-Welcome to The Daily Show. -Oh, it's so good to be here.
Are you kidding me? I told you this when I bumped into you
-I know. -at an event, and I still mean it 'til this day:
You are truly one of my favorite actors.
I think you are one of the funniest people on screen.
-Oh, man. -For real, though.
This movie has come out.
And, I mean, I'm sure you've seen the response.
-It has been amazing, you know. -Yeah. It's been amazing.
People are raving about your performance.
-They're raving about Ali Wong, -Yeah.
-who's also amazing in the film. -Oh, she's incredible.
And the two of you have come together and created something
-that's really special which has really connected -Yeah.
-with people on many levels. -Yeah.
Where did the film come from? Because you guys co-wrote
-and-and basically created the film. -Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, well, Ali and I are old friends, we go way back.
We're in the same, uh--
We came from the same college theater company at UCLA,
and, uh, we always wanted to make something together.
And we, you know, we've worked together here and there,
and she was a writer on Fresh Off the Boat
-for three seasons, and, uh... -Yes.
We just always wanted to do our version of When Harry Met Sally,
and, uh, because that's, like, my favorite movie, you know.
So we, uh-- The opportunity came
-and we-we just got to writing it. -Right.
You borrowed from your life to write the script,
-which I really loved about the story, -A lot of it, yeah.
'cause I didn't know these parts of your life, you know.
Because you play a character who is living at home,
-in the Bay Area, -Yeah.
and what I loved is how you created this world.
He's not like the cliché like, "I live at home with my mom,
-so I'm a loser." Yeah. -Schlubby like. Yeah. Yeah.
Why did you use your life and why was it important
for to you create a character that was, like, that was real?
Yeah. Well, we wanted to, uh,
we wanted to reflect, uh, these real people
who exist in the Bay Area, this real community of people.
And, uh, yeah, it was important
that my character Marcus wasn't a schlub.
You know, you usually see the guy who lives at home
as a schlub and he smokes weed.
And, I mean, my character smokes week but he's not a schlub.
And... And, uh, we just wanted to create real people.
-Yeah. -Yeah. That was really important
to create people, you know, who are human beings.
-Your character, who is this guy who lives at home, -Yeah.
and he falls for a celebrity TV chef
-played by Ali Wong, -Yeah. (laughs) Yeah.
and he's like, "I want to get that girl,"
which is, uh, highly unlikely.
(laughs) Yeah, but, you know, they have...
What I think shocked a lot of people in the movie
-is Keanu Reeves, who pops into it. -Yes.
How does this all play out?
Don't spoil anything, but how does this play out?
Uh, well, you know, so Marcus and Sasha,
played by the great Ali Wong, they are old friends,
and they reconnect after 15 years.
-And they had a past. -Yes.
And, uh, and at some-- At one point,
Marcus realizes that he's in love with Sasha.
And, uh, at that point, she starts dating someone new.
-And she's a celebrity chef, -Yeah.
-so she knows famous people. -Right.
And the famous person happens to be Keanu Reeves,
which is Marcus' worst nightmare.
And, uh, so, yeah.
So there's a-- It's a great sequence in the film.
And, uh, uh, and it, it's just great. It's great.
He's surprisingly funny, though.
-He's hilarious. -Yeah, because everyone knows, like,
-Keanu Reeves in like, John Wick and The Matrix, -Yeah.
and, like, kicking ass and diffusing bombs,
-but he's actually funny in this thing. -Oh, yeah, we forget...
-He's, like, ad-libbing and, like... Oh, gosh,
-he was improvising a ton. -Right.
He brought so much to the table.
We forget about Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
-I mean, it's a cla-- It's a classic. -Yeah.
-Yeah. Yeah. -(cheers and applause)
Yeah, and he's such a great guy, just a wonderful person.
You have to say that because you've seen him use guns.
Um, let me ask you this before I let you go.
What I liked, personally, in the telling of the story
is just how you have yourself and you have Ali,
and it, it's just normal, it's not token,
-it's not anything, it's just normal. -Yeah.
Is that a big difference for you as an Asian actor in Hollywood,
just, like, seeing these roles come up and just be normal?
-You're not playing, like, the quirky sidekick. -Yeah.
You're not playing, like, you know, "Asian funny friend."
-For sure. Yeah. -You're just, you're a leading man,
-and she's a leading woman and it's just a story. -Yeah.
I mean, you know-- and Ali said this in an interview,
and I thought it was just so well-said.
When you populate a movie with Asian characters, you know,
you don't have, like, the Asian girlfriend,
or the Asian boss or the--
You know, you have the quirky girlfriend, you know,
you have the-the, you know, the mean-- you know, we're all--
-We get to be human beings. Yeah. -Right.
And I think that was what we were going for.
We just wanted to tell a real story
that, ultimately, everyone can relate to,
and who happen to be Asian American.
-And, uh, yeah. -It's funny, it's heartful.
It's blowing up for a good reason.
-You're still one of my favorite actors. -Ah.
Thank you so much for coming on the show.
-Really appreciate it. -Thank you.
Always Be My Maybe
is streaming right now on Netflix.
Randall Park, everybody.