Speaker 1: And I had to leave. And I remember I'd gone
Speaker 1: out the night before and I kept pressing snooze, and
Speaker 1: I remember thinking, you know what, Leo, if you can't
Speaker 1: get up, if you can't get your ass up and
Speaker 1: go to school for the reason why you left everything
Speaker 1: in Australia, because you're too busy going out and partying
Speaker 1: or doing you know, trying to experience this other side
Speaker 1: of New York and not the real reason why you've
Speaker 1: come here. Then you just accept it. For the next month,
Speaker 1: you go, you party your balls off, you do it,
Speaker 1: and then you get on a plane and you go
Speaker 1: back to Australia. Or you make the decision and you
Speaker 1: make the choice now that you show up for yourself,
Speaker 1: you show up for what you came here to do.
Speaker 1: You give it your all, and then you see what happens.
Speaker 1: And that really was the moment that really changed my life.
Speaker 1: Hey guys, I'm Leonardo nam I currently have a show
Speaker 1: called Maggie on Hulu. But you may know me from
Speaker 1: things like Westwold or Assisted of the Trampling Pants all
Speaker 1: my first movie The Perfect Score. Hello everybody, and welcome
Speaker 1: to a brand spanking new episode of Off the Beat.
Speaker 1: And would you look at that. It's me your host,
Speaker 1: Brian Baumgartner. Today, as you just heard, we are going
Speaker 1: to be speaking to the truly amazing Leonardo nam Now
Speaker 1: you may know Leo as Westworld employee Felix Lutz or
Speaker 1: currently as Dave on Hulu's new hit comedy Maggie. Now.
Speaker 1: So interesting about Leo. He was so sure that he
Speaker 1: wanted to be an actor that he traveled across the
Speaker 1: world literally to sleep on a bench in Central Park.
Speaker 1: That's where New York concrete jungle, where dreams are made of.
Speaker 1: That is where he got his start. And now he's
Speaker 1: been on so many incredible TV shows and movies. After
Speaker 1: starting performing Shakespeare in Shakespeare in the Park where he
Speaker 1: slept originally, He's gone on to star in The Perfect Score,
Speaker 1: The Fast and the Furious, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,
Speaker 1: even where he was cast originally by the offices Ken Kappas.
Speaker 1: And I'm told that some of you may be excited
Speaker 1: to know that he was once featured in Steve Aoki's
Speaker 1: music video with BTS. So there you go. I thought
Speaker 1: it was pretty amazing. You should go and check it out. Uh.
Speaker 1: With all of that said, let's get to it shall
Speaker 1: we my new best friend Leo nam Bubba Squeak. I
Speaker 1: love it. Bubble and Squeak, Bubble and squeaker cookie every
Speaker 1: month left over from the Nabby. What's up Leo? Hey, Brian,
Speaker 1: how are you? I'm good? How are you? I'm great, man,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm excited to be on your show. Hey, thanks
Speaker 1: for having me. Oh, thanks so much, thank you. You
Speaker 1: know your your accent right now? Is is? Really? I
Speaker 1: wasn't sure what accent I was gonna get. You got
Speaker 1: the accent right now. I mean, you're you're from all
Speaker 1: four corners of the globe. I am a little bit.
Speaker 1: You were born in Buenos Ares to Korean parents. You
Speaker 1: grew up in Sydney, that's the accident I'm hearing, and
Speaker 1: then to New York. This is uh yeah, you're you're
Speaker 1: Mr International for sure. Well, it does feel nice to
Speaker 1: to hear someone repeat to me like, oh, where I've
Speaker 1: lived and what I've done, you know most of that stuff.
Speaker 1: By the way, you know, it was like not by choice.
Speaker 1: It's not like I was like, you know what, I'm
Speaker 1: decided to be born in you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Nudge me over there. You know, well, I was an
Speaker 1: early adapter and passionate fan of Westworld when it started.
Speaker 1: Every Sunday night was sending tweets about how it was
Speaker 1: blowing my mind. And obviously you played a pivotal role
Speaker 1: in that. But I do want to go back to
Speaker 1: start with your childhood. I mean, obviously an incredibly diverse background.
Speaker 1: When did you move to Sydney from argent Tina. I'm
Speaker 1: we moved when I was seven. I believe we started
Speaker 1: to kind of make the trip when I was about six,
Speaker 1: and yeah, it got to Australia, um right at the
Speaker 1: end of first grade, I believe when I started school there.
Speaker 1: What do you consider yourself besides international man of Mystery
Speaker 1: are are you? Are you Australian? What do you consider yourself? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean I feel like I am Australian like culturally,
Speaker 1: you know, I relate to people most um by as
Speaker 1: being an Australian and I think a lot of that
Speaker 1: comes from, um, you know, my formative years being in Australia,
Speaker 1: and Australia has this sensibility about themselves where you're Australian first,
Speaker 1: you know more than anything else, and so you're Australian
Speaker 1: and you know whether good or bad. You know, people
Speaker 1: have different perspectives about that, um and and I certainly
Speaker 1: you know, do my off. But but I do love
Speaker 1: that quality about Australians, that you're Australian like first and foremost.
Speaker 1: You know, Australia also has like this tall poppy syndrome
Speaker 1: expect where you know everyone's the same and you're like
Speaker 1: and if that, if one starts to pop out, you
Speaker 1: can cut them off. But yeah, I'm Australian, Korean and
Speaker 1: American and those are kind of the the big key ones.
Speaker 1: Argentinian is you know when you look back at my life, yes,
Speaker 1: I definitely am Argentinians as well. But other than you know,
Speaker 1: other aspects of small aspects of food and um, some
Speaker 1: aspects of you know, culturally, how I how I relate
Speaker 1: to other people is Argentinian. But you know, ultimately, when
Speaker 1: someone first meets me, what I believe I present first
Speaker 1: is Australian and that's how I feel most comfortable when
Speaker 1: someone relates to me that way. How do you think
Speaker 1: that your background there, your history, helped shape you into
Speaker 1: who you are? Oh, great question, you know, I feel
Speaker 1: like the whole idea and concept of an immigrant is
Speaker 1: all I've known and so the idea that you're not
Speaker 1: of this country, but you are this country in that
Speaker 1: you're living here now you're contributing to this country. And
Speaker 1: so I think that that concept of you know, my
Speaker 1: parents being immigrants in Argentina and then being in a
Speaker 1: double immigrant then going to Australia, I think that really
Speaker 1: that that put a sense of hope and possibility in
Speaker 1: my life. You know, one thing that happened in Argentina
Speaker 1: was the Falkland Wars were happening, and it was kind
Speaker 1: of a moment where my family's realized that, you know,
Speaker 1: ship's going down in Argentin. So my aunt married and
Speaker 1: Aussie and you know, in process of getting married, um,
Speaker 1: my grandmother then it was in Australia and was saying, hey,
Speaker 1: this is definitely a place that is not you know,
Speaker 1: in the midst of war, and it was in the
Speaker 1: kind of in her understanding of Western culture. You know,
Speaker 1: there was an exodus you know from Korea at that time,
Speaker 1: it was very much a third world country and so
Speaker 1: looking to to move to the West. You know, their
Speaker 1: first stop was Argentina and then along the way, you know,
Speaker 1: the Fookland Wars happened. So then they moved to Australia.
