Can You Do an Asian Accent?

A couple months ago, I was really pumped up for an audition in a great office. When I went in the room, I was asked, "Are you okay with doing an Asian accent?"

Naively, I wasn't expecting to hear that, even with the role being for an Asian nail salon worker, but I automatically replied with, "I can try." Not exactly confidence inducing, I know, but I wasn't expecting to break one out as it wasn't specified in the breakdown. Silly me. I have reservations about doing Asian accents professionally since I haven't properly trained my tongue for them, but I gave my best attempt at a non-stereotypical Mandarin Chinese accent. I'm not sure I could consciously Ken Jeong it, though the project genre probably was a Ken Jeong kind of comedy. (By the way, I've always felt like Dr. Ken Jeong has me beat forever, being a working actor doctor and all.) In my personal life with friends, I have no problem breaking out an awful stereotypical Cantonese accent. You know what I mean-ah?

Needless to say, I didn't book the role and I'm sure there were other actresses sitting in the waiting room with legit Asian accents. Of course, American television networks don't really seem to care how legit the Asian accent or even how good the actual foreign language is (Have you heard the Chinese spoken on TV??), so I don't really know what I'm ranting about with the legitimacy. I suppose that is good news for us Asian American actors who don't speak an Asian language or the accented English language as well as real Asians do. For those who don't know what I mean, I define real Asians as the Asians who were born and raised in Asia.

In any case, at one point I was really against the idea of doing Asian accents because I thought it would be linked to something racist. And yes, if the accent/character is so stereotypical and awful, it wouldn't be something I would want to do unless it was my own project and not some non-Asian person's comedic vision of what an Asian should be like. Long Duk Dong, huh? However, doing an accurate, non-demeaning portrayal of an Asian person with her accent would actually be a mark of good acting. Versatile actors would be able to speak with an authentic accent.

If you'd like to see me make my best attempt at a non-stereotypical Chinese accent, you may view this pilot of a series intended for China VTV. Did you know that doing the Mandarin Chinese accent can be really hard for a Chinese American like myself? The Cantonese accent is the one most widely imitated - Russell Peters got that one down. Legitimately doing any accent, however, needs real work. I know I'll have to work harder at being a real Chinese, but the fact is that I'm not a real Chinese and I never will be. However, here is my real Chinese imitation which I am by no means claiming to be good or authentic. But I tried, that I did.

Lending a Grieving Voice to a Story

Last month, I auditioned for ADR roles for the film About, based on fifteen true life stories, produced by Rareform Pictures, and starring Academy Award winner Mo'Nique.

The wonderful director, V.W. Scheich, was in the house and offered to help me take some pictures for my social media outlets.

Ready for some ADR!

I just got word this week that one of my improvised lines may make the final cut! I'm glad because I did pour some heart into my wild lines. I was leaving a message for a friend, expressing my grief over the death of her brother in the film. I blended bits of real messages that I received when my dad died years ago. I know it's always awkward expressing your sympathy - especially when there really aren't any good words to say. But I always hated "Stay strong" - so that definitely won't be coming from me!

Without wanting to divulge too much, I thought the scene was very poignantly written and I'm looking forward to being a voice in it. I love films which focus on real human experiences. Losing a family member and missing the last call that he made to you is absolutely heartbreaking. I held onto my dad's last voicemail as long as I could - making another recording of it when I couldn't save it any longer on my phone.

Needless to say, I'm glad I could lend my voice to About. Films that tell true stories are powerful - and great filmmaking is all about storytelling. 

Sweet Carmel-by-the-Sea and a Missed Flight

I had a wonderful post-Thanksgiving trip with my mom, followed with a semi-disastrous trip back to the City of Angels. However, everything ended well!

After spending Thanksgiving with my family (and making some excellent mashed potatoes, avocado salad and cranberry sauce all from scratch to contribute), I traveled for the first time ever to Carmel-by-the-Sea with my mom.

It was a really sweet town - and I crossed one thing off of my bucket list - visiting The Cheese Shop. I had read about it over a year ago on SFGate and felt compelled to make it to this fabled Cheese Shop. I ended up sampling probably two dozen or so different types of cheese from all over the world. I felt a bit ashamed for my shameless sampling (we did buy three types of cheese in the end), but it was excellent and so worth it. I was in cheese heaven!!

The Cheese Shop, Carmel-by-the-sea. I sampled over a dozen cheeses, felt a bit sheepish!!! Was on my to-do-list since last year!! #cheese #carmel #cheesegasm

A photo posted by Felicia Hom (@feliciahom) on Dec 12, 2014 at 5:41pm PST

We tasted wine, dined out, and roughed the rain as we visited Point Lobos State Reserve and the beach. Our bed and breakfast was really cute too - with a gas fireplace. I loved it! Time with my mom is always precious.

