-Sandra Oh, welcome to The Daily Show. -Oh, hi.
-Oh, it's good to be here. -It is so good to have you here,
and congratulations on being part of--
I think it's an instant classic. Immediately.
(gasps) I really, really hope so. I mean,
it's an amazing thing to be a part of, like the Pixar canon,
-it's, like, crazy. -Yeah.
You know what I mean? And then it really,
really unabashedly talks about, like, puberty.
And, like, that scene is kind of, like,
about the changing of a young woman's body,
about menstruation,
and then also about, like, "Mom,
-you got to give me some space." -(laughs)
So, you know, playing the mom, it was, uh...
it was a really great thing to kind of lend that voice,
-my little voice to that. -It's a fun...
You know, it-it's so interesting to me
how Pixar has found a way to tell stories
that people are almost afraid to tell in any other medium now.
-Mm. -You know, they... Pixar's talking about mental health.
-That's exactly... -Pixar's taking about life and death.
-Uh-huh. -Pixar's now talking here about puberty.
-Yeah. -And in, like, a very real way
where I think parents, kids...
It-It's almost like Pixar is taking over the role
of, you know, the conversations that people don't want to have.
-Oh, sure. -You know, if you have kids and you're like,
"Oh, puberty's coming. Let's go watch a Pixar movie.
-Let's go. Let's go have a Pixar moment." -(laughs)
But I think it's like... It's like... So, my friends
who have taken their kids, particularly, like, eight to 12
who are right before it,
uh, they've struck up a conversation.
My friend, she has a, you know, eight, nine-year-old kid,
and he was like, "What's a pad?"
-I love that. -Right? And then she's like, "Okay,
he's asking me a question about it. Let's talk about this."
These... "What are hormones?"
Oh, my gosh, someone was telling me
that they had a conversation with their 12-year-old,
uh, or ten-year-old about metaphor.
Do you know what I mean? So, like, the panda...
Like, so, basically, the main character, Meilin Lee,
she's, like, a 13-year-old Chinese Canadian girl, right?
When she, uh, gets overwhelmed...
Like, puberty, the...
She poofs into this giant red panda, right?
But the panda is, like, a metaphor for a lot of stuff.
So even just to have the discussion of what is metaphor?
-I mean, come on. It's great. Yeah. -I love that.
Is it true that somebody told you--
I think it was an agent--
-that you should just leave America? -Yeah.
-They were like, "Go home. There's no room for you." -Yeah.
And they weren't saying it to you like, "Get out of here."
They were saying, like, "Hey, I'll be honest with you."
-Yeah. -"An Asian actress, man,
-there's no space for you in this industry." -Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah, it's, like, crushing.
Do you know what I mean? Like, you're 21,
and you have, like, a certain amount of credits.
You know, uh, you know, having been born and raised in Canada,
-at that point, I had already done films. -Right.
-I'd already done, like, A-list theater. -You had won awards.
Yes, won awards.
And it just, like, didn't matter at that time.
So-- But we're talking about, you know, the mid-'90s.
-Wow. -Right? So it's like-- Again,
it's like some of the projects that I'm working with...
It's amazing to age,
because you get, like, perspective, right?
So, like, I'm doing, like, a press tour with Domee.
-She's a millennial. Our director, right? -Mm.
And these t-- All these young girls, right?
Rosalie Chiang. Sh-She's 16.
Maitreyi, um, Ramakrishnan.
She's, like, 20.
And it's like I feel, like, so great to go,
"Girls, you know, welcome"
and to kind of help 'em out a little bit.
-Right, right, right. -Because I'm not saying
that everything has changed and we can't stop
kind of working at, you know...
I-I hate kind of, like, the word, like,
"diverse storytelling," 'cause I feel it's,
like... marginalizing,
-you know, us, you know? -You know what it is sometimes?
Sometimes it feels like people use it as, like,
a tokenism thing. People use it as, like, a pandering--
I think of it as originality. That's how I think of it.
-That's exactly it. It's, like, you know... -You know?
-At some point, stories all become the same. Okay? -Yeah.
And then, the more you try and branch out
and find new stories to tell,
-you have to find new people to tell those stories with. -Yes.
-Yeah. -And I find that becomes more interesting.
-That-- You know, it... -Absolutely. I totally agree.
And the fact that it's also, like, uh...
So, Domee, right, the-- She-she did an--
her Oscar-winning short Bao
-and then-- So-- Right? So she was picked up... -I loved that.
...by, uh, Pixar, I want to say, like, out of Sheridan College.
So talented. And then, after that,
then she got her shot to do this.
Because they're smart.
I'm sorry, Pixar is smart.
-(laughs) -They were like-- They-they--
The way that they consciously make films,
-it's all about the filmmaker, right? -Yeah.
And that whole thing about originality, uniqueness.
It's like we want to grow the storytelling canon,
because I feel...
You know, I get this qu-- this question a lot,
which is, like, "Oh, you work with women a lot."
Like-- You know what I mean? "You work with women a lot."
And it's like, it's true, it's true,
because that's who hires me, by the way.
So, all throughout my career, the majority of people
who I've worked with regarding, like,
-writer-directors, right? -Interesting.
Women, women of color. Right?
So, what is it-- one, why do I work with them?
One, they hire me. But two, I think
now it's like... Oh, because, you know,
Shonda Rhimes is writing her characters from her perspective,
as a woman. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is writing her perspective
-Yes. -as a woman. Same with, obviously, Domee.
She and this other movie that I'm in, coming-coming out--
Umma, by Iris Shim-- it's, like,
a young woman's perspective.
So she wants... So that's-that's what's interesting,
-Yes. -because it's, like, coming from a point of view
that I'm interested in. They're interested in,
like, you know, me doing the work for them,
and so that... that's how it's worked out so far.
I think it... I think it's working out, uh, for the best.
I mean... No, really. As-as a... as a viewer,
as a consumer, I love it, I get to enjoy it.
I mean, I'm sad that Killing Eve is coming to an end.
-Yeah, yeah. -You know? That's, uh, that's-that's been
quite a journey, and you've left your imprint on that.
Um, what are you looking forward to?
You know, I've got to tell you, like, I'm sure,
like, many of us, this time during the pandemic,
it makes... it really...
-It really brought the thought inward. -Mm-hmm.
And, uh, also, at this deeply in the midlife part of my life,
um... I think the reas... the assessment
of what is important and what I choose
to put my time into is becoming more and more important.
That's why, like, an actor, it's just, like,
-you just want a job. -Mm-hmm.
You just want to work. So, one of the things
that I was able to practice after Grey's is,
I'm just gonna to sit.
I'm going to sit and be uncomfortable
because the usual desire to make a move
-or to try and get work or... -Mm-hmm.
Like, you know what I mean?
Which is eventually, hopefully, um,
-the stuff that you have to grow out of. -Right.
-It's hard. Yeah. -It's hard. Right?
So, I feel just kind of continuing that, taking...
It's not, like, a little break, but, like, uh, being discerning.
-I love that. -Mm-hmm.
-Discerning, enjoying the moment. -Yeah.
And, uh, yeah. At least we get to enjoy all the work
that you've been doing for the last few years
-'cause it's coming out now. -Yeah, it's coming out now.
-Yeah. -Thank you so much for joining me on the show.
-Aw, thank you. -And congratulations. Congratulations
on everything that you've done.
Aw. Thank you so much. What a pleasure.
Appreciate you so much. All right, people,
Turning Red will be available March 11 on Disney+.