Speaker 1: But I feel like because I came from a family
Speaker 1: that has moved around and have always been able to
Speaker 1: find their feet no matter what, I really connect to
Speaker 1: a sense of hope that I believe is possible. You know,
Speaker 1: like growing up, did I see anyone that looks like
Speaker 1: me on screen? And no, there wasn't. There was maybe one,
Speaker 1: you know, that was the idea of Bruce Lee, but
Speaker 1: that was even during my time. He was dead and
Speaker 1: so there was no one that was actively telling story
Speaker 1: that looked like me. But I do think that it
Speaker 1: was because I had family that did immigrate and immigrated
Speaker 1: twice and really carved their own life in their own
Speaker 1: way for their family. For me, for um, it really
Speaker 1: does instan has instilled in me a sense of hope.
Speaker 1: I really believe. That's so interesting to me because you know,
Speaker 1: in a lot of ways, I'm the opposite, right, I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm from the south of the United States, right, and
Speaker 1: most of my family have lived in that region, from
Speaker 1: the kind of the lower Midwest to the deep South.
Speaker 1: I mean, me moving to California was a big deal.
Speaker 1: I mean, that was that was that was a trip
Speaker 1: where that's like a totally different country from down there.
Speaker 1: But yeah, did they think of you as a betrayer?
Speaker 1: Did you like betray them? By betray maybe a strong
Speaker 1: too strong of a world that you know? I mean,
Speaker 1: I traveled around it, did the are quite a bit?
Speaker 1: And I guess there was a sense of comeback here.
Speaker 1: I mean, not not so much from my parents. My
Speaker 1: parents were very supportive, but I think there was always
Speaker 1: that sort of idea of why are you somewhere else? Now?
Speaker 1: I'll tell you now that I'm in southern California. My
Speaker 1: family likes to visit here, so they want so there's
Speaker 1: kind of a free pass for this little in this
Speaker 1: little island here. But yeah, but that idea of of
Speaker 1: not being too far from home. And I don't know,
Speaker 1: I'm kind of going off on a tangent here, but
Speaker 1: your experience having started so early on that journey of
Speaker 1: finding a new place, finding a new identity in some
Speaker 1: ways in a new place, and that your family had
Speaker 1: done that so often that that becomes second nature. And
Speaker 1: I do think we do live in a global world now,
Speaker 1: and and the idea that you have been or had
Speaker 1: experiences and family and in so much of it is awesome.
Speaker 1: And I love the idea that that brings hope to you. Yeah, yea,
Speaker 1: that there's there there can be a rebirth. But I
Speaker 1: feel like anyone that strikes out on their own right
Speaker 1: like you did and what have you, I feel like
Speaker 1: we all have to. We have this camaraderie of hope.
Speaker 1: We have this camaraderie of belief in humanity and striving
Speaker 1: for for the best life that you can. And I
Speaker 1: love hearing that that you've decided, you made the choice
Speaker 1: to like, you know, get out of the town that
Speaker 1: you were in and made it to southern California no
Speaker 1: matter what. And um, I have to say, I'm in
Speaker 1: the same way. You know, we're just we're just traveling shows,
Speaker 1: right but you um so okay. So you arrive basically
Speaker 1: end of your first grade year to Australia, when do
Speaker 1: you start to get a thought of being an actor?
Speaker 1: You know? I feel like it kind of started in
Speaker 1: when I was in sixth grade. There was a sense
Speaker 1: of performance that started to come into my sphere. My
Speaker 1: brother's a choreographer. He was older than I am, and
Speaker 1: it is older than I am, and he had to
Speaker 1: kind of navigate his way through as a dancer at
Speaker 1: the time, and he was very much involved with that.
Speaker 1: Dance world was more hip hop and that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1: But then we were also involved in church, and there
Speaker 1: was a Korean church kind of um, you know, they
Speaker 1: do these performances about about why this is a sin
Speaker 1: to instill fearing, right, and I was like, oh, I
Speaker 1: could get into that. Let's do that, right, uh, And
Speaker 1: and we we would perform and do these we write
Speaker 1: these plays and stuff and about you know, someone robbing
Speaker 1: a convenience store or you know, bashing an old lady
Speaker 1: and why that was bad and what happened and then
Speaker 1: you know, the devil comes in or what have you. Right,
Speaker 1: So these really like wild stories and I really kind
Speaker 1: of enjoyed that. But the next step from there onwards
Speaker 1: was I was part of a public speaking after school program.
Speaker 1: And the after school program happened to have a ballet
Speaker 1: school that was part of it too, and also a
Speaker 1: drama side to it. And I remember going in and
Speaker 1: originally I was part of the public speaking program, and
Speaker 1: I remember I did rather well, and I kept like
Speaker 1: not winning. I was like second place or you know,
Speaker 1: just a great job that you know, you just didn't
Speaker 1: get it. And I remember the teacher, Miss Hopwood. She
Speaker 1: said to me, you know, Leo, you um, you're either
Speaker 1: so passionate it or you're so technical, and you need
Speaker 1: to find a hybrid. And she said, maybe what would
Speaker 1: help you is if you did some drama, and so
Speaker 1: she gave me king Lear. At welve, I did the
Speaker 1: Edmund speech and it blew my mind. It blew my
Speaker 1: mind that I thought, oh my goodness, like someone has
Speaker 1: written this from you know, youngkers Ago and I relate
Speaker 1: and resonate in some weird wave even though I'm saying
Speaker 1: these strange words, but I kind of get this feeling.
Speaker 1: And so that kind of was the key that unlocked
Speaker 1: it for me. And so after that, I then started
Speaker 1: to join a theater troupe. And I went to an
Speaker 1: all boys technical high school in Australia that was there
Speaker 1: was no drama, and I started that. I started a
Speaker 1: theater club at school and then because of that, I
Speaker 1: end up doing my I guess what you would call
Speaker 1: your s A t S been Australia back then, it
Speaker 1: was called the HC. But I did that in drama
Speaker 1: and in the process of doing that, I found some
Speaker 1: wonderful lifelong friends and you know, us theater geeks and
Speaker 1: you know, feeling awkward and weird and trying to find
Speaker 1: ourselves and all that good stuff. Right, I found my
Speaker 1: jam of people, and um, within that, I also found
Speaker 1: my jam of people that were very ambitious and very
Speaker 1: focused and we're really reaching for the stars and and
Speaker 1: you know we're writing musicals, were writing plays, we're writing
Speaker 1: films in high school. Um. So I joined that crew,
Speaker 1: that community, and because of that, I connected with an
Speaker 1: agent in Australia who put me in touch with someone
Speaker 1: that's still my mentor to this day. Uh and he
Speaker 1: swan In in Sydney, and um, she really was the
Speaker 1: one if I can attribute the idea of craft and
Speaker 1: the respect of craft and class really you know, you know,
Speaker 1: being able to have taste and discern meant and she
Speaker 1: brought this concept of elevating my world. And so, um,
Speaker 1: that's kind of how my that that bug happened for me.
