‘Chang Can Dunk’ star Bloom Li reflects on his feature-length film debut [interview]

“Chang Can Dunk” star Bloom Li talked with NextShark about how his feature-length movie debut has personally resonated with him as an Asian American actor. 

The feature film from Disney Plus centers on a marginalized Asian American teen and basketball fan who makes a bet with his school’s all-star basketball player in order to impress his crush and gain the respect of his peers. The bet? Bernard Chang, a 5 ’8”-tall 16-year-old, will make a slam dunk. 

When the character embarks on a rigorous 12-week training program to learn how to dunk, he soon reexamines himself and learns more about his friends and family in the process. The coming-of-age film tackles family dynamics, friendships, self-discovery and the definition of success. 

Li, who was born to Chinese immigrants, mainly grew up in communities of color, such as in Chinatown and Brooklyn in New York. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles before going on to star in numerous short films that have gone on to be screened at prominent film festivals.

Although it was easy for Li to make friends in school, he noted that Chang’s struggle with communicating with his mother was very familiar to him. Growing up, Li was challenged by his parents when he decided that he wanted to pursue a career in acting. 

My biggest and emotional strife to pursue this career has been dealing and working with my parents. They’ve worked in a garment factory my entire life. So growing up, they really prioritized education for me because they saw that it was the way of upward mobility because being a garment maker, there’s a ceiling of how much you can actually do. So when I told them I was going to be an actor, it was incomprehensible to them. The first reaction that they had was fear, anger and rejection.

While missing his parents’ support, Li learned how to become more resilient. 

I’ve learned a lot because I know where their care comes from. It comes from a place of love. Them coming…