If I look back at my older interviews and had to tell you who was the coolest person I ever interviewed, it would have to be John Cho.
This is before John would have starring roles in the “Harold & Kumar” and “Star Trek” films. And back then, he was an actor who was starting to get cast in major films such as “American Pie” and “American Beauty”.
As Editor-in-Chief of “Asian Pacific Review” for several years back in college, I often showcased Asian American films starring John and a few other Asian American actors and directors. And interview them on APR and later on through other online publications.
So, back in the day, we would talk numerous times on the phone and he was a person that was full of positivity and just talking to him, he was inspirational person. No matter if we talked about life or the industry, he was always a positive person.
In fact, he would give me words of encouragement when I wanted to produce and direct my first project (which I ended up doing) for college and words of encouragement for life after college.
While it has been many years since I last saw or spoken to John, I’m always rooting for him behind-the-scenes because he’s work very hard and it has paid off, as he is one of the few Asian Americans who have managed to have success on the big screen and also on television. And he’s definitely one of the good guys you’ll meet in the entertainment industry.
Currently, John is promoting his film “Searching” which hits the theaters this month. The film will be shown in limited theaters on August 24th and everywhere on August 31st.
The film, especially John Cho’s performance has received wonderful reviews:
#SearchingMovie has “high voltage tension.” Don’t miss it in limited theaters August 24th, everywhere August 31st. pic.twitter.com/hgOeJdB9dV
— Searching (@SearchingMovie) August 3, 2018
So, I wanted to share with all of you, my first interview I did with John Cho for “Asian Pacific Review”. This one was done back in 1999, not long after “American Beauty” was released in theaters.
It takes a lot of persistence to be involved in the entertainment industry and for actor John Cho, it’s starting to pay off.
Some of you may have seen him in movies such as “Shopping for Fangs” where he played a photographer who has an encounter with a glamorous waitress who hides behind dark glasses and a blonde wig.
He was in the movie “Yellow” as the character Joey who was in love with Mina.
Many of you may have seen John in last summer’s hit movie, “American Pie” where he was one of the “MILF” characters and a member of the choir.
You can see him in the new movie “American Beauty” starring Annette Benning and Kevin Spacey.
He is also in the upcoming Flinstones movie in a fight scene with actor, Steven Baldwin.
John’s talent is not limited to the big screen. You may have seen him in the “Dead Man Dating” TV episode of “Charmed” on the WB channel starring Shannon Doherty and Alyssa Milano. But now moreso for his recurring role as Chau on the WB’s “Off Centre”.
He’s also a member of the rock/pop band Left of Zed.
I had the opportunity to interview John who had just returned from China completing a film with veteran actor, Willem Dafoe titled “Pavilion of Women”.
DENNIS: Where were you born and raised?
JOHN: I was born in Seoul, South Korea and I was raised all over the place like San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles.
DENNIS: What kind of atmosphere did you grow up in?
JOHN: We’re immigrants so I’m assuming that I was brought up in a Korean upbringing. It’s hard to say now what was Korean and what was my family. There’s certain things we did that were very Korean and were passed down from generations but none of my Korean friends did it with their families.
DENNIS: Have you been to South Korea recently?
JOHN: The last time I was there was seven years ago. It’s been awhile.
DENNIS: How did you get involved in acting?
JOHN: Quite accidentally. I kind of fell into it while I was in college and my friend who was directing wanted me to be part of his show because someone dropped out. I did it and it was fun. So, I did a few plays and someone gave my name to a theater company in the area, and so my first paid acting job was a show called “The Woman Warrior” based on a book by Maxine Kingston. It so happens that it was a book that I admired enormously because I was focusing on Asian American literature at the time of my studies.
DENNIS: Was “Shopping for Fangs” your first movie?
JOHN: Actually, it was “Yellow” and “Shopping for Fangs” because they were both being done simultaneously.
DENNIS: How was the experience working on “Shopping for Fangs”?
JOHN: It was relatively eventful. All I can remember that it was phenomenally hot because it was shot in Alhambra. I remember being immediately struck by the script because it was very clever and so I was into doing that movie.
DENNIS: How about your experience in “Yellow”?
JOHN: The mood was a little different because both movies were different. With “Yellow” it was a blast because I got to work with other young Asian actors.
DENNIS: Was “Yellow” what you expected it to be?
JOHN: Actually it was better than what I expected it to be. When I read scripts It’s hard to tell how a movie is because there are moments when they are written on script format and it seems pretty trite on paper. When they are played out on scene, it becomes more meaningful. “Yellow” was filmed in moments that I couldn’t get a handle on paper and when you see it, it makes more sense. The same with “American Pie” I was like “What the hell is this?” and when I saw it, it was a great movie.
DENNIS: Let’s talk about “American Pie” how was that experience?
JOHN: When went to audition for “American Pie”, I once auditioned for this casting director before and he happened to like me. He heard that I can sing and basically offered me the part as one of the choir people. I did it and it was fine. I got along with the director and the producer and we had a good time.
DENNIS: Anything behind the scenes of “American Pie” that you can share with us?
JOHN: Yeah, I wasn’t cast for that “MILF” thing. They just asked if I can do it and I said yes. I had no idea what it was and when they gave me the lines I was like “are you for real?” It turns out that it was one of the memorable scenes from the movie.
DENNIS: What was it like working with Jason Biggs and the cast of “American Pie”?
JOHN: They were cool. It was an innocent set with the other stars. The director was an easy going guy. The Weitz Brothers are nice fellas. I enjoyed myself.