Speaker 1: And then from there the leap to New York happened. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean I had a similar situation myself when it
Speaker 1: changed for me, and it sounds like it roughly the
Speaker 1: same age where I realized that this was not just
Speaker 1: an activity, but that this was this was something deeper,
Speaker 1: and I was involved in a program similar to what
Speaker 1: you're talking about, where it was like, oh, I see
Speaker 1: everyone had that like, oh, there's so much more to
Speaker 1: this that I want to know about. And you decided
Speaker 1: that to pursue this, you you needed to be in
Speaker 1: New York. So I understand it. Nineteen years of age,
Speaker 1: you moved to New York to study acting. I hear
Speaker 1: you spent a few nights in Central Park. It yeah,
Speaker 1: may I mean I had no money. I mean I
Speaker 1: three hundred bucks in my back pocket and a credit
Speaker 1: card that didn't work. And I thought, hey, it's a
Speaker 1: good idea, great idea, guys, let's just going up and leave.
Speaker 1: Let's do it. And you know I I was um,
Speaker 1: I just had that that vision and the ambition, you know,
Speaker 1: to go through it. I landed in New York, and
Speaker 1: I remember the only thing that I knew about was
Speaker 1: Broadway Times Square in Central Park. And so at that
Speaker 1: time I remember walking through Times Square just looking at
Speaker 1: all these billboards, being like, oh my god, you know,
Speaker 1: I've made it here. I am here, I am you know,
Speaker 1: And then at like two in the morning, You're like,
Speaker 1: where am I going to sleep? It didn't click for me.
Speaker 1: I was like, where am I gonna sleep? I don't know.
Speaker 1: All I had was the audition date, you know, at
Speaker 1: that school. And so I I then just I mean
Speaker 1: there was a cab drive that that drove me around
Speaker 1: for a little bit. Uh, and he offered me some weed,
Speaker 1: which was really uh funny. I was like, what, like, yeah,
Speaker 1: but what's going on? Like okay? Um? And and I
Speaker 1: ended up, yes, staying at Central Park near Columbus Circle,
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, it was in the middle of
Speaker 1: summer and so it was hot, so it didn't need anything.
Speaker 1: And but I remember, like, you know, talking to some
Speaker 1: some people that that were there that were you know,
Speaker 1: experiencing homelessness themselves, and and they were like they gave
Speaker 1: me ideas like you know, if a newspaper while people
Speaker 1: why people, why did they use that so it you know,
Speaker 1: it keeps them warm somewhat and what have you. Um.
Speaker 1: And so I didn't need that, thank god. But the
Speaker 1: next day I was like, rightly, you gotta pull it together.
Speaker 1: This can't happen. I should actually say I did have
Speaker 1: a place to stay, but the person that I was
Speaker 1: supposed to stay with at least that you know, the
Speaker 1: first couple of nights, I didn't pick up the phone
Speaker 1: when I called, and so there was this sense of like,
Speaker 1: well and here, maybe they'll they'll pick up later. And
Speaker 1: that's why at two am, I was like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: where am I going to sleep? Okay? This is now,
Speaker 1: this is This makes me feel better because I was like,
Speaker 1: you got off the plane and you don't you have
Speaker 1: no like, you haven't thought about anything. This makes it
Speaker 1: a little better for me. Yeah. Yeah, that I should
Speaker 1: have prevented by saying that. And he happened to be
Speaker 1: a flight attendant and so he had to take a
Speaker 1: trip and so that's why he wasn't available, and so
Speaker 1: that's the whole reason why I experienced that. And so
Speaker 1: then after a week of this, then he finally picked
Speaker 1: up the phone and then I was able to stay
Speaker 1: after a week. So you you mentioned there you had
Speaker 1: an audition that you said the studio. Now is this
Speaker 1: HB Studio? Yeah, my goodness. So for those of you
Speaker 1: who don't know, HB Studio basically was training all of
Speaker 1: the best actors in New York City for years and years.
Speaker 1: My favorite book that I studied, I never met her
Speaker 1: Udha Haggins. Respect for acting. I studied that at school.
Speaker 1: My favorite book still to this day, it's in my
Speaker 1: office still here. You obviously you you have to be
Speaker 1: doing something there or be connected to the right people
Speaker 1: in Australia for for you to even get an audition there.
Speaker 1: So you get accepted, Yeah, I got accept it. Yeah. Um.
Speaker 1: And it was to be in Buddhist class and and
Speaker 1: so I really, you know, it was desperate to to
Speaker 1: be around the best. And so I remember what my
Speaker 1: mentor in Australia had said. You know, when you meet
Speaker 1: someone and you you see that their work is excellent,
Speaker 1: work with them. Do whatever you can to say I'm
Speaker 1: going to work with you. I'm gonna work with you.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna work with you. And so really deciding and
Speaker 1: to take that road of studying UM and and being
Speaker 1: in in her class really changed my life. It isn't
Speaker 1: the most um you know, prestigious school, and what happens
Speaker 1: more like a working man school, you know, even though
Speaker 1: the alumni is like al Paccino, Cynthia, next sent I mean, Babarah.
Speaker 1: So it goes on and on and on. But it's
Speaker 1: because they welcomed everyone and they believed everyone should have
Speaker 1: access to this kind of work. Um. And so I
Speaker 1: made the decision pretty early on actually to only work
Speaker 1: with the best because when I was landed there, all
Speaker 1: I wanted to do was just party because I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm in New York City. I can't believe this. Oh
Speaker 1: my god, this is great. This is a fantastic this
Speaker 1: fantastic game whatever from the cab drivers. This is the
Speaker 1: cab driver Like, what are you talking about? This is
Speaker 1: I've made it. I've made it. And so I I remember,
Speaker 1: actually pretty early on, I was in a class in
Speaker 1: the Shakespeare class with Jeffrey Owens, who was teaching you know,
Speaker 1: legendary guy. It was a ten am class and I
Speaker 1: lived in the East Village and the school is in
Speaker 1: the West Village, and I had to leave my house
Speaker 1: by nine thereabouts. Mind you, I had like a red
Speaker 1: mohawk at the time, and I got to school on
Speaker 1: rollerblades even in the snow. I mean, hello, crazy Aussie,
Speaker 1: just like coming throw guys coming through. Um. And I
Speaker 1: had to leave at and I remember i'd gone out
Speaker 1: the night before and I kept pressing snows remember thinking,
Speaker 1: you know what, Leo, if you can't get up, if
Speaker 1: you can't get your ass up, and go to school
Speaker 1: for the reason why you left everything in Australia because
Speaker 1: you're too busy going out and partying or doing you know,
Speaker 1: trying to experience this other side of New York and
Speaker 1: not the real reason why you've come here. Then you
Speaker 1: just accept it for the next month, you go, you
Speaker 1: part of your balls off, you do it, and then
Speaker 1: you get on a plane and you go back to Australia,
Speaker 1: or you make the decision and you make the choice
Speaker 1: now that you show up for yourself, you show up
Speaker 1: for what you came here to do. You give it
Speaker 1: your all, and then you see what happens. And that
Speaker 1: really was the moment that really changed my life. Um,
Speaker 1: not only did I decide right there and then that
Speaker 1: I would make the commitment to myself to the work,
Speaker 1: to you know, the platform that that's been given to
Speaker 1: me at that moment and for the rest of my
Speaker 1: life what I would be doing, but also me realize, like,
Speaker 1: what are you doing sleeping on the floor, Leo, Like,
Speaker 1: get it together, get it together? Like yeah, at the beginning,
Speaker 1: it was sure, it was fun. Yeah whatever I did this,
Speaker 1: I slept here in the park, yeah whatever, you know,
Speaker 1: And I kind of imagined that i'd go back and say, hey,
Speaker 1: back in the day, this is what I did, you know, Like,
Speaker 1: but there in living in I realized like, nah, I
Speaker 1: don't want to do this, you know, get your finger
Speaker 1: out of here, as Leo and let's go um. And
Speaker 1: so that that really was a big turning point for me.
