Going to 'Gitmo' With John Cho
In the 'Harold and Kumar' sequel, Cho battles racial
stereotypes, toilet humor and a one-eyed toddler ... don't ask.
Let's keep it real, John Cho is sort of a big deal now.
In 2004, when he was promoting a little known movie about two young Asian Pacific Americans in a drug addled adventure to find White Castle, the Korean American actor chatted exclusively with the Pacific Citizen.
We talked race. We talked politics. We talked about his love of his mom's homemade oxtail soup.
Four years, a cult hit and one People Magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive" title later, the P.C. finds itself crammed into a hot Beverly Hills, Calif. hotel room with other, well, more familiar names - you've heard of TV Guide and Us Weekly, right?
And you know what? It's a good thing. Especially when mundane conversation among journalists, both APA and otherwise, drifts toward Cho's charm and good looks as a leading man.
In Hollywood where APAs are still fighting for visibility, Cho's star status is a big deal. It's a sentiment the 35-year-old star of "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" later echoes when he enters the room dressed metrosexual chic in a skinny tie, white shirt and black blazer.
Has Hollywood gotten the message that APA men can be viable movie leads?
"I don't know if that's a message that is gotten in one fell swoop," said Cho. "The metaphor is probably more akin to chipping away at a wall and hopefully we took a big swing at the wall - a good hard swing and did some damage to it."
Asian American 101
In a time when another major film (cough, "21," cough) is being accused of "whitewashing" real life APA characters, the P.C.'s reality of being pushed up in the corner with one face cheek against the wall was totally worth it.
The questions for Cho meander from "Escape from Guantanamo Bay" to his reprisal of George Takei's Sulu in the upcoming JJ Abrams "Star Trek" movie, but we always seem to settle back onto the topic of race and ethnicity.
"There are more Asian Americans on television. But also, the quality of stuff is not where it should be," he said. "I don't care if every one-line nurse, doctor, receptionist [or] salesman role is filled with Asian Americans. It doesn't have the impact that a series regular has or a series regular that speaks English.
"You know, a normal person."
For a while it feels like an Asian American Studies class, especially when Cho drops a line about the burden of representation.
"The thing that most I felt like was a burden from playing Harold is worrying about what Asians think."
He has always been a visible member of the APA community. Before his schedule became impossibly tied up, Cho could often be found at community and charity events- sometimes crooning sweet nothings on karaoke machines - so it's understandable he feels a sense of responsibility.
"It's something I always fret over whenever I take a role and I try to say no to things that I feel that are not going to be good for Asians. But even then, comedy is particularly tough because you want to be able to make fun of race, and you don't want to exclude yourself from the equation either ...
"So you want to make yourself vulnerable, but are you crossing the line? You're always doing this little dance, so I worry."
Playing the titular Harold Lee character in the sequel still offers some room to subvert overarching stereotypes. In one scene after thwarting what seemed like a Harold and Kumar (Kal Penn) attempt to hijack a plane, the head of Homeland Security exclaims that North Korea and Al-Quaida are working together.
Creating His Own Path
"I feel like there's an implicit mandate when making a sequel that you have to ramp up everything," said Cho.
And boy, did the filmmaker up the ante with this one. "Escape from Guantanamo Bay" is not for the meek - there are more racial jokes, toilet humor and nudity (including one scene with a giant bag of weed that will leave you feeling a little dirty).
"I've learned that you can't do something if you're not passionate about [it] because I'll do a really bad job if I'm advised to take something for a reason that I don't believe in," he said.
In the beginning of his acting career, there was a fair share of parking valet roles and silent walk-ons. But then he scored a small but pivotal scene in the "American Pie" movie as the "M.I.L.F." (is translating this acronym really necessary anymore?) guy.
But along the way, he cut his teeth in independent films like the breakout hit "Better Luck Tomorrow."
"You create your own path," he said about his career choices.
This fall, Cho will appear on the big screen in another indie hit, "West 32nd" directed by Michael Kang.
In the meantime, even before "Escape from Guantanamo Bay" opens in theaters nationwide, Cho is already addressing questions about a possible third Harold and Kumar adventure.
But after battling a raccoon in the first one and impersonating a Klu Klux Klan member in the sequel, what other boundaries can be pushed?
"I've been asked about doing another sequel and I have no idea what we would do at this point other than go backwards and make a, you know, children's movie."
The Pacific Citizen Web site gives you a sampling of the stories currently in the print edition of the P.C. Click here to subscribe and get two months free!
Print This Article-
Email This Article