Parry Shen: Breaking Through by Breaking Down Asian American Stereotypes By: Michelle Cheung I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Parry Shen, star of the critically acclaimed film, “Better Luck Tomorrow”. “BLT” has rapidly risen to popularity and in the process broken many preconceived notions about Asian Americans. So far the entertainment business has been reluctant to embrace the Asian American community, but the success of “BLT” has begun to shake up this perception. During the interview Parry touched on the struggles he has experienced as an Asian American actor as well as the impact he predicts this film will make upon the movie industry. Parry first shared about the obstacles he had faced as an Asian in the entertainment industry and the measures that he had taken to overcome them. “The obstacles Asians face simply deal with their lack of three dimensional roles. Our characters are always just serving some function like delivering food or kicking someone’s ass with martial arts. The best thing I can do is to control what I can. Be the best actor I can be, write my own material, turn down roles that conflict with my beliefs and try to look at the larger picture, like where I want to go instead of the immediate result. Like Ben, you’ll see that the more left turns and compromises you make, the more they add up, and before you know it…you’ve become a different person.” Parry continues to hold true to his convictions, polishing his craft and venturing into new areas. He held firmly to his beliefs and put his acting skills to the test when competing with several hundred other Asian actors for the part of Ben in “BLT”. His belief in the film was inherent from the start. “I just knew it was a role and film that I never had the opportunity to audition for in the 8 years I had been acting. I think that’s why it’s gaining so much attention, people have never seen anything like it.” “Never seen anything like it” is correct. The director of the film, Justin Lin, made his mark on the movie industry with this groundbreaking film, the first of its kind to depict Asian Americans outside of the “model minority” persona. In fact the film’s darker theme is birthed from a fusion of affluence, genius, and criminal behavior amongst adolescents. I questioned Parry about the level of violence depicted in “BLT” and the message it portrayed to the public; he had the following things to say. “Nothing we do in the film in terms of violence has not already been seen in other films. Those who say it’s a poor portrayal of Asians are living a really secluded life and holding a double standard. In the end, people of all ethnicities will connect to the film because they also see themselves making poor choices in life, not necessarily because they are bad, but because they are human.” There is no doubt that Lin has humanized his characters and in their development he has forever changed the way audiences will view Asian Americans. Parry applauded Lin for his work and praised him for his ability to “use the strengths of the entire cast to compliment each individual actor.” In the future fans can expect to see Parry Shen and his fellow cast mates in more dimensional and multifarious roles. Hopefully they will no longer have to compete with each other for the “one gem that shines out every once in a while.” Parry intends on addressing this issue that has plagued many Asian American actors in his original screenplay, “Killing the Competition”. Parry has recently completed his first script that deals with the lives and struggles Asian actors experience on a daily basis. It has so far shown great potential reaching the top 250 list of the Greenlight Project, a site created by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to pinpoint new writing talent and promising scripts. Once his film is put into production Parry plans to direct and star in the movie. For now however, he is focused on a new horror/comedy filmed entitled “The Hazing” starring E!’s Brooke Burke. His long-term goals however are to, “direct, start a production company, and produce films I believe in. Basically, I want to get more creative control.” Lastly, Parry left me with some final words of wisdom for young Asian Americans in pursuit of a career in the entertainment industry. He states, “Don’t use your ethnicity as a crutch. Everybody has obstacles so strive to be the absolute best performer then you’ll be known for what you can do and not what you look like or what quota you’ll be filling. Everybody will get their shot, so be ready to grab it. Basically do anything you can to control your career, because so much of it is already out of your hands with this business.” May 7, 2003