Speaker 1: And then after that it was, you know, every week
Speaker 1: figuring out how I work, how other people work, um,
Speaker 1: And I started to take a lot of ownership of
Speaker 1: my own discovery of what it meant to be in
Speaker 1: my own craft, what it meant to feed my own beast,
Speaker 1: and what my beast likes to eat. Right, that's so awesome.
Speaker 1: I love that story. Are you starting to work outside
Speaker 1: of the studio at this point? How does that transition
Speaker 1: start to work for you from doing the work, putting
Speaker 1: in the effort, and then also started to play other roles. God,
Speaker 1: I love that you're making me connect the dots from
Speaker 1: back there, um, because it was it's a mixture of magic. Really,
Speaker 1: it's a mixture of like when you show up for yourself, right,
Speaker 1: and you show up for yourself and you don't know
Speaker 1: what's going to happen, that you show up with the
Speaker 1: belief in yourself, and you show up with the work
Speaker 1: on your craft and respect for it, then other things
Speaker 1: start to fall into place. And so one of the
Speaker 1: things that happened was I met someone that was like
Speaker 1: at a cafe and it was you know, definitely one
Speaker 1: of those moments of like, you know, everyone's drinking coffee
Speaker 1: and like they got berets, and like it kind of
Speaker 1: felt like that you were wet, but you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, like in the eighth Village, Tompkins Square Path,
Speaker 1: like all that stuff, and and and someone had told
Speaker 1: me about like that they that there was an abandoned
Speaker 1: school and that a friend of theirs was going to
Speaker 1: put up a production, a Shakespeare production, and he thought
Speaker 1: it was going to be Hamlet, but he wasn't sure.
Speaker 1: But back in the day, there was at this story
Speaker 1: it still is around now backstage right, And so that's
Speaker 1: where a lot of people would get you know, their
Speaker 1: their their auditions, especially when they're starting off. And it
Speaker 1: was a non union project, and so I would scour
Speaker 1: that all the time, and I found that one posting
Speaker 1: and so I connected the dots. I went back to
Speaker 1: that dude in the cafe and was like, hey, you know,
Speaker 1: he's that the guy and blah blah blah blah. And
Speaker 1: then I went off and I auditioned and I got
Speaker 1: the role of Ozdric. Uh. And I played Ozdric as
Speaker 1: a drag queen on roller blades. Yeah, okay, follow me, Yeah,
Speaker 1: stay with me. I like it because the director and
Speaker 1: I were chatting about, you know, what it is that
Speaker 1: he wanted to do with the production in and you know,
Speaker 1: and I love that stuff. I love someone being like, yeah,
Speaker 1: let's flip the swit like the script, let's do it.
Speaker 1: Let's figure out how you are going to add value
Speaker 1: to this production. And so I had shown up in
Speaker 1: role blades. I can't believe that with a mohawk, and
Speaker 1: and I did the piece, you know, first of all
Speaker 1: without rollers. But then I said, hey, you know, I've
Speaker 1: got this idea. What do you think if I do
Speaker 1: it like this? And like I said, it was an
Speaker 1: abandoned school. Um. And so I would roll a blade
Speaker 1: around as I would would do the my audition and
Speaker 1: and then speak. That ended up being part of the show. Um.
Speaker 1: And so that was my first kind of transition into
Speaker 1: doing work and being paid for work. And it was
Speaker 1: still at the time that I was still sleeping on
Speaker 1: the floor. Um. And so there was one night that
Speaker 1: I was like, I I'm going to sleep here in
Speaker 1: the theater, in this abandoned school because I made more
Speaker 1: sense for me to be there. I didn't have to
Speaker 1: be anywhere, you know. And and that's kind of my
Speaker 1: first moment of realizing like how much it fed me,
Speaker 1: how much doing this kind of work in the most obscure,
Speaker 1: strange way but yet magical for me. Everybody else may
Speaker 1: maybe like horrified, but for me, it was so magical
Speaker 1: to connect those dots. And that kind of was the
Speaker 1: turning point for me, because then after that then I
Speaker 1: was like super hyper focused on getting into Shakespeare in
Speaker 1: the Park and super focused on trying to figure out
Speaker 1: what and how what I needed to do to have
Speaker 1: longevity in this business. And so from there it went
Speaker 1: off and I got Shakespeare in the Park welfth Night,
Speaker 1: and I really enjoyed that audition process. I really enjoyed that, um,
Speaker 1: the process of rehearsal um. You know, I really I
Speaker 1: thought that I had made it. I was like, I've
Speaker 1: come here to do shakes me to the Park, New
Speaker 1: York conquered. He'll be yes, I'm you know, spear carrying
Speaker 1: number three. Um, but I did not care, you know.
Speaker 1: I mean, there was the possibility of understudying someone, but
Speaker 1: I was like, whatever, I've made it. Here we go. Um.
Speaker 1: And then at that same time is when I got
Speaker 1: my first film audition. And the film audition was for
Speaker 1: a movie called The Perfect Score. I've done one indie
Speaker 1: film before that, but this was my first kind of
Speaker 1: bigger Wait, this is your first film audition The Perfect Score? Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: my first real film audition. The one before, I guess
Speaker 1: it was like an indie film, a New York indie
Speaker 1: film that kind of, you know, was more of a
Speaker 1: homegrown project. This was my first like, hey, this script
Speaker 1: has done, this has been financed, you know, here we go,
Speaker 1: my first Hollywood film, so to speak. So his first audition,
Speaker 1: he ends up landing the role in The Perfect Score
Speaker 1: cast alongside Scarlett Johansson Chris Evans Christensen. What kind of
Speaker 1: a moment was that for you? Oh? You know what?
Speaker 1: It was a moment like, I swear to god, it
Speaker 1: felt like I was in fame, Like I swear, I
Speaker 1: should you not? So I'm in I'm at the public
Speaker 1: theater right and I am, like I said, I'm like
Speaker 1: so chuffed. I'm like, yeah, man, I've made this is
Speaker 1: so great. And I go to the bathroom and i
Speaker 1: see thirteen miss calls and I'm like, what the fuck like?
Speaker 1: And mind you how I got the role was so
Speaker 1: you know, when I said, hey, I've I learned how
Speaker 1: to feed my beast, right, I look, I was. I
Speaker 1: started to be open to the receptors of that as
Speaker 1: an artist, like what can feed me? You know, new perspectives.
Speaker 1: And I've never done yoga, so I go do yoga.
Speaker 1: And I had auditioned already tried to audition for this role.
