Twenty years after he was a young, struggling actor in Toronto, Thomas Lo is now the one giving young Asian actors their big breaks. He just had to go to Hong Kong to do it.
The Chinese Canadian has been the creative director of one of the island city's biggest TV broadcasting companies for only a few years, but is already making original English-language content to reach viewers around the world.
鈥淚t was a bit of a full-circle moment for me,鈥� Lo told The Associated Press. 鈥淵ou see more Asians but you鈥檙e still seeing the same Asians on screen, right? We鈥檙e looking for more opportunities on a grander scale and it鈥檚 not just in front of the camera. It鈥檚 behind the camera as well.鈥�
It's vastly different to work as an Asian actor in North American hubs 鈥� Toronto, Los Angeles, New York 鈥� than in those in Asia 鈥� such as Hong Kong or Taipei. Actors in Asia don't as often have to deal with auditioning for stereotypical characters, being the only Asian on a set or getting tokenized. Historically, many Asian American and Canadian actors have even relocated from the West to countries in Asia to find better opportunities in entertainment.
A few film and TV producers on both sides of the Pacific, however, are looking to shake up those dynamics by crisscrossing their show biz ecosystems. The hope is a win-win with fledgling talent in the Asian diaspora gaining global exposure 鈥� and Asia-based productions getting wider audiences. For example the Hulu series 鈥淪hogun,鈥� which , demonstrated a successful collaboration between Japanese and Western cast and crew 鈥� which included Japanese Americans.
At the helm of Hong Kong's Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), Lo led its first collaboration with an American company 鈥� on an original TV drama with scenes in both English and Cantonese. Two crews on two different continents filmed 鈥淐ross My Mind,鈥� a series about a Chinese American aspiring music producer in Los Angeles (Nathan Ing) who becomes telepathically connected to a Hong Kong advertising executive (Cantopop singer Jocelyn Chan).
Chan, 30, was born in Hong Kong but spent ages 3-11 in Vancouver, British Columbia. She returned to Hong Kong for her music career partly because of concern about succeeding in North America.
鈥淎 lot of people probably had similar sentiments to me where it's more possible if we came back to this home,鈥� Chan said of finding success in the entertainment industry in Asia. 鈥淲e all feel like we have two homes.鈥�
Her role in 鈥淐ross My Mind鈥� is powerful, assertive and far from of Asian women as meek.
The partnership between Los Angeles-based Wong Fu Productions and TVB started with one side sliding into the other's DMs on Instagram.
鈥淚t鈥檇 be cool if we can kind of tap into their audience of what they built because that鈥檚 who we鈥檙e trying to speak with,鈥� Lo said, about reaching Asian American viewers.
Wong Fu, which started in 2003, is now a thriving YouTube channel of Asian American-centered skits and other content. Simu Liu was among its then-emerging actors.
鈥淣ow we have actors that want to work with us for free and are just like 鈥楶ut us in whatever,鈥� knowing that it鈥檚 a way to connect with Asian Americans first,鈥� said Wesley Chan, Wong Fu co-founder and creative director. 鈥淭hen that can also be a way to propel them.鈥�
Wesley Chan, no relation to Jocelyn, was intrigued by the challenge of shepherding a story that incorporates . He and his team wrote six episodes of 鈥淐ross My Mind鈥� in six months to film in 2022.
鈥淲e knew that they wanted to make a story that could kind of show the cultural differences between an American and someone in Hong Kong,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought that was really cool because to even know that there is a difference 鈥� or to share that there鈥檚 a difference 鈥� I think is a nuance that is not seen very often.鈥�
Meshing work styles was no small feat. Wesley Chan noticed crews in Los Angeles and Hong Kong 鈥� where there are no unions 鈥� worked differently. It in some ways paralleled the bicultural nature of the show itself.
The show premiered in April 2023 on myTV Super, TVB's streaming platform that has 9 million subscribers. It debuted the following December in the U.S. on two new streaming platforms that have since merged into GoldenTV, which focuses on English language content for Asian American viewers.
鈥淭here's two different audiences on both sides of the world, but it鈥檚 still content that I think has eyeballs,鈥� said Takashi Cheng, GoldenTV's founder. 鈥淭he fact that they need English-language programming tells you that American or English content is not dead. It鈥檚 in fact very much attractive in foreign countries.鈥�
GoldenTV has gained thousands of subscribers since launching nearly two years ago, Cheng said. The platform plans to grow with unscripted shows. In September, it premiered entertainment news show "The Takeaway,鈥� hosted by influencer Michelle Park. Actor Daniel Wu ("American Born Chinese") is developing a docuseries on his love of racing.
Wu, 50, rose to fame after moving to Hong Kong. Someone like Wu 鈥� who was born in the San Francisco Bay Area, became a Hong Kong cinema star and then pivoted to Hollywood 鈥� is a 鈥渞arity," Lo said. Before digital audiences, it was difficult to alternate between Asian and American screens, he continued.
鈥淚 think we were a breath of fresh air for those actors and talents and artists, when we said that we鈥檙e going to be producing English content,鈥� Lo said. 鈥淭here is an audience that鈥檚 untapped here.鈥�
Wesley Chan said Wong Fu is not ruling out being 鈥渁 conduit鈥� for more crossover collaborations.
Jocelyn Chan is still maintaining her singing career with hit singles and a solo Hong Kong concert this year. But she says the success of 鈥淐ross My Mind,鈥� has given her the courage to think about acting beyond Hong Kong. She鈥檚 now looking for an agent in Canada.
鈥淚t kind of pushed me to not wait,鈥� said Chan, who is also a sound healer and practitioner. She also thinks there's more space for talent who grew up bicultural. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like an even more niche representation within the wider Asian representation.鈥�
Terry Tang, The Associated Press
