Kathy Uyen
February 14, 2007
from vietnameseartists.net
| Meet the spunky actress…Kathy Uyen. |  |
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| Written by Nathan Pham | |
| Tuesday, 30 January 2007 | |
 On top of being pretty, passionate, and determined, Kathy Uyen is also very lucky to receive full support from her parents, right from the start of her acting career. Knowing that not too many people have what she has, she cherishes and seizes every opportunity that comes her way. That’s why within a couple of years, she has already appeared in numerous commercials and six independent movies. And the momentum in finding ‘that big break’ is swaying in her favor due to her very spunky, optimistic, and ‘go get it tiger’ attitude.Despite her busy schedule for 2007, Kathy has genuinely taken the time to chat with VAN. Here are the highlights. Enjoy!
(Photo by: Shane Sato : www.shanesato.com) This is how it all began… VAN: Were you born in the states? If not, when did you and your family come to the states? Kathy: I was born in San Jose, California. My parents came over in 1979. VAN: Any siblings? If so, are they in the same field? Kathy: Yes, one younger sister. She is studying for her masters in Speech Therapy. I’m very proud of her. “One actress is plenty enough,” said my very relieved dad. VAN: (smiling) I agree. I learned that you fell in love with acting after a play in 5th grade, what was the play? And then when and how did you know, “ok.. that’s it! Acting is what I will be doing for the rest of my life..”? Kathy: It was a play about different animals in the forest. I played a mouse, and wore a black leotard with black tights, and a little tail. That was my first time performing. Then in middle school, I joined volleyball and basketball and after being a benchwarmer for quite some time, I realized I wasn’t going to be an athlete, so I returned back to acting, and started doing lots of plays and musicals in high school. In college I started auditioning a lot more and doing tons and tons of student films, and indie films. When I graduated college, I finally swallowed my desire to be financially stable, gave into my passion and accepted the odds of becoming a working actress. VAN: (Hehehe…) I know how that feel! I used to be a benchwarmer for 10th grade basketball. As a Vietnamese-American, I’m pretty sure your parents didn’t expect you to be in the film industry. How difficult was it to explain and convince your parents that you are doing the right thing for your future? Kathy: They were pretty supportive from the very beginning. In high school, my dad would take days off from work to drive me to auditions in San Francisco. After I didn’t book any work, my dad tried to convince me to explore other types of career. I think they though it was a phase I was going through. After doing Spirits, a Vietnamese film by Victor Vu, they started realizing I was serious. And they’ve been very supportive and understanding about it ever since. VAN: You are very lucky then. Not that many Vietnamese parents are supportive in that way. Snapshots of Kathy’s works… (Photo by: Katie Luong : www.capturedbykatie.com)
VAN: Tell us a little bit on how you got your feet wet in this cut-throat industry. Kathy: Started with lots of plays, student films, extra work, local commercials, acting classes, etc…pretty much anything I could get my hands on. VAN: I learned that you did numerous commercials before doing films. How did you land your first commercial? Was the casting process super competitive? How was the experience? Kathy: First you need to get commercial agent that will represent you and send you out on auditions. After that you pretty much show up to auditions and do whatever they ask. Commercials usually vary in the level of acting required. Some parts require no acting, but just standing there, in which case it’s all about your looks. Some require you to just scream, or dance or sing, etc. etc… And some require a lot of dialogue. Commercials usually require no prior preparation as opposed to theatrical auditions for film and TV that depend heavily on your acting ability to deliver the prepared pages of the script. Commercial auditions are no-brainers. You just show up, have a good energy, be pleasant to work with, and have fun! VAN: How about your first leading role? What was the movie? How was the experience? Kathy: My first leading role was in playing Hoa in Victor Vu’s Spirits (www.SpiritsTheMovie.com / www.EnvisionMediaGroup.org). It was a great first time experience, the cast and crew became a big Vietnamese family away from home. VAN: So far, you have done about 6 movies, ranging from drama to comedy. Which category/style do you enjoy doing the most? Kathy: I started doing drama first, and lately have been focusing more on comedy. I want to do Asian American/Vietnamese American roles that require more spunk, energy, attitude, charm, and voice, which mostly falls in the comedy category. I love drama, don’t get me wrong, but for now that’s my current focus. (Photo from Spirits, www.SpiritsTheMovie.com)