Speaker 1: You know, I scoured the breakdown of all the auditions
Speaker 1: I'd scoured backstage. I'd learned that every movie needed to
Speaker 1: have a film permit, and they got film permits by
Speaker 1: going down to city Hall. And so from there you
Speaker 1: were able to find out the phone number of a
Speaker 1: production and there was a name so you could call
Speaker 1: and call someone. I mean, you love this, yo, I
Speaker 1: was like laser focus. Yeah, and so anyone out there,
Speaker 1: That's what I'm saying, Like, you can do it man. Anyway,
Speaker 1: So I I find out about this project. I had
Speaker 1: heard about the perfect score they were looking for, you know,
Speaker 1: a character that was originally um, you know, it's just
Speaker 1: a teenager, uh, and then assumed as a white character.
Speaker 1: But I submitted, and then it came around again a
Speaker 1: couple of months later and it was you know, um,
Speaker 1: an African American guy, and then and then nothing. I
Speaker 1: submitted again. Then it said a Latino or African American
Speaker 1: or white, and then it said open ethnicity. And I
Speaker 1: was like, guys, I gotta fall under that, Like come on,
Speaker 1: I'm purple, you know. And so then at that time,
Speaker 1: I go to that yoga class and someone I just
Speaker 1: got to know that was just happened to be next
Speaker 1: to me, and she is a baby print agent and
Speaker 1: you know you you go to have tea or hang
Speaker 1: out afterwards after you again, that's how I discovered that.
Speaker 1: And so I said to him, you know what, there
Speaker 1: was this audition that I have been trying to submit for.
Speaker 1: I think that they would be more receptive to it
Speaker 1: if it came from under the banner of an agency.
Speaker 1: And she's like, you do realize it is literally for
Speaker 1: babies and for prints for baby magazine. That's what she does.
Speaker 1: And I was like, I don't care, just go through it.
Speaker 1: And you know, she submitted me and I got in.
Speaker 1: But anyway, so then ye she calls me like thirteen
Speaker 1: thirteen miss calls and I was like, what is going on? Say?
Speaker 1: I hear the voicemail and she says, hey, after after class,
Speaker 1: come meet me. She's like, you got the You've got
Speaker 1: the role. They're they're talking about offering you this three
Speaker 1: picture deal and this and that, And I never experienced
Speaker 1: any of this stuff. I was like, what is this
Speaker 1: even moving? Right? And so then I go out there
Speaker 1: and I at the public Theater at the time. There
Speaker 1: was these glass doors and with a with a railing
Speaker 1: on it, and I went up to and I just
Speaker 1: kicked open the door and asked door plays like kicked
Speaker 1: open the door, like you know, like, oh, I've made it.
Speaker 1: Here we go. So that was my experience. It was
Speaker 1: super wild man. And you know, I've got to say
Speaker 1: like I went through a bit of a a crisis
Speaker 1: at that time because here I was someone that had
Speaker 1: gotten my dream of being in a part of the
Speaker 1: Shakespeare in the Park production, and I thought, for life,
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna be doing theater for life. Then I
Speaker 1: get this movie and it's you know, an ensemble role,
Speaker 1: and it's one of the leads, and I was so torn.
Speaker 1: So I went to go to see Heidi Griffiths at
Speaker 1: um Jordan's Faylor at the Public there were the Carson
Speaker 1: directors and I said to them, you know, like, oh
Speaker 1: my god, I feel so sad that I had to
Speaker 1: tell them this. And they were like, are you crazy,
Speaker 1: Like what are you talking about? Like, oh, sweet child,
Speaker 1: what are you talking about? And and and they really
Speaker 1: put it into perspective for me that were like, Leo,
Speaker 1: you know your spear carrying number three, and it's wonderful
Speaker 1: that you are part of this. But no one is
Speaker 1: going to go see an Asian Hamlet. They're just not
Speaker 1: going to see that. They're not going to go see
Speaker 1: a Black Hamlet. They're going to see Denzel Washington as Hamlet,
Speaker 1: or or they're gonna see Leonardo nam as that. That's
Speaker 1: the perspective you've got to you've got to start to look.
Speaker 1: And I thought, oh shit, okay, I'll do that. And
Speaker 1: they said, go off and do that, Go do the movies,
Speaker 1: Go do these things that you need to do, and
Speaker 1: then come back and then play this. And I thought, right,
Speaker 1: that's what I'm gonna do. So HI do if you're listening.
Speaker 1: I want to come back. That is so awesome. Oh god,
Speaker 1: I love By the way, did the did the baby
Speaker 1: print agent take ten percent? Oh yeah, oh yeah, she
Speaker 1: talked ten percent? Let me tell you. And I remember
Speaker 1: actually going into I actually broken my own deal. I
Speaker 1: was like the one on the phone with business affairs,
Speaker 1: you know, being like, yeah, okay, we'll hold on please,
Speaker 1: and then I put you know, put them on hold
Speaker 1: as if like I'm my own assistant. And then there
Speaker 1: were these the other baby Print agents and I'd be like,
Speaker 1: what are we gonna do there? What does the schedule
Speaker 1: f mean? They're like I don't know. And I was like, well,
Speaker 1: like just double it. We did literally went in and
Speaker 1: said and then just try to double it. We was
Speaker 1: so like, just went for it. It was great, get it.
Speaker 1: But I learned that you have to ask. You have
Speaker 1: to ask. Um, this movie send your career in an
Speaker 1: entirely new direction. I do have to mention. The next year,
Speaker 1: he gets cast in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Speaker 1: with notably my old boss coworker Ken Kappas. Oh yes, yes,
Speaker 1: from the pilot. Yeah, what a what an amazing guy
Speaker 1: he is? Huh, what an amazing gem he is. I
Speaker 1: am so grateful that you know, he is such a
Speaker 1: kind and gentle soul with you know, fantastic, fantastic you
Speaker 1: know ability and taste. Really, I mean he cost me
Speaker 1: and it cost you what doing no, but it was
Speaker 1: it was a mixture of not only Ken Corpus, but
Speaker 1: also Deborah Martin Chase, the producer of Sisters of the
Speaker 1: Traveling Pants. It was a you know, based on books,
Speaker 1: pre existing books, and the role was written as a
Speaker 1: blonde hair, blue eyed guy. And it was because Deborah
Speaker 1: Martin Chase had seen me in the Perfect Score, you know,
Speaker 1: she really and Ken had decided that, you know, there
Speaker 1: is opportunity here to expand the story and to really
Speaker 1: delve in deeper and what would what would it be
Speaker 1: like if I came on board the film and it's fantastic.
Speaker 1: I mean, the Sister of the Traveling Pants um audience
Speaker 1: and the fans are just you know, fanatics that are wonderful.
Speaker 1: They gave me belief and hoping myself that the industry
Speaker 1: would want to see actors and characters like me. And
Speaker 1: it made me believe that you know, even though something
Speaker 1: is written a certain way, when if you get wonderful
Speaker 1: minds together, then a whole new world can be cracked open.