The morning after we left Carmel, I was scheduled to fly out of San Francisco. I also ended up having an audition scheduled an hour and a half after my scheduled landing time. But there had been a heavy storm in the Bay Area that night, so the streetlights were out on 19th avenue and also on Junipero Serra. So...a normally twenty minute drive became an hour and twenty. And unfortunately, I arrived just a few minutes late so I missed my very first flight in my life!! Talk about a milestone.

As luck would have it, the following two flights were cancelled and the next flight I was on standby for was delayed well into the afternoon at 3:40 pm! Of course, I wouldn't be able to make my 11:30 am audition (I had informed my manager of the situation). Amazingly I wasn't too upset or frustrated, just very tired. I was amused by conversations I overheard at the airport and also appreciated the "Oh shiet" reactions of fellow travelers when I told them my missed flight and cancellations ordeal. I heard one older man who had missed his flight exclaiming, "Well of course insurance has to cover this! The highway was flooded!"

But as the storm abated, my flight was bumped back up an hour and I ended up still being able to audition after I rushed through the wetness to Santa Monica and up the stairs panting just before 5 pm! I'm an actor who hates missing auditions for any reason! I am very glad I hustled as I enjoy every opportunity I can get and grateful the office still let me audition. After missing my very first flight and staying at the airport for a good 5+ hours, the day actually turned out not so bad!

In fact, during the rainy weekend I saw not one, but two rainbows. When the rain brings out rainbows, what else can you do but smile?

A photo posted by Felicia Hom (@feliciahom) on Dec 12, 2014 at 12:32pm PST

Battle with Trojans and Return of Shy Girl

"A Trojan is good only once, but a Bruin lasts forever." Such is the popularized slogan which the UCLA faithful will rattle off when it comes time to face USC.

But unrelated to all of that college rivalry, I'm waging a battle with the trojans nesting on my hard drive. There are times like this when I do regret buying that PC instead of the Mac I considered getting.

I do enjoy learning how to solve problems on my own, so I'm going to have this thing cleared up hopefully within a day. Yes, you may laugh at me for my apparent sluggishness, but I honestly haven't been sitting around my computer for extended periods of time lately - with today being the possible exception.

Last week, I had a record number of auditions in any given week of my life (four, with three being paying gigs). Unfortunately, I failed to yield any tangible results from them. In fact, the last audition I had on Friday involved me being called in to read for a second role. Suddenly, my nerves popped up and I could feel myself stumbling. Alas! I walked out of there with a gigantic FAIL grit on my teeth. But rest assured, I had another audition on Monday (not included in the four for last week) and I ended up booking it by means of attrition. I wasn't particularly good, but there were many roles open. So, at least I can say I finally booked something after an audition (I mean I have done so in the past, but...yeah)!

Taken with a Playsport Zx3 in studio!

All of this return of nerves leads me to realize that Shy Felicia is still nesting within me. I had thought I had broken out of my shell, but the truth is she is still nesting around - just like all of the happy little malicious trojans on my computer. One can't truly eradicate them all. She comes and goes - but I realize that's all right - as long as she can be quarantined! :)

Onward to clean computer!

The Case of the Bad Audition or Interview

Dear Recruiters and Professionals who may have met me, I may not always have been up to speed in my interviews. If this is the case, you probably will not see this message as you will no longer be investigating my background. However, I'm happy to say that at least I've had some good interviews. Additionally, for the kind current recruiter who is doing an internet background check on me, hello!

The case of the bad interview - it happens. Sometimes it can be absolutely abysmal or dreadful and leaving one wishing he or she had a different brain to respond to the question.

In regards to auditions, I believe I've had my fair share of bad auditions as well - you can tell as I'm still a nameless face in the acting world (that and I'm relatively new and that could very well be the case for people who have been acting for years). One such audition called for me to yell at a little girl in Chinese. Her response was to laugh and smile at me the whole time. In turn, I felt rather ridiculous and later trudged back home in my suit...in the snow.

Today I contemplated not even attending an audition because I felt my improv skills simply weren't good enough and that it'd be a waste of time. But, I attended anyway and was pleasantly surprised with myself. As time wore on, I wasn't as bad as I thought I would be. I mean - I did perform in Seoul with my improv troupe, but I was never by any means a star and, more likely than not, wasn't always satisfied with my performances. Of course, with this audition, I did not give the most amazing performance out of the twenty or so present and didn't make it into the selected crew, but I'm glad that I surpassed my own expectations. Small steps, right? Perhaps there is hope yet for this young woman. I know I'm a funny girl in general - I just have to translate that to the stage.

So, my dear recruiter, interviewer (I actually saw one in passing at the Korean barbecue place I was at earlier today!), friend, or random internet reader, I will take pride in the fact there is still a next time. I'm still highly intelligent, hard-working and funny regardless of how tongue-twisted I may have been. So I will continue to improve!