Sick days: I got the coronavirus early on, while filming New Amsterdam in New York in March. I felt a scratch in my throat on the plane back to Hawaii, where I live, so I quarantined when I got home and then got tested at a drive-through centre. I spoke about it on Instagram in case people found it informative and because I wanted to call out racist behaviour against Asian-Americans.
Korea break: I spent about two and a half months in quarantine in 2020 because I’ve been travelling and quarantining before and after every trip. It’s not how I like to work. While I was recovering from the coronavirus, the opportunity to work in Korea came up, which is something I’d always wanted to do. Seoul recovered much faster than the United States, so I was filming a hybrid Korean and American show there in April.
Global worker: My workday spans 24 hours: I take early-morning calls with people in Europe, and I’m on calls late at night about projects in Asia. I’ve actually been busier during this pandemic than I was before, because one of the parts of my industry that has stayed active is development.
Finding his voice: In my acting career, every single role that I was up for, my race was a consideration. When I had the chance to become a producer and a creator, I wanted to give a voice to under-represented communities. The first show I did was The Good Doctor. The main character was a doctor with autism, but it wasn’t just about having autism. It was originally a Korean show that I got the rights to and brought to the States.
We recently announced a comedy starring model and disability advocate Nyle DiMarco about a young man who is deaf. We’re also doing a heist movie with a primarily Asian-American cast: I’ll be in it with (Fresh Off the Boat star) Randall Park, and it’s written by Young-il Kim. Even in quarantine, you can do a lot with an internet connection.
Old habits: (After rising at 7am) I eat a bowl of cereal. Ever since college, I’ve eaten a bowl of Cracklin’ Oat Bran in the morning. Sometimes I mix it with Cheerios to make it healthier. Then I jump on work calls at about 7.15am. I am always on email, which my wife doesn’t love. We have a rule that we all put away our phones at dinner, though.
Anti-social behaviour: (Social media is) a great tool to talk to fans, but every new app seems to be a little more invasive and asks you to show more of your life. My son showed me the power of TikTok when I appeared in one of his videos. It went viral and now he has hundreds of thousands of followers.
Remains of the day: (Last thing at night), I read scripts – it’s almost better if they’re bad because then they will put me to sleep.”