VAN: Which one of the 6 movies is the most unforgettable one? And why? Kathy: Oh dear. It’s one of those. You have 6 kids. Who do you love the most….kind of question. The answer is…I can’t just pick one!!! Honestly, each film has been a valuable experience, and after each film, I take on a bit of the character with me. Acting has given me a way to open up my perspective to try on new roles and characters and take on stronger traits for myself in the end. VAN: “On the Rocks” is an independent movie about a generation gap of a Korean family. I find it interesting to see you play the leading role as the Korean daughter that rebels against her mother. How did you end up with this role? Did you have do research on Korean culture prior to the shoot? Kathy: Well, James Kyson Lee (bless his kind hearted soul) he’s the one that clued me in on the casting for the film, and I read and got in. There wasn’t too much research that had to be done. Some of the themes are pretty apparent across the board. The role is that of a Korean American. Although she is Korean, she speaks English, and has assimilated to most American culture and traditions. She want to follow her dreams to become a artist, and design jewelry, however her mother is insistent on her following the traditional ladder of success, i.e doctor and lawyer. There’s the common conflict many Asian American families have, the generation gap of two ideals of happiness and success. VAN: Do you feel the Korean generation gap is similar to what we have in our Vietnamese culture? Kathy: Yes and no. In the this case of the story, yes it is similar to a Vietnamese generation gap between the generation that is born here and the older generation that has sacrificed a lot to be here. There is a huge misunderstanding, and when dealt with in a passive aggressive way, it can lead to much resentment and result in the daughter being extremely rebellious, while the mother is more sadden and indifferent to her daughters’ wishes. (Photo from: www.asianstoriesmovie.com)
VAN: Almost everyone in the entertainment industry started their career out with a lot of big dreams and hopes, how about you? What were those dreams and hopes of yours? Kathy: Yes. I had a lot of big dreams and hopes. When I was 18, I wrote them down on a piece of paper one day when this horrible wannabe producer tried to pretend to have faith in me. Yes. I am not lying. There are mean disgusting people out there. But he did make me write down all my dreams and goals. I remember laughing my ass off because of how far fetched and ridiculous these goals were. Years went by, and I forgot about that piece of paper. But I guess it stayed in the back of my subconscious, because 6 years later, I found it, and low and behold I had accomplished a lot of those goals. I had wanted to start my own TV show. I had wanted to play leading roles in feature films. I wanted to do commercials. I wanted to do plays and get involved in the Asian American film festival scene. I wanted to win an Oscars. Wait…I guess I haven’t done that yet. Oh well, something to look forward to in the next ten years? But yes. I do feel you can really do anything if you set your mind and heart to it, and cut all the negative energy in your life. The road ahead for Kathy… VAN: Now that you have gone through a set of movies and got a taste of the industry, are those dreams and hopes still the same? Has your perspective changed? Kathy: My focus now is to be the greatest actress I can be. Art imitates life they say. So I have to be the greatest most interesting person I can possibly be. My goals are to be studying, learning, and absorbing any information that remotely interesting or pleasant. So that I can incorporate those into my work. Being nice to people. Being mean to people. Yes, I was always told I was toooo nice. And sometimes, too nice is too boring. A girl’s gotta have a little spice and sizzle right? VAN: How do feel about the road ahead? Any word of advice for those newcomers to the industry? Kathy: I feel positive and I feel more focused than ever. Advice. Ummm… Write your goals down. Learn as much as you can about acting. Get as much experience as you can. Have fun. Stay away from negative people. Dream big, but dream real. It’s not going to be an overnight success. Gotta work hard, gotta hustle!!!!! (Photo from www.skidmarksthemovie.com)
VAN: From your schedule, you have 3 movies will be released in 2007, Skid Marks, King of Hollywood, and Finishing the Game. That means your shooting schedule must have been quite busy in 2006. So what’s cooking for 2007? ;o) Kathy: What’s cooking for 2007? Well, it’s January 16th. The past few 16 days, I haven’t shot any movies yet. But have been aggressively auditioning. I’m hoping to reel one in soon!!! Let’s cross our fingers! VAN: Before I let you go, like every other artist on VAN, you have to answer the 2 questions. The first one is: What is your take on the meaning of life? Kathy: Meaning of life is to be happy. According to Da lai Lama, it’s all your mind and your positive outlook on life. So therefore, the meaning is life is within u. whohooo!!! VAN: The last one is: Pho or Hu Tieu? Kathy: Oh. I love pho. Pho sure. Pho tai is good, so is Pho ga. I like the broth and the basil leaves. I want some now. VAN: Hehehe.. If you want some “really” good Pho, you just have to go back to Vietnam. So good and cheap there. The Pho here is good too, but it’s a little westernized kind of pho. ;o) Thank you Kathy for taking the time to share your insights with us. We wish you the best of luck. Hope to see you in the big screen soon. I get pretty hyped up whenever I meet a Vietnamese-American artist that is so determined and focused. They just assure me that we’re one step closer to seeing a Vietnamese artist that becomes an international superstar. That’s all for now! Cheers. P.S. More details on Kathy Uyen can be found at 1. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1835940/ |
