Jimmy O. Yang and Ronny Chieng Star in ‘Interior Chinatown,’ Exploring Asian-American Representation in Hollywood

The latest series to highlight issues of representation in Hollywood, «Interior Chinatown,» has been released to audiences curious about the Asian-American experience in media. The adaptation of Charles Yu‘s bestselling novel explores the sidelining of Asian-Americans by focusing on a background character embedded in a «Law & Order»-style show titled «Black & White.»

Jimmy O. Yang, who stars as Willis Wu, the protagonist in «Interior Chinatown,» recently spoke with CinemaBlend about his own experiences in Hollywood. In the series, Wu is a waiter at a Chinese restaurant who witnesses a kidnapping, thrusting him from the peripheries of his usual background role into the spotlight. Yang drew parallels to his career, recalling his breakout role in ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ which he described as the first project where he felt like he stepped out of being a background character.

Directed by Jon M. Chu, «Crazy Rich Asians» was a milestone for Asian-American representation, featuring an all-Asian cast for the first time in 25 years. The film became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the decade, signaling a shift in Hollywood casting practices. Alongside Jimmy O. Yang, the movie also helped launch the careers of actors like Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, and Ronny Chieng, the latter of whom joins Yang in «Interior Chinatown.»

Ronny Chieng plays a colleague of Wu’s at the Chinese restaurant and eventually becomes a pivotal character in the «Black & White» show-within-a-show narrative. In his conversation with CinemaBlend, Yang emphasized how his background in stand-up comedy has honed his storytelling skills, allowing him to craft nuanced characters that resonate with audiences.

Currently on a successful stand-up tour across North America, Jimmy O. Yang is set to perform at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, further cementing his status as a versatile entertainer. «Interior Chinatown» is now available for streaming, providing viewers a blend of humor and critical commentary on the roles assigned to Asian-Americans in entertainment history.