Agnes Mayasari is a Vietnamese-Chinese Hollywood film actress and model, living in Georgia. She was a stunt actress in Godzilla. Agnes speaks Vietnamese and competed in Vietnamese pageants, winning “most photogenic.”
Growing up in Georgia, I was literally the only Asian girl in my school. And I never in a million years thought I was going to be part of the entertainment world.
—Agnes Mayasari
Watch it here.
Key moments during the interview:
Crystal Bui:
How difficult has it been as an actress? We barely had anyone until recently, Asian American and winning the Oscars, win Emmys. How has it been for you being in the field?
Agnes Mayasari:
There were some rough times when I was kind of navigating because no one really taught me. I didn’t have a friend and be like, “Hey, you know, girlfriend, can you teach me how to be a model or an actress?”
So that was very, very difficult because I had to kind of look on YouTube or online or watch movies and see that, wow, there’s very few of us.
And so it was amazing that the entertainment world has come to Georgia and I was basically sucked into it. I really didn’t have anybody to help me. It’s nice that now people are starting to do acting starting to get into the film industry. It’s nice to be able to see more Asian people coming together and helping each other out.
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Crystal:
It must have been hard, I imagine, in the beginning, because it’s not like you probably had a family that had nepotism, legacy in the industry. Same with me. I didn’t come from a family of TV news reporters. So what kind of got you inspired to do it? And then did you feel like there was a moment that was your big break or kind of your AHA moment with the industry?
Agnes:
I am a person who loves challenges. I love to be different.
I think that’s kind of something that I grew up with as a kid, I never wanted to be like anyone else because I wasn’t like anybody else.
I was the only Asian female in my school. I grew up in Clarkston. So it was like majority African American. And then I moved to North of Lawrenceville, and it was like the majority of Caucasian and Asian. I never felt like I was accepted into a certain crowd.
I was always my own person, I was always independent.
So I felt like this is fun; this is really challenging.
At first, it was just more of like, “Let’s see what I can do. Let’s see, you know how far this can go.”
And as you said, it’s very challenging, because your parents are very traditional. My parents are Vietnamese. They’re like, “I don’t really know what you’re doing, but if you’re having fun, then that’s great.”
My AHA moment was just, I guess falling down and making mistakes.
When I first started eight years ago, I went into the room, I had no idea what I was doing.
I was like, “They think I’m cute, but what am I supposed to do?”
And so I kept just getting better.
It can be scary because sometimes it does take a long time. Every single audition and every single project is different. So I never, ever feel like I 100% know what I’m doing. But I just learned from my experience that you just have to just do your best and that’s all you can do. And once I learned that I was like, “You know what, it’s not that scary, right? Everybody is feeling the same emotions as me. So I might as well do something that I enjoy and have fun doing.”
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Crystal:
I imagine it comes with a lot of auditions, and a lot of rejections. How did you build that resilience or maybe not take something too personally when some auditions didn’t work out?
Agnes:
My first big audition my first year of acting, I actually got a role to audition for X-Men. I was devastated.
I think I didn’t get over it for like, the first year. And I was just beating myself up for it. Because I was like, “Oh, man, you should have gotten this. This role would have been so big and so awesome.”
But in the end, I feel like if it’s not right, for me, it’s not right.
For me, there’s going to be something out there that’s going to fit me, and it’s surprising. I’ve auditioned for numerous roles for something for a casting director or for a company. And I’m like, “Oh, I didn’t get this.” But then soon after, they start noticing me. And then they asked me for something even better.
And I’m like, “Wow, so I shouldn’t be so sad.”
In Hollywood, there’s always going to be something new coming out. If I miss one opportunity, just like in life you miss one opportunity, there’s going to be another. Everyone has life challenges. Everyone has things that they have to do. So once I feel like things are going well, it will it will come.
—Agnes Mayasari
Crystal:
So I think I saw some photos of you doing was it the Powerpuff Girls? Can you talk me about some different auditions that maybe must have been groundbreaking? When I watched stuff like The Powerpuff Girls, obviously, it wasn’t an Asian lead. So tell me a little bit about that role, and then other roles that you feel like you broke the glass ceiling for as an Asian woman being able to be cast in that role?
Agnes:
I was super excited. A casting director recommended me. I was actually able to cover for someone who got COVID. And they called me last minute.
I didn’t even know about this project until like, probably nine hours before. And then I had to learn 10 pages.
Luckily, I did a big project before so I was just like, “Okay, 10 pages and isn’t anything compared to like a big movie with like 90 pages.”
So when they contacted me and said, “We’re looking for an Asian Powerpuff Girl; we want Buttercup to be Asian.”
I think it’d be great. And they’re going to show it to CW and all these big production companies.
So I was like, “This is my niche. I have a background in martial arts. I’ve done Godzilla. I’ve done stunts.”
At that moment in my career, I really wanted to do an amazing lead role that had to do with action. So I was excited.
Because it was a pilot, I felt like I had a voice. Of course, everyone grew up watching Cartoon Network and The Powerpuff Girls. I was just like, this is amazing. I can’t imagine being able to be a child superhero. My dream was to be an action star. That’s why I tried out for X-Men and did movies like Godzilla.
I felt like that was kind of a step up in my career.
And a little bit about other projects that I’ve done: I did a time-traveling movie called “Time Boys 2.” They also cast me as an Asian lead with a Caucasian and an African American, both amazing people.
It was amazing to be able to represent. I feel like now Hollywood is pushing the boundary for Asian Americans and want us to be seen. And I’m very happy and proud to be that person.
—Agnes Mayasari
Crystal:
When you were growing up, you mentioned a little bit earlier about being the only Asian woman Asian girl in school. Were you bullied? What was that experience? Like if you can tell me a little bit about it?
Agnes:
When I was growing up in elementary school, I used to be called many names and one of them was “c—-.”
Of course everyone you know, assumes that all Asians were whatever type of Asian that they thought. I also growing up had guys come up to me like, I guess the Asian fetish, and it felt dehumanizing.
Because I was like, what you see on the internet is not who I am. I’m American. I’m Asian, of course, but I grew up in Georgia since I was two years old.
So part of me and my culture is, very much similar to my classmates, more than they know.
And so for them to kind of separate me into a different category, it made me feel less confident in myself.
Growing up in elementary school, I was always shy, or I always felt like I couldn’t say anything because no one wanted to hear my voice. So it’s nice that now that I’m part of the entertainment world, people are listening to me.
Hopefully, I can make a difference for the people who felt the same way, or is currently feeling the same way, that they don’t have a voice because people were are separating them from the group. —Agnes Mayasari
Crystal:
What did it take for you to find that confidence and to begin feeling proud to be Asian after feeling like, there was so much discrimination growing up?
Agnes:
I just kind of was at the point where you can’t fight them. So you might as well just accept it, and make the best of it.
I kind of accepted that I was always going to be different.
People are always going to tell me, “Oh, you don’t deserve this, and that you don’t deserve your accomplishment because you’re already smart. Because you’re Asian.”
Everyone kind of made me feel like I never deserved anything that I’ve worked for. And I just shut that out. I just shut the noise.
I’m like, “You know what? If I keep trying to impress people, or convince people of how hard working I am or how deserving I am, it’s never going to end. I might as well just do me do what makes me happy. And in that way can inspire a little girl to do the same thing. And you know, in not like, feel like insecure about herself and that that’s a win for me.
—Agnes Mayasari
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