hardboiled

from harold to sulu: interview with john cho

With this year's SFIAFF logo, "We love film" in mind, hardboiled decided to check out this year's line up of films and interview onf of SFIAFF's highlight actors- John Cho. Having SFIAFF withdrawals? Relive the week with us by checking out our interviews and film reviews!

hardboiled recently had the opportunity to talk it out with John Cho, star of "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" and the soon to be released sequel "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantananmo Bay." Here are his thoughts on Cal, getting off the ground as an actor, and his role as an Asian American in the media.

What was your favorite memory when you were at Cal?
There were so many. One year I lived in an apartment building in North Berkeley that was filled with the craziest cast of people. Beneath us was a guy who would moan "I hate myself" throughout the night and we would always hear him. My neighbor was a woman who was thoroughly insane and would always run from me because she thought I was chasing her. There was also a guy who would invite us to the Reggae club and always wore a track suit. It was a very entertaining apartment building.

How did your parents react when you told them that you wanted to go into acting?
My parents were surprisingly cool about it. But I will add that I was rebellious as a kid, so by the time I broke the "good news" that I was going into acting they were sort of accustomed to me doing things they didn't like and they didn't put up much of a fight. But if it was the first thing I did, maybe it would have been very different.

Do you think the roles of Asian American actors have changed?
It has and it hasn't. I think it's gotten better in that you see more Asian men in television. This may sound mega-maniacal, but I mean I can track things that have come from my roles. My wife has a friend that also is an actor that said he went to a commercial audition and the cast sheet literally said "John Cho-type." So we spent two or three beers hammering that one out. I feel like the guy that I played in American Pie, which is when people first saw me, which was a loud-mouth, asshole, that kind of guy became a type we saw in future movies and television. Even though things have gotten a little bit better, we have to remind ourselves that it's not where it should be.

Do you think Harold and Kumar broke stereotypes?
I think the most important thing that Harold and Kumar does for Asian Americans is making them protagonists. The protagonist is the surrogate for the audience and you understand the story through the protagonist. That's an important thing because American audiences are identifying their story through two Asian Americans. I believe that this is a very positive thing. In terms of stereotypes, we're not going by them, but also not denying their race, so we're not playing them blank. Harold and Kumar are Asian, they have Asian parents, they talk about their "Asian-ness" on occasion, but they're not obsessed with it either. It feels real in that way even though the events in the movie are fantastic. But the characters' attitudes about the film feel like real people and I think that's what people like about it.

Do you perceive a change in roles played by Asian actors?
I have been encouraged by seeing a lot more Asians in commercials. It is encouraging because it shows that they're trying to sell products [to Asian Americans]. Albeit, it be detergent, a GNC truck, or whatever. If they're trying to sell us those things, then eventually they'll try to sell us movies and television shows. So when they smell the money, that's where they'll be.

Isn't money a bad motivating factor?
What an un-American thing to say! In fact, that's kind of the way things get done. I was talking to Justin Lin, director of Better Luck Tomorrow, and he found it very difficult to get producers to invest in it because studio heads thought that Asians did things differently from white America. They thought that they bought different clothes, cars, and different movies. But in terms of Asian Americans, their spending habits are very identical to white Americans. Therefore, there is no motivation on their part to make a separate product. That's why it's so critical to buy tickets to Asian American films that you support because it shows up on a pie chart somewhere. After Harold and Kumar I got some data about who was going to see what, which characters they liked, and it was broken down by race, age, gender. Your spending dollars are an important vote.

You're playing Sulu in the new Star Trek movie. What do you think about playing a Japanese character even though you're Korean American?
I feel that it doesn't have any bearing on this particular role because he's Japanese American. I feel that I wouldn't take a part that was a Japanese from Japan or a recent Japanese immigrant because I don't feel that there was a way I could do that accent effectively. I talked to George Takei about it and he said Gene Roddenberry's original intent was that everybody on the bridge of the Enterprise represented a part of the entire world and that Sulu was to represent everyone from Asia. They didn't have a specific origin for his character, but when George was cast and they needed to come up with a name for his character. So Gene looked on a map and saw the Sulu sea, and it bordered several countries and thought it was a pan-Asian name. Since George was Japanese American, they decided to give him the name Hikaru, and the name Hikaru Sulu came to be. The intent was not to create a Japanese character, it was to create a pan-Asian one.

Personally, have you turned down any roles?
I've turned down roles since I've started acting. Usually it wasn't a big deal, I would just tell my agent, I just didn't want to do it. I think Asian American actors and other actors of color in general are under the impression that you have to do this stereotypical role so you can get to a place where you can do more pleasant roles. My feeling is that if you start taking these roles, those are the only ones you'll get. Also there is damage being done politically. On a personal role, I don't think you should take anything that will haunt you. If you feel good about it, then do what you want to do. But if you feel bad about it, and its politically insulting, then don't do it. There can be a thousand protesters outside the gate of Paramount trying to tell someone that this portrayal is incorrect and they won't pay attention to it . However, an actor turning it down is different because an actor is a peer. I would try to do that; one time I was in a show and someone handed me a line that I thought was offensive. I had a talk with them, "You know, I don't feel good about this, and I'll tell you why." Peer to peer, they usually say, "I didn't even know that. That makes so much sense, of course we'll change this and keep me abreast of any other opinions you have." They're not out to piss people off. But it's easy to see those people with picket signs as radicals if your buddy, the person's whose name you know, is willing to do the part. So as artists, we underestimate our power. We have the power to say "no" and to ask for change.

Do you think that Asian American actors have a mentality that they need to take whatever is offered to them or they won't work?
Yeah, I think it is very easy to make that mistake. In some ways it is the most logical way to go. But you know, you should always have pride in what you do. You owe it to yourself to voice your opinion and do a line of work that you're proud of. There's a phrase that goes around: "fuck you money." Actors try to gather enough "fuck you money" so they can flip off everyone that they don't like. In my opinion, there's never really any amount of money that you can walk away from. Once you start doing something that is morally compromising, it's hard to stop, so you have to start early. You're not in acting to make money because the odds are really against you. You should do it to have a good time and to do something that you actually enjoy and are proud of.

Unfortunately our interview had to end there, because a screening of Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay was about to start. Let's just say that if you were a fan of the first one, you're in for a treat. Be sure to catch it when it opens in theaters nationwide April 25!