Audrey Magazine Q&A with Harry Shum Jr of "Glee"
Hello, friends~
I don't usually share things like news and interviews around, but I thought this was something worth commenting about here on racebending since Harry touches on being an Asian American male getting jobs in showbiz.
If some of you don't really know, Harry Shum Jr is a Costa Rican born Chinese who grew up in America, and is an awesome dancer who's been in movies such as Step Up 2 and Step Up 3D. He's also one of the main choreographers of the dance/comic book inspired project known as the LXD directed by Step Up director Jon M. Chu, that you can watch on hulu. Definitionly check out this show, the dancing is freaking AMAZING.
Harry plays Mike Chang, one of the faces of the popular show "Glee," and his character is a great example of breaking Asian male stereotypes; a jock who joins the Glee Club to express his dancing.
Some quotes:
Q: On Glee, you play the role of the football player who deviates from the norm and joins the choir. You don’t see many Asian men in that role where they are playing the tough guy or jock. Could you share your thoughts on that?
HSJ: I have to commend the writers for doing that. You have the stereotype of Asians that they’re nerds and all that, and I think it’s really cool that they made Mike Chang a football player. From there, it goes from you’re on the football team and you’re popula, and then you go into into the glee club, and you’re non-existent after that. You’re on the bottom of the levels of popularity. As far as Mike Chang goes, he’s a guy who has this ability, and one of his lines is, “I was afraid outside my room.” He found this thing, this art that he is able to express publicly. And I think it says a lot for this character and a lot of people. A lot of people are scared to showcase what they have.
Q: How are your parents dealing with your decision to take this unorthodox and very creative career path now?
HSJ: They’re super Asian. They were like, “Go to school, be a doctor, be a lawyer, I don’t care just make sure it has something to do with school and something to do with being adoctor.” It took a while. I had to slowly tell them. So I told them, “I’ll try school.” And I did. I went to college for a little bit, but it didn’t work out. I didn’t really like it. I had this whole opportunity to go down to L.A. And I did. I got lucky in the sense that I started getting jobs, and some tours here and there. And then came a time, where I said, “OK, I’m going to take this seriously and not get distracted from my art.” Parents are only worried that you can have a good life and make money. So I just came up with a plan, “This is what I’m going to do. I’m going to dive into the business side of entertainment as far as understand it and get myself through, and utilize it too.
Q: Do you have any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with Asian Americans who are pursuing an artistic, more unorthodox career like yourself?
HSJ: There’s no right way to do it. I think that there are many ways. Learning the business side of it. You know making sure you are practicing your art as much as you are understanding that business. Once you get into it, you’ll have lawyers and stuff to take care of it, but you still have to understand what you’re signing. And don’t be limited by what the media tells you of stereotypes. Because you can go against the grain. They’ll be like, “You’re not nerdy enough,” and I’ll be like, “WTF does that mean?” “You’re not Asian enough” - I’m like, “what?” I’ve been in rooms where they’re like, “No, you’re not Asian enough. You don’t fit that type. And I’ll be like, “Um, OK.” Don’t be limited by that. If you really believe where you’re going, I believe you’ll find some success. And hopefully you’ll get going and going.
Original Source and full interview here.
I don't usually share things like news and interviews around, but I thought this was something worth commenting about here on racebending since Harry touches on being an Asian American male getting jobs in showbiz.
If some of you don't really know, Harry Shum Jr is a Costa Rican born Chinese who grew up in America, and is an awesome dancer who's been in movies such as Step Up 2 and Step Up 3D. He's also one of the main choreographers of the dance/comic book inspired project known as the LXD directed by Step Up director Jon M. Chu, that you can watch on hulu. Definitionly check out this show, the dancing is freaking AMAZING.
Harry plays Mike Chang, one of the faces of the popular show "Glee," and his character is a great example of breaking Asian male stereotypes; a jock who joins the Glee Club to express his dancing.
Some quotes:
Q: On Glee, you play the role of the football player who deviates from the norm and joins the choir. You don’t see many Asian men in that role where they are playing the tough guy or jock. Could you share your thoughts on that?
HSJ: I have to commend the writers for doing that. You have the stereotype of Asians that they’re nerds and all that, and I think it’s really cool that they made Mike Chang a football player. From there, it goes from you’re on the football team and you’re popula, and then you go into into the glee club, and you’re non-existent after that. You’re on the bottom of the levels of popularity. As far as Mike Chang goes, he’s a guy who has this ability, and one of his lines is, “I was afraid outside my room.” He found this thing, this art that he is able to express publicly. And I think it says a lot for this character and a lot of people. A lot of people are scared to showcase what they have.
Q: How are your parents dealing with your decision to take this unorthodox and very creative career path now?
HSJ: They’re super Asian. They were like, “Go to school, be a doctor, be a lawyer, I don’t care just make sure it has something to do with school and something to do with being adoctor.” It took a while. I had to slowly tell them. So I told them, “I’ll try school.” And I did. I went to college for a little bit, but it didn’t work out. I didn’t really like it. I had this whole opportunity to go down to L.A. And I did. I got lucky in the sense that I started getting jobs, and some tours here and there. And then came a time, where I said, “OK, I’m going to take this seriously and not get distracted from my art.” Parents are only worried that you can have a good life and make money. So I just came up with a plan, “This is what I’m going to do. I’m going to dive into the business side of entertainment as far as understand it and get myself through, and utilize it too.
Q: Do you have any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with Asian Americans who are pursuing an artistic, more unorthodox career like yourself?
HSJ: There’s no right way to do it. I think that there are many ways. Learning the business side of it. You know making sure you are practicing your art as much as you are understanding that business. Once you get into it, you’ll have lawyers and stuff to take care of it, but you still have to understand what you’re signing. And don’t be limited by what the media tells you of stereotypes. Because you can go against the grain. They’ll be like, “You’re not nerdy enough,” and I’ll be like, “WTF does that mean?” “You’re not Asian enough” - I’m like, “what?” I’ve been in rooms where they’re like, “No, you’re not Asian enough. You don’t fit that type. And I’ll be like, “Um, OK.” Don’t be limited by that. If you really believe where you’re going, I believe you’ll find some success. And hopefully you’ll get going and going.
Original Source and full interview here.