Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with FBI & The Walking Dead’s James Chen

During his junior year of college James Chen discovered his passion for writing and acting. It was a pivotal moment in his life and the first time he recalls being able to separate his parents’ dreams for him with his own. It’s a struggle many face, especially within the Asian community. Without that realization and leap of faith, though, James would have never gone on to have starring roles on The Walking Dead, Iron Fist, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and FBI.

Pop Culturalist had an insightful conversation with James about his career, the struggles he’s faced in the industry as an Asian-American actor, and the demand for more diverse storytelling in Hollywood.

PC: When did you first realize you wanted to pursue a career in acting?
James: I was always curious about it when I was younger and in high school. I didn’t grow up performing, but, in college, I had the chance to explore it extracurricularly, and I fell in love with it pretty quickly. I had a huge imagination, and I loved writing, history, cinema, and just being a goof. Acting put these all together in a really satisfying way. After doing it in college for a while, I took a couple of classes at the theater in downtown Philadelphia. By the time I was a junior/senior in college, I was skipping chemistry lab to write plays and planning out a travel itinerary to do a gig instead of studying for midterms. After I graduated, I got a job as a busboy and started auditioning and acting in Philadelphia. That’s where it all began.

PC: We read that your parents were against the idea of you becoming an artist. How challenging was it to follow your passion without the support of your family? Have they come around given all the success you’ve had?
James: Both my parents are immigrants from Asia. They’re both Chinese, but from different parts of Asia. They’re both professionals, and it was an unspoken assumption that my sister and I would become either doctors or engineers. To be completely honest, I was matriculated at UPenn in a four-year biochem master’s program. I remember visiting the school with my dad, and we met the director of this program. He gave us a tour of the lab. The director was also an immigrant from China who made a name for himself in the world of biochem. My dad was absolutely thrilled. We finished that meeting, and my dad put his arm around my shoulder and was like, “This is it! This is the thing. This guy is going to take you under his wing, and he’s going to make you great.” I was like, “Okay…I don’t really think this is what I want to do with my life.” Then, for the next three years, my dad was sending me mail articles that he read in MIT Technology Review with specific lines and passages highlighted about nanotech, biochem, biochips, and genetics. You could see where his hopes and dreams were.

Discovering acting and writing in my junior year of college was one of the most important moments of my life. Before that, I felt depressed because I didn’t fully realize I could choose what I wanted to do in my life. I feel like this is similar for a lot of Asian-American kids growing up in this culture. It’s hard for us to separate our parents’ hopes, desires, and dreams from our own. It’s a moment that I’m very proud of because I came to the realization that I could do whatever I wanted. I look back, and I’m so grateful because I feel like I could have very easily not figured that out. It sounds silly now because it’s like how could you not think that, but it’s hard when you grow up in a house with those kinds of expectations. It was a shift in my identity.

When I got a job as a busboy after getting a degree in economics, I was like, “Dad, I just got a job as a busboy. I’m going to pursue acting,” and he said, “James, your mother and I have been married for over 30 years, and this is the hardest time in our marriage.” I knew that I was making the right choice because in that moment when my dad said that, I felt no guilt. I knew I had successfully staked out on my own. It was freeing and liberating. My parents have done a full 180. They’ve completely come around. My dad now sends me emails and mails me clippings from Newsweek about Hollywood and Asian actors rising in the entertainment industry—it chokes me up.

PC: That’s the perfect segue. Hollywood is facing a problem with diversity. As an Asian actor, what’s been your experience in the industry been like?
James: When I got out of school—hell, and when I was in school—it was crushing. I experienced a healthy amount of institutionalized racism, even in the casting process at my own acting school; I think it’s a symptom that as a society, people don’t know how to think of Asians and Asian-Americans; they see us in a very particular, narrow light. I was surprised while I was in school, and I was even more surprised when I graduated. I chalk that up to ignorance. I didn’t pursue this industry until I was in my 20s, and I never really thought about it in that light. There are a lot of one-liner co-star roles for “accented store owners” or nerds. Over the years, we’ve turned that stuff down. They like to cast Asians for this shorthand storytelling, but that’s not ideal. I would love to be an Asian leading man, or a leading man who’s this fascinating, conflicted character that goes on a fantastic journey. Currently, though, I do the best and the most with what I have which, thankfully, is getting better just in the last few years, honestly, with Crazy Rich Asians and Searching.

PC: Hollywood’s been making really slow progress, but what has it meant for you to be a part of this movement for change and for your career?
James: That’s a great question. When I first started to even consider the idea of being an actor, I was focused on my love for the craft, and I still am. I was young, and I didn’t understand the context in which my career fit into the context of this world and society. I’ve found that I’ve adopted an activist responsibility. It’s like there are things that are just offensive to me as a person that I am confronted with as an Asian male actor because I’m on the frontline.

It took me a while to realize this, but I guess it’s similar to how I realized that, back in college, I’m the one who chooses what I’m doing in my life. I realized that if I don’t speak out against this, who will? If not me, then who? If not right now, then when?

