-Welcome to the show. -Thanks for having me.
I'm a big fan of yours from Silicon Valley, and now...
-(whooping, cheering) -Thank you.
-Thank you, thank you. -...now you've got the book
and you've got Crazy Rich Asians,
which is coming out to much fanfare.
People are really excited about this.
-Can you feel the buzz as well? -I've been feeling it
for the last, like, three weeks when we've been
on this press tour, and-and it's crazy.
They're actually spending money on us.
-(laughter) -Which is... which is amazing.
Like, we... They sent off three teams.
Each of us hit, like, three different cities,
and the reactions from each city is amazing.
-Right. -You got the really heavy Asian-populated cities,
you know, like, say, Boston, New York.
We expected a good turnout from them.
But then when we went to, like, Dallas,
and people still loved it,
and I barely saw any Asian people in the audience.
It was white people, black people.
-It's just such a universally fun movie to watch, -Right.
that I'm just so grateful to see everybody enjoying it.
It's really doing well. It has, like,
what, 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
-Yeah. -Everyone is enjoying
the cultural significance of the film.
It's funny, because Ronny Chieng, who's on the show,
is also in the movie, and when he came to me
to tell me that, like, they wanted him in the movie,
he, like, really undersold it. He's like, "Hey, man,
"so I might need to leave the show for a few months
"to go do this movie; I think it might be
a little bit big for, like, you know, the Asian community,"
and he sold it like it was gonna be, like,
a little indie movie in the middle of nowhere.
And then I saw this come out, I was like,
"Ronny, this is major! This is huge!"
And it really is, because for 25 years,
we have not seen a Hollywood movie with a full Asian cast.
-That's a pretty big deal. -Since Joy Luck Club.
And I think going in, I mean,
Ronny probably wasn't underselling it,
like, 'cause we didn't know; we intellectualized it.
-Like, we understood it's important. -Right.
It's, uh, you know, statistically, 25 years,
first studio movie.
But we didn't feel how special it was
until we got to Singapore.
When you got, like, the most beautiful, talented,
-funniest Asian people from all over the world. -Yeah.
You got Asian Americans, Asian British,
Asian Australians, from everywhere.
You know, Ronny: Asian Malaysian.
-Right. -Right? Like...
-(laughter) -Which sounds amazing, by the way.
-Asian Malaysian. -Asian Malaysian.
-Asian Malaysian. -I'm gonna start calling him
in the office, and I'm gonna get a lawsuit.
-(laughter) -The, uh... the movie is also great.
That's what I enjoy, is, you know, like,
oftentimes when people talk about diversity,
people always make it seem like it's charity,
-Right. -but it's a great story.
And you play a character who, like,
seems like the most fun ever.
Is it true that you also tried to go for the lead,
like, the really good-looking, handsome lead?
Ha! Thanks for putting it that way.
-(laughter) -Um, yeah, so...
when I first got the script, not every day you get a script
that's Crazy Rich Asians with a full Asian cast,
so I talked to my manager, I picked up the phone,
right away I'm like, "Guys, I know I'm usually the funny guy,
"you know, like, the character actor,
"but let me-- this is an important movie--
let me try out for the leading role." Okay?
And then my manager was like, "Look, Jimmy, I don't know
"how to tell you this properly, but, um...
"they're looking for a good-looking guy
-for this role." -(laughter)
And, uh, you know, here I am.
(laughter)
-Here I am, so, uh... it's okay. -Yeah, but you,
-but you-you crush it in the movie, -Oh, thanks.
-'cause you play, like, a Versace-wearing,
mad, party animal.
Oh, it's awesome.
It's awesome to play that guy 'cause you get
to go as big as possible,
to just fill the screen with any energy
you have kind of pent up inside.
'Cause I think, normally, as functional members of society,
you can't just act crazy, but with a character like that,
with billions of dollars and he doesn't care about anything,
he-he lives his life like as if it's lawless.
So it was just so fun and freeing
to play somebody like that.
You also have a cast that is all Asian
but at the same time really diverse.
And don't get me wrong, I mean, I'm not saying it covers
every single aspect of Asian culture,
but it is interesting that you said, so many people come from
so many different walks of life--
When you're on-on set, did you feel that?
Because I remember when Black Panther was happening,
people were talking about how the set felt different,
-it was a new experience. -Absolutely.
Was it similar on Crazy Rich Asians?
There was some kind of magic.
When we were all just hanging out, you know, eating dinner,
I didn't have to explain,
"Oh, let's go to a Chinese restaurant.
"It's like authentic, but, like, not that exotic.
You can handle it." You know?
We were all just so much on the same page.
We all just loved the same kind of food.
We all sang karaoke every night.
(laughter)
It was great.
You haven't lived until you've seen Ronny Chieng
sing Backstreet Boys, it's amazing.
Man, you are just giving me ammunition
on Ronny Chieng nonstop.
Let's talk a little bit about the book as well,
because, um,
I love how your book talks about your journey in America.
How to American:
An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents.
Um, it really is a universal story
that is all about yourself becoming an American citizen
and the journey that you went on.
Why do you think it's really been as difficult
as it has been for you to understand
the difference, or the difficulty and duality:
being an American, but then also being Asian
and staying true to your roots?
I moved here when I was 13 from Hong Kong.
13 is probably a tough age for anyone finding themselves,
but I was in a new country with a new language.
I couldn't really speak English very well.
And also, one of the hardest things
aside from just making friends in school,
was dealing with the pressure from your parents,
the expectations of growing up Asian.
And they value, um, obedience.
They-they value finding a real job, right?
(laughs) I like how you say...
-Which I'm obviously not doing right now. -Right.
But in American culture, it's the complete opposite.
We value independence,
and-and we value pursuing your dreams,
whereas my dad, ever since I was little,
has told me that pursuing your dreams
how you become homeless.
So how do you-- Which one do I pick?
And how do I go about doing this?
When I started doing standup,
like, my-my dad thought I was crazy.
-He doesn't, doesn't know what standup was. -Right.
Like, we never watched standup in Hong Kong, you know.
My first standup, like, that I watched
-was BET Comic View when I came here. -Right.
And that was like a cultural experience.
Yeah, I can only imagine.
It wasn't just jokes, it was, like, about culture.
Like, when they're talking about white people do this,
black people do that, I didn't know any of those stereotypes.
-Right. -But that was, like, broad strokes of America
that I learned from TV and watching these comedians,
-which is, in a way, culture-tellers, right? -Yes.
That's why I became really interested in doing standup,
and my dad still, till today, calls it a talk show.
Which, I guess, I'm doing now, so it's fine.
I-I'm actually doing a talk show.
You have a great book with a great story.
-Congratulations on the film. -Thank you, my man.
How to American is available now.
Crazy Rich Asians is in theaters nationwide.
Jimmy O. Yang, everybody.