Where are you from?

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. I lived here from elementary school through freshman year of high school. My family and I moved to Staten Island for the remainder of my high school years, and then I went to college at Baruch afterward.

What is something you like to do when you’re not working?

I like to play with my dog Wookie (Follow him on the ‘Gram, @Wookiethepalm!).

What are you most proud of in life?

I’m proud of my family’s happiness. My brother and I can say, “Hey mom, you want to go on a vacation? Let’s do it!” What I remember as a kid is our parents were always working, they never really took a break. They would try their best to take us out on vacations, but most of the time they were busy working. I’m now able to provide for our family in a way that everyone doesn’t need to stress.

Before you became an actor, what career were you interested in pursuing?

I was going to be a lawyer because I wanted to fight the bad guys and make a positive impact in the world. That changed when my professor in college, who ran and was elected as a State Assemblyman, explained to me that not everything you want to do, you can do.  He said, “I promised a lot of things and had all the intentions to do them, but you just can’t. There are way too many gatekeepers.” He told me that if I wanted to change the world, I should try doing something else to change the world.

I realized later on that there is so much power in the media. Angelina Jolie, for instance, because of her being a celebrity, she has such a huge outreach and people will listen her. All of her work in Southeast Asia and helping kids with the U.N. people know about because she’s Angelina Jolie. One day when I have that outreach, I want to go out and help people, too. I want to use my platform to spread a positive message. And somewhere along the way I would love to make films and write stories that inspire people.

Are there any films that you watched recently with stories that spark inspiration or change?

Yes, I recently watched The Farewell. People are starting to see a side of us that isn’t really talked about or showcased in American media. The Chinese and Asians don’t want to tell their grandparents that they’re dying because they want to do what’s best for their family. Asians know that, but not everyone in America knows that. Generally, people tend to lean toward, “oh you’re such a smart Asian, a model minority!” But in reality, we actually go through hardships and real things too. It’s not like we’re studying all day and doing nothing. So, I think it’s great to have films like The Farewell to show us that we’re all not so different after all. We’re all similar, and it doesn’t matter what color you are, we face the same variations of struggles in life.

We’re all Blank-American, we all have this kind of mixed culture within ourselves. The more we see it in the media, the less discrimination we’re going to have. Then people will be like, “oh yeah, we’re all not so different. We’re the same. We have the same goals or problems in life.”