April 11, 2006
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My character, Billy Kwan a.k.a. “Shrimp Boy”, starts his run on tonight’s episode of the critically acclaimed FX show, “THIEF“.
Whereas on “The Gene Generation” set, I was constantly confused to whom they were referring to whenever my name was called (the director’s name is Pearry), that was never the case on this project.
There was just simply no mistaking who they were asking for whenever I heard: “Hey, Shrimp Boy!”, “Mornin’ Shrimp Boy” and “Can we please have Shrimp Boy on set?!?”
The ironic thing is that I happen to be very allergic to shrimp – a detail I decided to use as a back story for my character. But when I spoke with the writers, I learned that he’s based on an actual person.
When the Chinese Triads in San Francisco weren’t getting the job done, the Hong Kong head honchos sent in a ruthless hitman to whip the Bayside organization into shape. Although extremely deadly and feared, Shrimp Boy was very baby-faced and short — hence the nickname.
To catch folks up to speed that haven’t been watching, I present:
In the pilot episode, Nick Atwater (Andre Braugher) & crew boost some diamonds from a planned bank heist. While doing so, they stumble upon a duffel bag filled with $2 million in a nearby safety deposit box and of course, keep it.
Nick’s fence, Roz (Linda Hamilton) discovers the money
belongs to the Chinese Mafia – tells Nick how unwise it is to mess with them and the money is promptly returned.
However the Chinese Mafia Boss, Uncle Lau (Randall Duk Kim, “The Matrix Reloaded“‘s Keymaker) wants to make an example of the thieves and sends his assassin, Vincent (Will Yun Lee) after Nick & Company while they’re in the middle of planning the really big heist.
Last week, Vincent tortured a tight-lipped Roz with fire and ultimately killed her at the end of the failed interrogation attempt.
So in tonight’s episode, despite Vincent’s protests, Uncle Lau will send in the ‘big guns’ to help; and that person is… dum, dum dum!!!
- SHRIMP BOY-
And Shrimp Boy will become Vincent’s spiky haired, impulsive, unwanted “Robin” to his long locked, dark and brooding “Batman”. The classic “Felix & Oscar” pairing.
This is the first time I’ve played a “bad” guy. I put the word “bad” in quotations because I’ve always remembered what my acting teacher said, “Everyone can justify their actions in their head; no one ever thinks they’re doing the wrong thing.” So I’m not a “bad” guy per say, but my intentions are definitely in direct conflict with those of the protagonists on the show… ehh – I’m a bad guy.
And no need to worry about confusing it with NBC’s “Heist” anymore – it’s supposedly getting axed after this week because they couldn’t compete against some ‘lil shows called “American Idol” and “Lost“. Gee, what a bunch of losers.
THIEF – Tuesdays 10pm on FX
(Fun Fact: Today’s also the day “BLT” premiered 3 years ago!)
Comments (22)
you will be tivo’d. =)
So much TV so little time. And I am soooo ‘over’ Lost!
oh great, you’re in competiton with SVU! my fav. show!!!
darn it.. but for you, i guess i can miss SVU… the repeat will be on USA anyways..
Cool. “Thief” is my new fav show. Andre Braugher is amazing.
wow, that’s such a great spot for u, parry!
woohoo! I remember seeing BLT my freshman year in college when it premiered in Austin. Still have the movie poster signed by the director
sweet
I’m allergic to shrimp too! It’s annoying because they’re sooo good…
congratulations on the 3-year anniversary of BLT!
woah did BLT really come out 3 yrs ago?? 0_0 can’t believe all that time’s flown by …
sweet. i dont have FX at school, but ill aim for the DVD when it comes out
oh my. i was JUST watching youin blt ten minutes ago. you’re quite adorable, and that picture of little you when you’re vomiting after acadeca uncannily resembles a good friend of mine. seriously. i quite love that movie, and so does my little bro.
how can you play a bad guy?! baby faced is right.
shrimps not so good anyway. the methods for fishing and the amount of waste and underwater forests they destroy to get a few pounds? we’re all better off without shrimpage.
but i still love ya.
peace & elevation.
genn xoxo
i’m watching thief as we speak! your character looks awesome and challenging-i love the cold, kind of laid-back attitude “shrimp boy” has. and will yun lee does an amazing job also. keep up the good work!
awesome! and congrats on 3 yr anniversary of BLT! i still watch it pretty often ^_^
i love LOST. i’m so addicted. i met one of the characters just yesterday! i put the picture on my xanga ^_^
can’t wait to watch you on THIEF ^_^
Congratulations with Theif! I just finished watching it and it’s super good! I’m a little confused as to what’s going on, so I might have to re read those cliff notes, or hope they play all the episodes again..but it’s definitely a great show!!! Congrats on your continued success and good luck w/ the show =)
wow.. i can’t believe its been that long since BLT.. it seems like yesterday i was campin century city
i saw the episode tonight. good job! how old are you supposed to be on thief?
The previews last week went by quickly, but I saw you. I was glad that you are getting a fairly decent role in a weekly TV show. Thanks to you and Will Yun Lee, we have three Asian guys on TV……I’m a little stunned.
Seriously, as far as your character goes, you are right. It is based on a real person. The person’s name was Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, who was a big shot here in SF:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2006/04/08/MNGE9I686C1.DTL&o=2
ive been waiting for braugher to have his own show since he played pembleton on homicide.
didnt know you were going to be on it till last night but fantastic job.
Thanks again for coming to the University of Pittsburgh! You are definitely one of the most down-to-earth celebs we have brought to our school. Thank you for taking the time to hang out with us and answer our bazillion questions. You truly are an inspiration to all of us as Asian Americans.
I hope you had a safe flight back. Please keep in touch. Next time you’re on the east coast, let us know. Pittsburgh, Philly, NYC, DC, or any other major city. We’ll try to be there =)
P.S. Chris misses you very much… hehe, jk =P
What an unfortunate time slot for Heist, it never had a chance. Congrats on the Thief role, Parry!
I’m trying to win this East West magazine cover contest, and it would be great if you could check out my cause.. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
http://www.chynachuu.com
Happy Birthday, BLT.
It’s kind of sad but I’ve never watched an entire episode of American Idol or even glanced at LOST.