DENNIS: Were you upset along with the other cast members when some of the media tried to keep teenagers from watching the movie?
JOHN: Actually, I wasn’t aware of any that because I was filming a movie in China. I didn’t know what was going on.
DENNIS: Did you imagine “American Pie” would be so big?
JOHN: No. I wondered why would any would come out since there were no major stars but the director told me that the movie got a 92% approval rating at test theaters and I said “that will do”.
DENNIS: How was the filming of that party scene. It looked very cool.
JOHN: It was disjointed. Almost nothing is fun. It looks fun but It was on a sound stage and we shot in different orders and they did that tracking shot one night in an actual house and all the other stuff were done in different days.
DENNIS: You know this movie is going to be a cult hit.
JOHN: Yeah…I said that this is going to be one of those movies because of the parties and the dorms.
DENNIS: And you will be remembered as the drunken guy screaming for MILF!
JOHN: That’s totally frightening.
DENNIS: You have a part in another movie, “American Beauty” which is receiving rave reviews. How was that experience?
JOHN: It was only a day but it was nice.
DENNIS: How was it to work with Annette Benning?
JOHN: She’s real sweet. I like her. She seems to really enjoy acting.
DENNIS: You also will be in the second “Flinstones” movie. What was it like working with Steven Baldwin? He seems to be a wild and crazy guy.
JOHN: You know we hung out one day. It’s like fun and games with that guy.
DENNIS: You also filmed a movie in China? Can you tell us more about it.
JOHN: The movie is called “Pavilion of Women” based on the book by Pearl Buck. It stars Willem Dafoe. It was really cool. It’s about a woman in 1936 Shanghai who is becoming disenchanted with marriage and she falls in love with an American priest played by Willem who is my tutor. I am her son and I fall in love with my father’s concubine and so we run away and I join the communist army fighting against the Japanese.
DENNIS: Are you done filming the movie?
JOHN: Yeah. I was over there for nine weeks. It was unbearably hot and humid. We had to wear original Chinese clothing and the Queen had to wear a lot of layers like fourteen layers and we were wearing two layers.
DENNIS: What was it like to work with Willem Dafoe?
JOHN: He’s the best. He’s a gentleman and also a very good, focused and honest actor. It was very good to see him work.
DENNIS: Are there any projects you are working on now?
JOHN: I’m currently working on a movie titled “Delivering Milo” with Bridgette Fonda and Campbell Scott.
DENNIS: Do you prefer working on movies or television?
JOHN: Acting is acting but stage is the most fun because it goes in chronological order when you do the show, one scene leads to another scene and it makes emotional sense. You know what time it starts and with television and movies it’s disjointed and you wait around for hours and all of a sudden you do the last scene and then the next day you do the first scene. I would think that for myself, I like stage the most but film and television pay. I like doing them all.
DENNIS: How did it feel to watch yourself on film or for the first time?
JOHN: The same as I feel today, I don’t like it.
DENNIS: Why is that?
JOHN: There is the sanity issue about how you look. You say to yourself “I should of done that differently”.
DENNIS: O.k. John, what is the most satisfying aspect about being an Asian American actor?
JOHN: I don’t know what the most satisfying part about being an Asian actor but for being an actor I think it’s doing the work and having fun pretending.
DENNIS: What is the most frustrating aspect about being an Asian American actor?
JOHN: Having to hustle for jobs. Not knowing when the next job is coming in. it’s hard. There are not enough roles out there and I try not to get rapped up in it or you’ll get depressed.
DENNIS: Do you think the industry is more open to Asian American actors and actresses?
JOHN: I don’t know because I haven’t been around so long. I can’t say how things were back then but from my experience, I am seeing more Asians in commercials but it doesn’t seem things changed so much on television and film. But there is a tendency not to cast immigrants anymore.
DENNIS: Let’s talk about your band “Left of Zed”. How did you get the name for the group?
JOHN: It was taken from one of the songs we wrote.
DENNIS: What kind of style is your music?
JOHN: It’s hard to explain but it’s like U2 meets Weezer meets the Police meets with Dave Mathews. Basically what the people listen to right now.
DENNIS: What kind of music do you listen to?
JOHN: I’m listening to a lot of Marvin Gaye and the latest Blur album. I always liked U2.
DENNIS: How was your first experience with a fan?
JOHN: It was nice and now it’s becoming more frequent especially after “Charmed”. A lot of little girls recognize me from that. With “American Pie” every teenager in America seen that.
DENNIS: Do you like the attention from “American Pie”?
JOHN: Generally, it’s nice to have fans go up to you because it means your career is going well.
DENNIS: Does it get bothersome?
JOHN: You know your day can be disrupted…sometimes it’s ok but all of a sudden your being watched a little bit. I was at the mall a few weeks ago, and a girl followed me from store to store. That was pretty weird.
DENNIS: Do you have any role models?
JOHN: I don’t know about role models but as for actors who I admire…I admire Marlon Brando, Sean Penn and Anthony Hopkins. I could go on and on.
DENNIS: What advice would you give to people who are interested in pursuing a career in acting?
JOHN: Make sure you love what you do. Many people want to get into it for personal glory and they want to be on TV and movies and perceive it will be a glamorous life. You should make sure that you love it because it’s a difficult life for any artist. There’s much concern about the situation of Asian actors. The advice I want to give to the Asian actors out there is we change that by being good because that’s all an actor can do.
DENNIS: Would you like to leave any last thoughts to your fans?
JOHN: Thank you very much for your support and thank you for watching.
Please visit John Cho’s Twitter
