There’s nothing quite like the adolescent years. Both children and parents alike are met with a storm of raging hormones, chaotic mood swings and a tumultuous family dynamic. And this is the case for “American Born Chinese,” where even heroes of beloved figures of Chinese folk legend are faced with rebelling teenagers.
Based on Gene Luen Yang’s 2006 graphic novel, the series tells the story of Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a normal Chinese American teenager who is suddenly thrust into the world of gods, magic and myths when a seemingly normal transfer student Wei-Chen (Jimmy Liu) enters his life.
Daniel Wu plays Sun Wukong (yes, that Sun Wukong) from the beloved “Journey to the West” story. But instead of the boisterous warrior most know the Monkey King as, he’s the cautious father of Wei-Chen who has come to bring his wayward son back to the Heavens. Wu connected with Character Media to chat about how he prepared for the role, how the series affected his real-life parenting style and what he hopes the next generation learns from the show.
Character Media: For your role as Sun Wukong, what was your first experience when you saw yourself in the full Monkey King costume?
Daniel Wu: It was pretty amazing. First of all, shout out to the special effects makeup team because even close up in the mirror, it looked really good. I’ve had various experiences with prosthetic makeup over the years and it’s really evolved to a point now where it looks so realistic. I was just staring at myself in the mirror making all kinds of different facial expressions because it’s really transformative. Almost every actor talks about wishing they could disappear into a role and this is one way you can certainly do that.
CM: How did you get inspiration from this role? Did you watch any monkey videos?
DW: I was looking at inspirations for the hair because we went through different versions of how the hair should be. We were looking at different types…
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