Speaker 1: Little did I know that not everyone things like that,
Speaker 1: you know, And I was very lucky that my early
Speaker 1: in my career that I was kind of helped along
Speaker 1: by people like that, and it really you know, said, yeah,
Speaker 1: it really did set my my career in a new
Speaker 1: track because of that. You know, you talked early on
Speaker 1: about not seeing a lot of people that looked like
Speaker 1: you in in the film as a kid that spoke English,
Speaker 1: that spoke English, that was a big deal to that
Speaker 1: spoke English, that lived in a world like mind, having
Speaker 1: experiences like mind, Sorry going no. Do you do you
Speaker 1: think that this this opportunity and sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Speaker 1: Do you think that that began to maybe crack that
Speaker 1: door open a little bit for other Asian actors and
Speaker 1: and for for viewers as well to see a more
Speaker 1: diverse canvas if you will. Yeah, you know, it's I
Speaker 1: have to say that. Um. You know, throughout my career,
Speaker 1: people have you know, consistently come up to me and
Speaker 1: talk to me about how impactful it was to see
Speaker 1: my face on the poster of a movie. But we'll
Speaker 1: be like, oh my God, Like, I never knew that
Speaker 1: we could have our face up there. I never knew that.
Speaker 1: And there are people in this industry that have come
Speaker 1: up to me and said, oh, because of seeing you
Speaker 1: and that I have now been decided to take on
Speaker 1: this career and what have you. And sister of the
Speaker 1: Driving Pants also did did do that. And I'll give
Speaker 1: the example of just how one mind was was changed.
Speaker 1: So you know, as you can imagine, people were very
Speaker 1: they're rabid fans of the book. You know obviously as
Speaker 1: to why they made it into a movie. You don't
Speaker 1: want to mess with like fourteen year old girls, man,
Speaker 1: like fourteen year old girls, and they found out was
Speaker 1: something like that is it, mate? You better watch out?
Speaker 1: And I had no idea. And so I remember when
Speaker 1: I did the film, and um I would get these
Speaker 1: this fan mail and um no, always fans because I
Speaker 1: remember this one girl wrote to me and it was
Speaker 1: in like you know, bubble writing with like you know,
Speaker 1: love hearts over the eyes and that kind of stuff, right,
Speaker 1: but it was vicious. It was like, I don't see
Speaker 1: you as this character. You don't look like him. What
Speaker 1: makes you think that you can play him? You're ruining
Speaker 1: this Like that, and I just was like, whoa. And
Speaker 1: it was really kind of a strange feeling. I was
Speaker 1: like kind of looking over my shoulder, being like, oh
Speaker 1: my god, is this fourteen year old girl going to
Speaker 1: be the one that like? But but then, but then
Speaker 1: actually the film came out and that same girl wrote
Speaker 1: to me and she said, I'm sorry that I said that.
Speaker 1: I saw the film and you were wonderful in it.
Speaker 1: You know, you made Brian more than what I thought
Speaker 1: he was going to be. And you know that basically
Speaker 1: now that she was on a fan and on board,
Speaker 1: and I remember being like, what, like, I this random person,
Speaker 1: their mind has been changed? And I think so. I
Speaker 1: think I think it did change people's minds after that
Speaker 1: a little bit, I have to say, you know, it
Speaker 1: must have. I think, yeah, you continue on a number
Speaker 1: of roles. I want to talk a little bit about
Speaker 1: West World. I was so blown away by the story,
Speaker 1: first of all, and the potential I don't know, political
Speaker 1: or geopolitical ramifications of this created world, the class and
Speaker 1: money and control, and um, did you were you given
Speaker 1: the opportunity to read the script before you auditioned? M
Speaker 1: uh no, hell no, are you kidding me? So far?
Speaker 1: Down the totem pole. But I did know very early on.
Speaker 1: You know, I've been very lucky to have people in
Speaker 1: my corner that look at me as as I think
Speaker 1: an actor, as an artist, as someone that can create
Speaker 1: a character. And so there was the Custo and director
Speaker 1: John poppsy Darius, someone that has you know, for the
Speaker 1: longest time would bring me in on things, you know,
Speaker 1: someone that reflects back to you, like the the idea that, um,
Speaker 1: you can possibly play these roles Like I'd always be like,
Speaker 1: you think I can play this role? Like wow, very
Speaker 1: like I was. I was really flattered, you know, like
Speaker 1: every time it would be a role that I'm like
Speaker 1: what wow? Um. And so when this role came around,
Speaker 1: you know, I was in down in the dumps in
Speaker 1: regards to the industry, and I had a really hard time,
Speaker 1: you know, trying to uh find and reinvent myself. You know,
Speaker 1: people had seen me for so long as only like
Speaker 1: a young teenager. And then again with the industry, there
Speaker 1: just wasn't a lot of opportunity for people that look
Speaker 1: like me. I turned down other roles, and little did
Speaker 1: I know that in turning down those roles, there would
Speaker 1: not be other lead roles that for people that look
Speaker 1: like it just didn't exist, and I kept being like, no,
Speaker 1: I don't want to do that stuff. I want to
Speaker 1: do this kind of work. So ironically, in a way,
Speaker 1: the lowest point in my career where really in this
Speaker 1: really hard place that I was at, this little gift
Speaker 1: came in again from someone that has the vision like John,
Speaker 1: and they asked me to come into play this role
Speaker 1: of Felix of it was just called LUTs at the time,
Speaker 1: and he gave me an idea and a breakdown of
Speaker 1: what the story is and just a little bit of
Speaker 1: information and he basically said, you know, come in and
Speaker 1: you know, go nuts, go go do magic um. And
Speaker 1: what I've always loved about going into to see people
Speaker 1: like John Papsida and other other fantastic cast and directors
Speaker 1: or producers or directors that think in this way, they
Speaker 1: always have me in the room with other random types.
Speaker 1: You know, if there was like a sixth year old
Speaker 1: you know African American lady and I are playing, are
Speaker 1: going in for the same role as well as you know,
Speaker 1: a forty year old you know, Latin guy, and we're
Speaker 1: all going in for the same kind of particular role.
Speaker 1: So so I go in for the audition and it's
Speaker 1: a whole bunch of different people and I just was like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, oh shit. But what I wanted to
Speaker 1: really play with this character and I thought would be
Speaker 1: really interesting is that this guy that just finding in
Speaker 1: himself his own awakening. One of the questions that they're
Speaker 1: asking was the evolution of sin, and I just thought,
Speaker 1: Oh my god, wouldn't this be I just kept getting
Speaker 1: this image of like a dove. This guy was like
Speaker 1: a dove in this theme park, and so this whole
Speaker 1: idea of like pure and innocence and then disawakening of
Speaker 1: this dove that then has to go out there and like,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't know what he's gonna have to do,
Speaker 1: but like this innocence and then just this birth that happens,
Speaker 1: and so taking that with me and then also the
Speaker 1: the name in itself LUTs, I was like, oh, it's
Speaker 1: like lots and lots of love, like and so I
Speaker 1: kind of started to play around with this whole concept
Speaker 1: of you know, having an awakening about love, um and
Speaker 1: in this world where you know, they don't have love,
Speaker 1: or this idea that they don't know how to feel
Speaker 1: love or what that is that I have that. So
Speaker 1: that's kind of what I tried to to hold on
Speaker 1: too as I as I went through the audition process
Speaker 1: and I didn't get access to the script um. And
Speaker 1: even while we were filming, you know, I didn't for
Speaker 1: the first season, I didn't get access to the script.
Speaker 1: I'd just be called in for the scenes I needed
Speaker 1: to do the days I needed to work. All the
Speaker 1: stuff was blacked out around me. So you know, I
Speaker 1: knew that it was written, but literally nothing could see nothing, um.
