(Yang’s Crazy Rich Asians costar Harry Shum Jr. Yang knew that taking on the role of Josh-a character who he says wasn’t written with any particular race in mind-would lead to the employment of at least three other Asian actors, who’d be tapped to play members of Josh’s family. Does an interracial Netflix rom-com have to bring an accompanying thesis on identity to the table? Is it fair to ask Yang to be the Chosen Asian Spokesman in this context? Isn’t it enough to enjoy Yang’s sensitive portrayal of a romantic everyman, to take it at face value?īecause while the politics of representation are amorphous, the realities of opportunity aren’t. And as he does, I find myself reexamining my own expectations. I’d be ignoring low-hanging yard fruit if I didn’t read Yang’s nesting phase metaphorically, as a figurative settling-in to match the success he’s found on shows like Silicon Valley and Space Force, and in films like Crazy Rich Asians and Patriots Day-a 2016 thriller about the Boston Marathon bombing that casts Yang in an uncharacteristically serious role, as real-life American hero Dun “Danny” Meng.īut Yang also pushes me to consider Josh’s character more deeply, beyond just a potential win-lose in the Representation Olympics. In between releasing his stand-up special Good Deal on Amazon, shooting the second season of Space Force, and starring in Netflix’s new holiday rom-com Love Hard, he’s already redone the kitchen, primered the guest bath, and generally leveled up his gardening and cooking (“On YouTube, you can learn anything”). “You know you’re an adult once you’re talking about fucking lumber prices.” Still, after growing up in apartments (first in Hong Kong, then in Los Angeles after his family moved when Yang was 13), it’s the 34-year-old’s first house, and Yang is devoted. “Now everybody’s remodeling,” Yang sighs. Most of Yang’s home remains a work in progress: He bought the house in February 2020, which was a fine time to renovate until the rest of the world joined in.
The gastronomic verdict? “I gotta say, better than most tomatoes I’ve had in L.A.” Yang introduces “a great tomato plant” with a new laptop angle-adding, with immense pride for a guy casually sporting a 1969 Rolex Pepsi-that he grew it from seed. Then he brings his vegetable garden into view, where he’s growing herbs, bell peppers, and habanero. “They’re $5 Home Depot marigolds, and they’re crushing it,” he says. Within minutes, Yang is carrying the laptop over to his garden, where he tilts the screen down at neat clusters of marigolds. We chat first from his yard, where the light in Los Feliz is still predictably golden. Yang feels not unlike catching up with any other long-distance-or any-distance-friend lately.
0 kommentar(er)
