(L to R) Sydney Taylor and Ben Wang star in Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese.’
Premiering on Disney+ beginning May 24th is the new series ‘American Born Chinese,’ which was created by writer and actor Kelvin Yu (‘Wonder Woman 1984’) from the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang.
What is the plot of ‘American Born Chinese’?
‘American Born Chinese’ tells the story of teenager Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a son of Chinese immigrants, who for the most part is a typical high school kid. He collects manga, tries to join the soccer team, and is on a journey dealing with his own identity as he tries to figure out who he is. One day, Wei-Chen (Jimmy Liu), an exchange student, arrives at Jin’s school. Unlike Jin, Wei-Chen didn’t grow up in America, is loud and open by nature, and doesn’t inhabit Jin’s self-doubt and insecurities. At times, this causes Jin to feel embarrassed being associated with Wei-Chen who’s very different.
Wei-Chen is revealed to be the son of Sun Wukong (Daniel Wu), commonly known as the Monkey King, a legendary figure in Chinese literature. Wei-Chen had a dream that the mythical Fourth Scroll can stop an uprising against Heaven. The dream also told him that an ordinary teenager is destined to aid him in his search. So Wei-Chen stole his father’s magical staff and is now, disguised as a high-schooler, searching for the scroll in earthly California, convinced that Jin is the ordinary teenager from his prophetic dream.
Who is in the cast of ‘American Born Chinese’?
‘American Born Chinese’ stars Ben Wang (‘Sex Appeal’) as Jin Wang, Yeo Yann Yann (‘Havoc’) as Christine Wang, Chin Han (‘Mortal Kombat’) as Simon Wang, Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan (‘The Goonies’) as Jamie Yao, Jimmy Liu as Wei-Chen, Sydney Taylor as Amelia, Daniel Wu (‘Reminiscence’) as Sun Wukong, Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh (‘Crazy Rich Asians’) as Guanyin, Ronny Chieng (‘M3GAN’) as Ji Gong, Rosalie Chiang (‘Turning Red’) as Suzy Nakamura, James Hong (‘Big Trouble in Little China’) as Jade Emperor, Jimmy O. Yang (’80 for Brady’) as Ao Guang, and Stephanie Hsu (‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’) as Shiji Niangniang.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting with Sydney Taylor and Ben Wang to talk about their work on ‘American Born Chinese,’ what the series means to Wang, how he’s similar to his character, Jin and Amelia’s relationship, her home life, and Jin’s friendship with Wei-Chen.
(L to R) Sydney Taylor and Ben Wang star in Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese.’ Photo: Disney/Carlos Lopez-Calleja.
Moviefone: To begin with, Ben, what is it like for you to be on a series like this that features real representation?
Ben Wang: I don’t know if I have the right words to describe how I feel. It is a bit overwhelming, but also this show, we’ve been sitting on it for a year. I’ve been pumped for everybody to see it. For like a year now, I’ve known how great it is and so I’m just really excited for everybody else to find out too. I’d never had a show like this when I was growing up and I know that it would’ve been really helpful for me to have a show like this. I’m really glad and grateful that I get to be a part of this project.
MF: Ben, what are some of the things that you can relate to personally between your character and your real life?
BW: All of the things, every single one of the things. When I read the script, when I read the graphic novel, it was like (Graphic novel author) Gene (Luen Yang) had spied on me while I was growing up and just drew frames from my exact life. Everything down to Jin’s aesthetic, his shirt and his terrible haircut is everything I had. I would walk on set and they’d be like, “Is that your costume or is that what you came here today in?” I’d have to tell them every time. So it was kind of incredible to see that degree of specific representation. It caught me off guard and then it made me really emotional because I had never seen that before.
(L to R) Sydney Taylor and Ben Wang star in Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese.’ Photo: Disney/Carlos Lopez-Calleja.
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MF: Sydney, how would you describe Amelia and Jin’s relationship?
Sydney Taylor: I think Amelia and Jin’s relationship, it’s very different from beginning to end. Because the story is told through Jin’s eyes, I think in the beginning it sort of starts like Amelia is this perfect being that has all of the things he wants. She’s this all-American girl, is popular and pretty, and this and that, and everyone likes her and all of these things. Then he sort of idolizes her to a certain extent at the start. So, then, as the story continues, we get to see that relationship sort of change and that he sees her as more of a person than this unattainable thing on a pedestal. She gets to be an actual person to him. So then as that changes, we get to see their relationship form a better connection with each other. They end with this really wonderful relationship, and friendship, and closeness.
MF: Sydney, can you also talk about Amelia’s less than perfect home life?
ST: Yes, that was largely accredited to the writers. It was written in such a good way because it’s told through his eyes, so we see her as very almost one-dimensional. It’s a really great reveal that she largely represents the universal experience of not feeling understood, not feeling like you get along with people, having issues with your parents, and having issues with yourself. I think she serves as a really good universal being.
(L to R) Ben Wang and Jimmy Liu star in Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese.’ Photo: Disney/Carlos Lopez-Calleja.
MF: Finally, Ben, can you talk about Jin’s friendship with Wei-Chen?
BW: It’s a complicated friendship. It’s a complicated friendship for many reasons. Wei-Chen is a monkey God and Jin is an awkward little boy from Earth. But more importantly, it’s complicated because they’re so different as people. Wei-Chen is this sort of hyper-confident kid who goes into any situation, guns blazing without a single shred of doubt in himself. Jin is like 99% doubt. So they have a lot to teach each other about. The progression of their twin arcs throughout the series is they sort of meet in the middle, right? Wei-Chen teaches Jin how to be more confident. What is a healthy amount of confidence? I almost want to say what is a healthy amount of pride to take in yourself, a healthy amount to believe in yourself? Jin teaches Wei-Chen that sometimes you have to slow down, sometimes you have to think, sometimes you have to work things through, and sometimes you have to think about other people, not just the thing you want. So for the two of them, it’s a story about their friendship and it’s a story about the two of them teaching each other how to be better people, and growing up together.
‘American Born Chinese’ premieres on Disney+ beginning May 24th.