‘Silicon Valley’ star’s gig at Santa Clara mall
Comic kicks off tour, answers questions about hit HBO series, Asian representation
By now, Jimmy O. Yang is used to the crowds that come with celebrity. But the 31-year-old author, comedian and “Silicon Valley” star wasn’t fully prepared for his return to the South Bay.
“I’m sorry, I was distracted by the escalator,” he said, perched on a stage in the middle of Macy’s at Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, between the escalators and the women’s restrooms. “This is the weirdest gig I’ve ever done.”
Yang was the man of the hour, Saturday, May 18, as the department store continued its nationwide Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in-store celebrations, spotlighting writers, actors and performers in comedy.
In a conversation conducted by The Chronicle, Yang talked about moving to the United States at age 13 from Hong Kong, cultural assimilation and his rising career, which has him playing a range of Asian roles in Hollywood, to the delight of more than 200 of his fans — as well as a few random shoppers.
“There are a lot of confused people coming up this escalator,” he quipped.
But Yang’s mall stop may be one of the last times to catch him in such a casual setting — where fans could peruse 25%-off jackets while also getting some insight on their favorite character, whether it be Jian Yang of HBO’s “Silicon Valley,” Bernard of “Crazy Rich Asians” or Horace from the ABC family sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat.”
Yang’s back on his stand-up tour, which he kicked off with a sold-out show Sunday, May 19, at the San Jose Improv — “I know. I booked the show during the final episode of “Game of Thrones.” I could’ve planned that better”— and is scheduled to record his first comedy special in San Francisco this fall.
“Silicon Valley” is also scheduled to start shooting season six in June, a “Crazy Rich Asians” sequel has been green-lighted, and “Fresh Off the Boat” recently got picked up for its sixth season. Yang had only glowing comments about his co
cluding Constance Wu, who has recently been the focus of a lot of Twitter backlash after her initial social media posts about the renewal of “Fresh Off the Boat.”
Here are some moments from Yang’s Santa Clara stop in conversation with The Chronicle and fans on the eve of his comedy tour: Q: What are your impressions of Silicon Valley, and how do you feel about the way it’s portrayed in the show? A: Some people have told me, (people who) work in the Silicon Valley, “I can’t watch the show because it’s too real. It’s giving me PTSD.” Which is good. It’s a compliment, I guess. ...
Obviously a lot of things are heightened, but I’ve seen characters like Jian Yang on the Facebook campus — maybe not as diabolical, but I’ve seen the mannerisms. … It’s almost like, “Oh, am I playing this too big? Is this too far fetched of a character to play?” And then you see people like that in the Silicon Valley and then you’re like, “Oh, OK, I get it. It’s real.” Q: Because you had such a rivalry with T.J. Miller’s character in “Silicon Valley,” when he left abruptly, did you have any concerns about your own part? A: I did. First of all, I was super-sad because he was my best friend on the show and he called me and was like, “Man, I don’t plan on coming back.” My first thought — a selfish thought — was like, “Are they going to write me out too? What’s going on?” But I talked to Mike Judge about it … and it turned out last season, I think my character had the most to do out of all the seasons. So it became a blessing in disguise.
I wish more people would leave the show now so it would just be me. Q: You mentioned Mike Judge. When you came to the United States, did you watch “Beavis and Butt-Head”? A: I did! … All the cartoons helped. I don’t understand a lot of nuisances. Like “Friends” was not my jam, but “Beavis and Butt-Head” and even “Ren & Stimpy,” they spoke to me. … I was like, “This is kind of awesome, making fun of America” …
But here’s a crazy story about Mike Judge: So I went to UCSD where I was an economics major — because it was the easiest major to please my Asian parents — but during my commencement ceremony, Mike Judge was my commencement speaker. … Then five years later I got hired on “Silicon Valley” and that was my big break. Mike and I still talk about that. …
It’s a really fun, full-circle story. Q: How did your role in “Patriot’s Day” make you feel when you were playing Dun Meng? A: To date, actingwise, that was one of my proudest parts. It was based on a real person, the real guy who got carjacked by the Boston Marathon bombers, and he’s a real hero. Talk about bravery, that guy is amazing. The movie had Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon, all these movie heroes I grew up watching, so that was amazing.
But it was also one of my first dramatic roles. And I was playing a guy — spoiler alert — who’s still alive, so I wanted to really do right by him. I took that role really seriously. I think it really gave me the confidence to pursue more acting instead of just being a comedian. Q: At a time in the entertainment industry when people are calling for more representation, fair representation, how do you feel about the roles that you’ve played? A: I used to try and not think about it. I just tried to play the best I could. Y’know, go kill the audition.
But I do get it. I think, first of all, we need more representation of all characters. And then, second of all, we need more positive representation — at least three-dimensional characters.
At the end of the day, it’s like the whole same argument with Apu (from “The Simpsons”). If you had a broad range of 100 Indian or Asian representations, you wouldn’t just harp on this one good or bad representation. Q: That was the issue. It was so rare to see, so when you saw it … A: That was it!
Even just looking at “Crazy Rich Asians” … if Bernard was the only one in “Crazy Rich Asians,” people could say, “Oh, you guys are just trying to make all Asians look like —holes or playboys” … but because “Crazy Rich Asians” was an entire movie with an Asian cast, you have your super-good-looking leading man Asians, the funny Asians, the larger-than-life Asians, the sweet Asians and the dark Asians — and it was awesome because I could just focus on acting instead of representing (Asians) by myself. Q: What do you think we need to do to keep that kind of momentum going now that it’s been a year after “Crazy Rich Asians”? A: I think that “Crazy Rich Asians” served as just opening the door and that’s great. Now people are listening . ... There’s a bigger diversity push and everything, so at least our ideas are getting listened to. I think now it’s up to us Asian artists — or diverse artists of any culture, creed — to tell our authentic story and tell it well . ...
Instead of just Chinese people in Chinatown with dragons and kung fu, tell your own “Crazy Rich Asians” story, whether that’s growing up in San Jose, growing up in Hong Kong or wherever. Q: Do you have a dream role in mind? Do you want to be the next James Bond? A: I think Henry Goulding is way ahead of me in line for that.
But yeah, if I could just do good stuff and be kind of impactful in certain things … getting to a point where if I love a story I can make it would be amazing. There are a lot of great, not just Asian American stories, but great stories in general out there. Q: Bobby Lee or Dat Phan? Pick one. A: Uh, are we talking about to marry, “f ” or kill? Q: Who’s the better comedian? A: They’re both great friends. Dat really helped me out when I was first coming up on the San Diego comedy scene. He really showed me around. But Bobby, he’s such a legend. … He was so important to me and my dad. My family was a “Mad TV” family. … And to finally meet him — I did a podcast with him a couple years ago — was great. He’s the nicest, coolest, funniest guy.
Gosh, they’re both legends, so it’s hard to pick. It depends on the scenario. If we were going to a Vietnamese restaurant, I’d pick Dat Phan. But to hang out in Macy’s, it’d be Bobby.