Perhaps its a combination of fame and working with a big P.R. machine that creates a situation whereby no one really gets close enough to an actor to do a ‘real’ interview (interactive on-camera) and present them to the public and fans in a truly meaningful way. It is particularly frustrating for us since our whole goal has been to create a relaxed, conversational interview that we then edit to promote Asian-Americans and their careers in the best possible way. Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity attending the press junket and sit at the table with John to talk about the film and his career and are excited that we can bring that to our readers.
One of the interesting things John had to say about the new Harold & Kumar movie is that rehearsal for him was a bit “bumpy” and a little “awkward” because of the downtime from the last film and getting into the rhythm between himself and co-star Kal Penn. The truth is that comedy is not just delivering a line, it is timing, body language and of course chemistry between the stars. For John it took a little time to get up to speed and to get to a point where Kal and John were back! No doubt, these two actors have on-screen chemistry that is part of the Harold & Kumar success. The other “issue” for John was being in front of a 3D camera for the first time. The 3D camera needed more setup time and was a much larger camera requiring him at times to talk to a piece of tape instead of an actual actor because there wasn’t room for another actor in the scene. Interestingly, John stated that while many Asian parents might be reluctant to support their children being in the film industry with it’s less than stellar track record of success and financial security, his family has been supportive. For him, having parents take the financial risk of leaving their country of birth is a much bigger financial risk than choosing an acting career.
We also asked John if he worried about being associate with a character, Harold or Sulu in Star Trek, that might hurt getting other acting jobs, he felt their success opened many doors even if it closed others. American Pie was the first time he actually worried about that issue, but the success of the films also becomes a calling card and certainly his career has had many opportunities.
Finally, we wanted to ask him about his two critically acclaimed and successful Asian-American movies Justin Lin’s Better Luck Tomorrow and Michael Kang’s West 32nd and how those films impacted his career and provided other opportunities in the film industry. While John wasn’t sure how it may have helped with other film opportunities, he responded they are films that create a more complete view of his acting career, films that he is proud of both because of the stories, the people he worked with, because they are popular Asian-American films, and because they make Harold & Kumar look better! If only we could have captured John saying this on camera and watched him smile, laugh and show the kind of interactive body language that only an on-camera interview can show away from the cold formality of conferences calls, official press conferences and junkets.
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