With the rise of social media, we feel a sense of community from coast to coast. It’s made an amazing difference because everyone is getting closer and closer and together we can voice our outrage about particular issues, like whitewashed casting in projects like Ghost in a Shell, which, if you went by traditional Hollywood metrics and everything they formulated this movie to be, probably should’ve done really well, but no. They’re actually offending people. It’s quite empowering to be part of this movement. Sometimes you feel like you’re just one person in a huge system with a grayed history of abusive power, but every single one of us can voice how we feel. It feels great to be a part of a community that’s on the same page and has the same mission. For the first time in a while, it feels like there’s great possibility and potential for a meaningful change that isn’t just lip service.

The Walking Dead Questions

PC: You’re currently starring on The Walking Dead. Was there any pressure going into that project given the fan base of both the comic book and television series?
James: There’s a scene in The Matrix where Cypher is in the middle of doing a double deal. He signs a deal with the devil over a steak dinner. He’s like, “I know this steak isn’t real. I know when it touches my mouth, my brain will tell me it is delicious and savory, but it’s not real.” He eats it and is like, “Ignorance is bliss.” That was me.

I wasn’t familiar with that graphic novel, but I knew of the TV show. I just hadn’t watched it up to that time and I’m so glad for that because knowing me, I probably would’ve gotten too nervous and overthought it; I would have put too much pressure on myself. I didn’t know anything about the show, so I did a little bit of research before I went in. After I found out that I booked it, I prepared as much as I could, but of course, they don’t tell me much of anything.

I went in there with a very open mind, a blank slate. The set was a wonderful place to work because the people are amazing. They’re the #1 show on cable TV, but there’s absolutely no ego on that set. They’re just kicking butt. You feel that sense of family, that sense of a team.

Was there pressure? Not nearly as much as maybe I could have had. I was ignorant, and the crew and cast were awesome. It was just really fun.

PC: When you’re adapting a character from a comic book series to screen, how challenging is it to find the balance between remaining faithful to the source material but also making this character your own?
James: That’s a good question. When I auditioned for Kal on The Walking Dead, I didn’t know I was auditioning for Kal. It’s very common—especially these days and on high-profile projects—that they give you sides that have fake names or sides that have nothing to do with the script. The material is loosely related to the essence of the character.

So, I went in for some character named Jeff or Jeffrey, and I got to my wardrobe fitting. I said, “What’s up? I play Jeff. I’m James, and I play Jeff.” She’s like, “No, no. You’re playing Kal.” I was like, “Oh, no, no, no. I’m playing Jeff, actually.” She was like, “No, trust me, you’re playing Kal.” Then she walks me into a room, and there are all these whiteboards with cutout photocopies of Kal from the graphic novel, and I was like, “Oh, damn.”

They knew who I was going to be playing for a long time, so they prepared the wardrobe selection. It was a great moment because, as an actor, you’re always looking to feed your imagination. The wardrobe that they had selected was greatly inspired by the images that they took from the comic, so I felt like just from the clothes, they were bringing him to life immediately.

PC: We know you can’t give too much away about Kal’s arc, but what can you tease?
James: I’m alive. I think that’s a big one. A little bit more time has passed and I’m still working with Maggie. It continues to be an exciting world full of the unexpected. As if Walkers and psychopathic murders weren’t enough, there’s always something unexpected. There’s always more danger, and there’s always something lurking around the corner.

FBI Questions

PC: Tell us about FBI, your character, and what drew you to this project?
James: FBI is the latest in Dick Wolf’s world. It’s high-adrenaline and high stakes. The show taps into urgent cases that affect national security like the ones we see in headlines and in current events. I play Ian Lim. He works with the FBI team, specifically a particular team of special agents in the New York bureau. It’s very much a team effort because each case is so complicated and demands a lot of specialization from each individual team.

At headquarters, you have Jubal (Jeremy Sisto) and Kristen (Ebonee Noel). They’re crunching information on who these people are and trying to connect the dots, but the second there’s an event, if anything demands an analysis of electronics or equipment, Ian is on top of it. He’s a freaking genius. He would probably be a Silicon Valley billionaire if he didn’t join the team. He has an itch for gritty adrenaline. He gets off on trying to go one-on-one against a bad guy. He loves to try to outsmart them and prove them wrong by solving their case or finding something they left behind in evidence.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure podcast?
James: Joe Rogan’s podcast

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
James: Army of Darkness

PC: Favorite book?
James: East of Eden

PC: Favorite play or musical?
James: Something by John Patrick Shanley

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
James: Brook Benton

PC: Last show you binge-watched?
James: The new Star Trek

PC: Hidden talent?
James: I played classical piano for ten years.

Make sure to follow James on Twitter and Instagram.

Catch The Walking Dead every Sunday at 9/8c on AMC and FBI every Tuesday at 9/8c on CBS.

Photo Credit: David Zheng