Speaker 1: And so I was the guy on set where you know,
Speaker 1: we we do these rehearsals and and the writers would
Speaker 1: be there and I'd be like, um, I've got a question. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, why does it say he grabs the door knob,
Speaker 1: like because he's got to leave. I'm like, but why
Speaker 1: did you write that? Like why can't he do this?
Speaker 1: Why can't you do that? Why can't he push it?
Speaker 1: Like I would just always be that guy that's asking
Speaker 1: all these questions. I'd be like, I'm sorry, I have
Speaker 1: to because there is no access to any other parts
Speaker 1: of it. And so many times they they they'd have
Speaker 1: they'd say, I wish I could tell you, I wish
Speaker 1: I could tell you, I just I just can't. But
Speaker 1: but if you feel that you go for it, you
Speaker 1: just go for it and then the director will will
Speaker 1: will reel you in in that way. And so that's
Speaker 1: kind of how it started. And I would every time
Speaker 1: I would go into set, two things would happen. My
Speaker 1: I needed to have an entry point each time. And
Speaker 1: so I recognized that after we did the pilot that
Speaker 1: was like a six month break and then we you know,
Speaker 1: started shooting the series, that it was going to be
Speaker 1: really sporadic for me. And so I was discovering opera
Speaker 1: at the time, and it was just something that I
Speaker 1: happened to stumble upon. Then started to use opera as
Speaker 1: my way into two play lot interesting getting into westwell,
Speaker 1: because they needed to have a feeling of change. Everything
Speaker 1: just changes the vibration. And so what we shot in
Speaker 1: Santa Clarita, it took me forty minutes to drive up there.
Speaker 1: I would listen to opera and it would be a
Speaker 1: way of changing everything, and then I would receive the
Speaker 1: script and go in with that mindset. Wow. Yeah, it's
Speaker 1: interesting too because the show itself and some of those
Speaker 1: early scenes in the lab, is that the right word
Speaker 1: in the lab Lab and the body shop. The body shop,
Speaker 1: they yeah, yeah, kind of have an operaretic feel to
Speaker 1: them in a way. And your preciseness of movement within
Speaker 1: a world of robots basically very interesting, fascinating. Thanks man I,
Speaker 1: it was you know, so much of that first season
Speaker 1: everyone was asking am I a host or am my humans?
Speaker 1: And you know, I didn't know. The creators wouldn't tell
Speaker 1: me either. They just played this scene and these are
Speaker 1: the boundaries, and there's you know, and this is what
Speaker 1: we're talking about. Um. But one thing that I will
Speaker 1: never forget is that Jonah would always say to me, Leo,
Speaker 1: this is entertainment. All of this is happening and all,
Speaker 1: but at the end of the day, it's entertainment. You've
Speaker 1: got to entertain. And so that was my the way
Speaker 1: I interpreted that was everything that you do on screen
Speaker 1: has to be breathtaking, has to be super hyper focused,
Speaker 1: because the scenes that we did were super quiet, were
Speaker 1: very quiet, and they could be very boring, and they
Speaker 1: could be, but I needed to find something that that
Speaker 1: would heighten it. And so that also, to me, was
Speaker 1: the reason why I used opera as well, because it's
Speaker 1: life or death. You know, like everything that this guy
Speaker 1: that Letts was doing was life or death. I'm a target.
Speaker 1: Or what I also saw was I now see humanity
Speaker 1: and love in something else that I've never seen. And
Speaker 1: so then that is the awakening for me. And once
Speaker 1: once you see that, you can never unsee that. So
Speaker 1: that's what I held onto as as I was filming.
Speaker 1: I love that nominated for a SAG Award for Outstanding
Speaker 1: Ensemble for a Drama Series. That must have been fun, right,
Speaker 1: Oh man, it was so fun, And I've got to say,
Speaker 1: like it was so wonderful. I worked, you know, a
Speaker 1: lot with Tandy Way, and her leadership is something I'm
Speaker 1: never going to forget, like her lovely way of including everyone,
Speaker 1: of really kind of cheering on everyone. And so when
Speaker 1: when that nomination came by, I remember she called me
Speaker 1: and she and she said we did it. We did it,
Speaker 1: And I was like, wow, like we you did? Like
Speaker 1: what are you talking about? Right? But just her way
Speaker 1: of you know, really kind of bringing everyone in and
Speaker 1: saying no, it was like all at what we're talking about,
Speaker 1: like this evolution of sin, of these themes, and that
Speaker 1: would have you that stuff bled out onto the set
Speaker 1: like we would talk about humanity. We would talk about
Speaker 1: what it means to be human between ourselves. In between tapes,
Speaker 1: we would talk I was just having kids at that time,
Speaker 1: and she had kids already, and we would talk about,
Speaker 1: you know, what it means to now be in the
Speaker 1: presence of another soul that is here. And I was
Speaker 1: just trying to figure out what's happening, you know, Like
Speaker 1: I was like, what are you? What's going on? And
Speaker 1: this is crazy, you know, and and so a lot
Speaker 1: of that was also like involved in the scenes, and
Speaker 1: so it was so wonderful to hear when she called
Speaker 1: me and was like, we did it. It It was wonderful.
Speaker 1: It was great. It was a great feeling. Pretty part
Speaker 1: of that uh in you hosted HBO celebration of the
Speaker 1: Asian Pacific American Visionaries Showcase. How cool was that to
Speaker 1: be a part of that competition and that celebration. First
Speaker 1: of all, is wonderful to know that um HBO was
Speaker 1: backing something like this right um where they're looking for
Speaker 1: to give opportunities and give breaks to people and and
Speaker 1: specifically people that of the A p I community so
Speaker 1: that they can learn to in a way make refined work.
Speaker 1: Because if you haven't been given an opportunity over the years,
Speaker 1: you don't know how to out keep elevating the work,
Speaker 1: and so it was really important for me too. And
Speaker 1: I was so flattered that they invited me to be
Speaker 1: a part of that because I then started to connect
Speaker 1: with new filmmakers and it's wonderful to be a part
Speaker 1: of that. It kind of gives you fresh eyes again
Speaker 1: in that same way of you know, when I played
Speaker 1: Ozric for the first time or yeah, I was like, Oh,
Speaker 1: this is fantastic, Wow, so passionate about this that it
Speaker 1: was so interesting to be on the other side of
Speaker 1: that and to see these filmmakers that it knew that
Speaker 1: you know, just like bursting out of their skin, just
Speaker 1: wanting to tell these stories and pouring their hard into it.
Speaker 1: It was great. It was super wonderful and and it
Speaker 1: continues on, you know, the HBO Visionaries. I can't wait
Speaker 1: to see what they're going to do next. Man. Yeah,
Speaker 1: let me ask you this. Do you feel a sense
Speaker 1: of responsibility in terms of representing both the Asian American
Speaker 1: community the LGBTQ communities through your work or do you
Speaker 1: feel like you're just a guy playing a character, Like
Speaker 1: how important is it for you your identity or is
Speaker 1: it for you just about out the work and trying
Speaker 1: to normalize those aspects of yourself, you know, I it's
Speaker 1: a really interesting question that I hope we can continue
Speaker 1: to be asked over the years, because I think it's
Speaker 1: going to change. So back in the day, UM, when
Speaker 1: I first started, there was no way that you could
Speaker 1: be someone that is out, that is gay, that also
Speaker 1: that is a non white male as the lead telling
Speaker 1: these non white male stories because everything was centered around that. Um.
