May 17, 2005

• To Accent, or Not to Accent?

  
  

  Man, I am wiped.

  
  

  Today was my first day off after shooting six nights in a row.  In sleeping during through the daytimes, I think I’ve lost a little bit of sleep each day.  So during my one day off, I slept in for like, 15 hours – many guests had even visited my house, talked to my wife, played with the baby and left without me being none the wiser.

  
  

  I’ve got about 3 more nights of this and then I’ll be wrapped.  The cool part is that I’ve yet to see “Hatchet” in full makeup yet since the writer/director, Adam Green, wants to get a shot of an honest first reaction.

  
  

  And speaking about the director, he’s been a very, very cool guy to work with. 

  
  

  At first the role called for a Chinese Accent that was kind of integral for my character’s setup.  However, in my auditions, I did a Bostonian Accent in lieu since my character mentions that he’s from Boston.  The director loved the choice but once he booked me for the part, asked if I would change the character back to speaking with a Chinese Accent.

  
  

  I talked to him about being uncomfortable doing a Chinese Accent and not wanting to perpetuate such a stereotype after “BLT” and that I would not have accepted the part if I had to do so (since I always maintained the Bostonian Accent throughout all my auditions). 

  
  

  The director entirely understood and immediately made arrangements to take out all references of a Chinese Accent entirely. 

  
  

  However, without giving away any plotlines, I was able to come up with a solution that was able to incorporate the director’s original vision while still maintaining a progressive Asian-American character onscreen – as well as keeping my self-respect. 

  
  

  John Cho did something similar when offered his role in “Big Fat Liar“.  I remember he was troubled on whether or not to take the role because it called for use of a thick Asian Accent.  His solution: To give a different take on the character (sans Accent) that the producers wound up loving.

  
  

  I address this during a portion in my speaking engagements:  That the line of stereotypes and racism these days is so subtle and minute.  The obvious situations are hate-crimes and bigotry — but most of the time it’s just plain ‘ole ignorance. 

  
  

  If a certain image or archetype is constantly exposed to a mass audience — that’s all they will know.  You can’t really blame them.  And in turn, this exposure also gets into the minds of the future writers and directors of tomorrow.  I’ve lost out on a lot of parts because my initial choice wasn’t to use an Asian Accent for the character.  And no, I wasn’t told or forced to do one by the producers – I just wasn’t hired.  And someone who was willing to make the choice of doing an Asian Accent was.  Hence the vicious cycle. 

  
  

  And what I mention in the speaking gigs is to not be militant or soapbox-ish about correcting people but working from within — doing your small part when the situation arises, towards changing the way things have been ingrained in our society for decades. 

  
  

  My stunt double on “Hatchet” (who is Asian-American and has seen a lot having been in the business since 1989) was very surprised when I told him about my request to change the character because he’s so used to seeing the path of least resistance taken in such situations.  You usually just wind up just swallowing it and dealing with the lump in your throat later.  But in doing so, ironically makes it that much harder for the same actor in the future. 

  
  

  In an alternate universe, if John Cho hadn’t spoken up on “Big Fat Liar“, there forever would’ve been yet another “ching-chong” example of an Asian character for the mass public to reference.  And say, a budding writer would unknowingly create a similar character based on the stereotypical humor because he was a fan of the film.

  
  

  But because John spoke up, now that budding writer can’t.  And with the adjustment on “Hatchet“, that budding writer still can’t either.

  
  

  However, it’s also a huge testament to the director, Adam Green, that he listened.  Because he could’ve just as easily fired me after my talk with him and hired some other Asian kid to replace me.  Someone that probably would’ve just shut up and taken the money… and the thing is — I wouldn’t even blame the actor for taking the part. 

  
  

  Because honestly, how often does anyone (non-actors) ever worry about the betterment of their community whenever they’re hired for a new job?  Therein lies the rub.  The title of this entry should be changed to… To Eat/Pay rent or Not to Eat/Pay Rent?      

  • 7:43 am
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