Sitting at our office, I get an update from Brian, RADII’s founder, that famed actor Chris Pang is in Hong Kong for the press tour of the much-talked-about HK-based thriller drama series The Season. You’ll most likely know Pang from his roles as the charming Colin in Crazy Rich Asians, a badass smuggler in the reboot of Charlie’s Angels, and that hilarious wedding part in Andy Samberg’s Palm Springs. “You’re gonna connect us on WhatsApp for a casual interview over coffee?” I asked Brian. “Yup, doing that right now.” And there we go: a one-on-one sit-down with the coveted Australian actor sorted.

We met on Tuesday afternoon at a sleek café in West Tsim Sha Tsui, me with our intern Bonnie and Chris with his HK publicist Tonya. It was low-key, very chill; the man was exhausted from his non-stop press tour, but still came in beaming, eyes widening at the sight of my refreshing lemonade. “That looks amazing right now,” he exclaims. I grab him one, and we sit down to take a breath before we get into my culture identity-rich questions. First on my list was about his upbringing within a Wing Chun household—his mom was a teacher—but before we got into that, he asked me where I’m from; a common question for me, a half-Chinese, half-English person who grew up in Hong Kong and somehow came out looking much more Western.

And thus began the waterslide chat about identity and representation. “I guess it’s a mission of mine to inform what it means to be Asian for Western society, and do it in a way that I can be proud of,” Chris tells me when I hit him with a “how do you navigate the weight of representing Asians on so many Western-produced projects?” He explains how “it’s very hard to feel like you’re part of the story,” as he goes back to when he grew up in Melbourne, Australia, watching films with his Asian friends, and being in an era where Asians were very much cast as archetypes in global titles. We’ve all seen it, from action films to crime dramas with Asian gangs to Western rom-coms with “the token…” We’ve also all seen the incredible growth in recent years for Asian representation on worldwide screens.

And Chris, more than most, epitomizes that shift. “I don’t think people realize just how hard it is for someone like me, who grew up in a corner city of Australia, in a country that’s also in the corner of the world, to get to where I’m at. It’s kind of ridiculous if you think about it!” “Did you ever, or do you still, wake up with an ‘out-of-body’ realization of how far you’ve come?” I ask. “Yes! I’ve thought to myself, if I could tell my younger self where I’m at right now, I wouldn’t believe it.”

Through our conversation, I found out that Chris’ younger self was a wuxia, Bruce Lee, martial arts, and Hong Kong’s golden-era action films aficionado. “So you practiced Wing Chun? How was that?” He smirks as he divulges, “So you go to class, and my mom’s teaching it, so it’s a different kind of relationship. You gotta respect your parents! So growing up in that household, it does inform how I thought and approached acting. I loved watching Hong Kong action films, like John Woo’s and Ringo [Lam’s].” I cut in with, “You gotta tell me your favorite of all time.” “A Better Tomorrow. I love that film! Have you seen it?” “Of course! Ages ago… I don’t really remember it.” I suppose that’s what happens when you grow up in the same city as all these great films—you take them for granted.

Not for Chris though. I asked him how he felt being back in Hong Kong for The Season. “I absolutely love that I was able to come back here for the show. I love it here because I obviously idolized it from all those great films. But yeah, it was a full-circle moment. When I first lived here for a few months ages ago, I had pretty much nothing but a piece of paper that said ‘Uncle John, Accounting.’ I lived in a tiny box that was grimy and gross, and I would walk past Dragon i (HK’s notoriously lavish nightclub known for its celebrity- and model-laden patrons) and think, ‘Man, how do I get in?! How do I be a part of all that?’”

“I used to sneak in—and then get thrown back out,” I added.

“Right! So you know what it’s about! So when I came back to shoot The Season, they put me up in a super fancy apartment, we all got treated so well—it was what I had imagined this life was like back when I wasn’t a part of it.”

“So, not only did you experience living lavishly here during the shoot, but you also got to play Andrew Fung, a ‘Hong Kong elite’ who is pretty shameless in how he acts. Take us into your mindset for approaching that character.” I see Chris start to smile. “He’s probably the most fun character I’ve ever played. It was so much fun. I typically get cast as a lovable, funny guy who is always very nice. With Andrew, I just love how unabashed he is, how he’s so free to do and say what he wants. Why can’t we all be a little more like that!”

“I know what you mean! Although, as I get older, I find myself caring a little less each year,” I say proudly.

“Haha, me too, it’s great, and that’s why playing Andrew was so refreshing. But I also wanted him to be likable. A likable asshole that you can’t stop watching.”

Much like those Hong Kong action films Chris mentioned. He’s still infatuated with them, so when I closed the conversation by asking him if there’s anything he wanted to share that no one has asked him before, he sat up with excitement. “OK, so I’ve not been able to tell anyone this before, but I really want to move to Asia—I recently got my Taiwanese passport—to create something of my own. It’s the Bruce Lee trajectory. I understand the limitations of an Asian artist in Hollywood. And there are limitations put on us by, well… a number of different reasons, but that’s a whole other conversation.”

“Are you talking about you writing the script, producing, directing, and acting?”

“Yeah, I’m now moving more behind the camera, developing a bunch of projects, because I don’t necessarily feel like there’s a place for an Asian male lead in Hollywood that’s going to be represented how it should be represented. So yes, I’ve been developing a bunch of different scripts, definitely producing, and maybe even directing, but I’m not too sure, as I don’t have enough experience yet.”

“OK, so bonus question: if you could work with any Hong Kong ‘golden era’ director, who would it be?”

Another smile cracks across Chris’ face. “That’s a hard one! So many… All of them! No, but obviously John Woo, but honestly, any of them.”

And with that, Mr. Woo, if you’re reading this, please give our man Chris a call or a chat over drinks at Dragon i—he’s allowed in now!

Cover and interview images via Bonnie Zhang/Alex Lendurm – RADII.