Willis’ dreams of getting out of Chinatown, whose “kitschy exterior” Yang said masks the daily conditions of residents. “The stains on the wall, how small it is to share a bathroom between 10 different rooms on a single floor, the shared kitchen … It made me emotional, and this guy has lived like this his whole life,” Yang said. “Using that as a way into Willis’ character was deeply meaningful.”

Living in SRO, Yang noted that Willis has internalized the invisibility that comes with being relegated to the background, as Willis has been in “Black and White” and as the Asian American community has been in American society. “It’s stuck in the background of that, the invisibility of that, the other,” Yang said. “The stars are ‘Black and White,’ the name of the show within the show, and he’s just a random little prick in the back — I think a lot of times that’s psychologically how a lot of Asian Americans feel.”

As Willis balances his dreams of leaving Chinatown while still looking out for his parents, who are reeling from the trauma of losing Willis’ brother over a decade ago, Yang notes that Willis feels “caught between two places,” adding “you don’t have to be Asian to feel it – everyone feels it.”

“Our parents have an expectation that you do certain things and they put you in a box – your family and society – but you want to do something else, but at the same time you don’t want to disappoint people who loved you and raised you whole your life,” Yang said. “Sometimes you have to be selfish and (you) have to carve a path for yourself.”

Enter Detective Lana Lee, whom Willis sees as both “a way into history and a way out of Chinatown” after she and his colleague (played by Ronny Chieng) see her glamor shot on TV during a police briefing on a disappearance in Chinatown. In addition to having a crush on Lana — who Yang joked “everyone is attracted to” Bennett’s Lana — she holds the key to 1) finding his brother and 2) getting out of Chinatown. “Lana represented everything he ever wanted in life, a beautiful girl, a great, cool detective and also a way out of his loop that he held on to,” Yang said.

As creator and showrunner Charles Yu expanded the Hulu series beyond the boundaries of the “Interior Chinatown” novel, which Yu also wrote, Yang said he is “excited to find out” about a second season for “Interior Chinatown ” could be on the horizon.

“Season 1… it expands further than the book, so even when I got episode 9 and episode 10… I was pleasantly surprised and really giddy and excited as just a reader, so I want to be surprised,” Yang said. “I don’t know what Charlie’s got up his sleeve, but I’m sure it’s something really cool.”

All episodes of “Interior Chinatown” are now streaming on Hulu.

The post ‘Interior Chinatown’ Star Jimmy O. Yang Says Hulu Show Reflects His Hollywood Trajectory: ‘I Was No. 1 Chinese Teen’ appeared first TheWrap.