Speaker 1: Now I feel like there is more space for stories
Speaker 1: to be told that are focused on other narratives as well,
Speaker 1: And my responsibility within that is to be the best
Speaker 1: actor that I can be to tell the stories, to
Speaker 1: give life and breath to those voices that would otherwise
Speaker 1: be unheard. But I also recognize that I am in
Speaker 1: a position where I do need to say something by
Speaker 1: the very being of who I am, and part of
Speaker 1: that journey for me has also become in has has
Speaker 1: happened in becoming a father. My journey in being a
Speaker 1: father and finding my voice in a community that has
Speaker 1: been under served and underrepresented, and to normalize that is
Speaker 1: part of now my journey too, So it's kind of
Speaker 1: a two pronged thing that happens. You know, for the
Speaker 1: longest time, I was only of the thought that you
Speaker 1: do your work as the actor and nothing else can
Speaker 1: come into it. You, by your very presence is political.
Speaker 1: That's that's it, that's your power. And now I feel
Speaker 1: like it's shifting and it's changing. And definitely you, by
Speaker 1: your very nature that's still is very much true, is political,
Speaker 1: by the very nature of who you are in that role,
Speaker 1: doing the work that you do, bringing the life that
Speaker 1: you do. But I also recognize that we have now,
Speaker 1: because of the technology of these different platforms, these other
Speaker 1: opportunities to be the face of or to represent another
Speaker 1: part of the community. And it's important that we do,
Speaker 1: I think, because it's important that we keep showing these
Speaker 1: um these different facets and sides of a community that
Speaker 1: has never been seen and has been marginalized. So I
Speaker 1: now do take more responsibility of that. Part of that
Speaker 1: responsibility is now turned into producing projects, you know, that
Speaker 1: where I now see opportunities that like the HBO Visionary Awards.
Speaker 1: But I started to get access to these young filmmakers
Speaker 1: and these these storytellers where I now am able to
Speaker 1: say Oh, actually, that's so interesting. I wrote resonate with
Speaker 1: that I can connect you with these other people to
Speaker 1: hopefully make space in the entertainment industry for that story.
Speaker 1: Um So I think, I think, um, it's only going
Speaker 1: to keep growing. Um but I do hope that we
Speaker 1: that you know, we we keep asking this question, and
Speaker 1: in another ten fifteen years it will be different, right,
Speaker 1: it'll yeah, it'll be different. It will be evolved. Who
Speaker 1: knows what. Yeah. I love that you've gotten into producing
Speaker 1: and you're accessing those young filmmakers that HBO is is
Speaker 1: highlighting and isn't that kind of the point. So that's
Speaker 1: that's that's awesome. I can't say goodbye without mentioning, Maggie,
Speaker 1: your new show on Hulu with my old pound Angelique
Speaker 1: cabral Uh. Very different by the way, than a lot
Speaker 1: of your other work. Romantic Comedy is very different than
Speaker 1: than West World. I know you play Amy, played by Angelique,
Speaker 1: her fiance. She is a psychic. My question for you
Speaker 1: is our psychics real? Oh? Yeah, I think psychics are real.
Speaker 1: Let me tell you a man, like there are so
Speaker 1: many times that that someone has said something and then
Speaker 1: it happens that you're like That's where some people are
Speaker 1: just more in tune with that kind of stuff, Like
Speaker 1: they can say I feel like this is gonna and
Speaker 1: then it happens, and I'm like, well, that's a little
Speaker 1: crazy that, you know, every time you say it's going
Speaker 1: to happen, it happens. So I've met people like that,
Speaker 1: but yeah, you know, doing that role on like on
Speaker 1: Maggie was like such a interesting muscle for me to use,
Speaker 1: and I wanted to do that. I wanted to swing
Speaker 1: into comedy, and I wanted to swing into something that
Speaker 1: didn't necessarily have to be a network show or you know,
Speaker 1: a streamer show, but I knew I wanted to play
Speaker 1: in the comedy space. And once I started to read
Speaker 1: for Maggie and that started to become a reality, it
Speaker 1: was such an interesting brain shift for me. You know,
Speaker 1: I've never been in a show that's just like an
Speaker 1: episode episodic show. I guess I've never done that before,
Speaker 1: and it's a different beast and the way that that
Speaker 1: comedy rooms are run, and and also we shotted during COVID.
Speaker 1: It was also another weird experience. But I've got to
Speaker 1: say I really enjoyed it. I I really love that
Speaker 1: I stretched myself to play that, and I hope it
Speaker 1: was funny. I hope it was really entertaining for people.
Speaker 1: And yeah, I think Maggie is so fun and so
Speaker 1: great for you to show a different side of yourself.
Speaker 1: You know, you and Angelique together both you know, amazing
Speaker 1: in your own ways. Seeing the two of you playing
Speaker 1: together is super super fun for me. Oh thanks man,
Speaker 1: it was fun. It's fun to play fund to play
Speaker 1: with her, fun to play with everyone on that on
Speaker 1: that show, Um and I and I've got to say
Speaker 1: I love that. You know, when when I came on
Speaker 1: board that show that they were really into the improv. Oh,
Speaker 1: there was a lot of impro Oh okay, great, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was like, great, let's go, you know, um and
Speaker 1: I then I had to learn the boundaries of that,
Speaker 1: you know. I was like, oh, okay, you know, Um,
Speaker 1: you are so delightful and so interesting and I wish
Speaker 1: you nothing but the best coming up. I know you've
Speaker 1: got a bunch more projects. You come back and talk
Speaker 1: to me when Hummingbird comes out, and I look forward
Speaker 1: to to speaking with you again and to continue to
Speaker 1: watch your career. I'm a big fan. So thank you
Speaker 1: so much, Leo for a man. I'm a big fan
Speaker 1: of yours too, cheer. Thank you all right, jis mate Leo.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for stopping by today. It was
Speaker 1: so great to get to know you and to hear
Speaker 1: your story. I can't wait to see what you come
Speaker 1: out with next. And to you listeners, thanks for tuning
Speaker 1: in to another episode. I hope you have a fantastic
Speaker 1: rest of your week. Don't forget to follow us on
Speaker 1: at Off the Beat, and please go leave us a
Speaker 1: review on Apple Podcasts. Give us five stars, make a
Speaker 1: comment something. I can't tell you how much that helps us,
Speaker 1: And with that I will bid you all in the
Speaker 1: words of shakespeare ade. I don't know if that's Shakespeare
Speaker 1: or not, but we'll see you next time. Off the
Speaker 1: Beat is hosted an executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner,
Speaker 1: alongside our executive producer Langley. Our producers are Diego Tapia,
Speaker 1: Liz Has, Hannah Harris, and Emily Carr. Our talent producer
Speaker 1: is Ryan Papa Zachary, and our intern is Sammy Katz.
Speaker 1: Our theme song Bubble and Squeak performed by my great
Speaker 1: friend Greed Bratton, and the episode was mixed by Seth
Speaker 1: Olandski