OSRIC CHAU photographed by vince trupsin Osric Chau would describe himself as being a very physical person. Whether it be learning how to play ice hockey or training in martial arts, Chau loves being active. Not only is he physically active, but also creatively. The Vancouver, BC native is not only an actor, but also a producer and writer. Chau spoke about his different hobbies, his ideal role in a feature film, and his inspirations in the entertainment industry.
turning into more of a school group project and that was my favorite part. Because of this, I started writing and producing and doing all of the little jobs around set. It helped me to appreciate everyone’s job that much more and it also helped me enjoy the experience a lot more. It’s incredible how the crews on set are so dedicated and seeing how hard they work makes it worthwhile. Now, filmmaking is my biggest hobby. Not just acting but also producing.
Now, on to more comedic role of yours, tell me about Fun Size and your character on that. In Fun Size, I play the character Peng and he is this loudmouth-conspiring-ladies-man and he’s such a fun character. It was the first comedy I ever did and the whole process was like a big joke in a good way. It was always a lot of fun to do and the scenes we did were just so over the top ridiculous. I found most days that I was trying my best to hold a straight face and take it seriously. It’s a comedy about a girl who tries to find her brother who ran off while trick-ortreating, and she recruits these two nerds in her class. So my character is dressed as Aaron Burr, he’s the 3rd Vice President of the United States and is famous for shooting Alexander Hamilton in a dual. It’s just a very obscure reference that’s part of the joke I suppose. I wear this little league jersey and there’s a woman’s blouse under that, then on top of that, I wear powdered wig and I’m in that in the outfit for almost the entire movie.
Who’s your biggest inspiration in the industry and why? I’ve been doing a lot of writing recently and Matt Damon has always been the kind of guy I looked up to. Good Will Hunting is a favorite of mine. I think he’s an amazing actor and he’s done a lot of different genres and he’s also written an incredible script. Another favorite is Tom Hanks. I like the way his career has gone and the projects he’s chosen. I haven’t seen all his work, but everything I have seen is amazing and the fact that he’s getting into producing and directing makes him even more great.
I know you guys would film all night and somewhat sleep during the day. Was that a fun movie to film? That was a blessing. We shot the movie in Cleveland, Ohio and it was really a hot summer. I’m not very good with the heat. LA is hard for me because summers are really hot. Luckily, we got to shoot mostly at night. With that said, I loved it. Though, I don’t know how I even survived especially with that wig on. You’re a producer, writer, and actor. Which do you see you most connected with and want to pursue more? I look at film making as a collaborative experience and whether you’re a writer director, make-up artist or hair stylist, or lighting technician. Everyone works together to make a finished product. When I first started, one of the reasons why I didn’t like it was because I just looked at what was sticking out. But the more I looked at it, I realized how everyone else was involved and saw how much time and effort they put into the smallest details, it started
Trained martial artist since you were 13. Where did you train? When I was five, I started watching professional wrestling so I was a fairly violent child. I grew up with Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles. My mom finally let me take martial arts classes. That first summer that we first started, we took two classes every single day and when since I was 13...I was so behind. Jackie Chan started when he was a toddler. We trained every single day, and at home we’d be watching martial arts videos and movies where I’d imitate them. We put ourselves through fairly intensive training and I really wanted that to be part of my life. It resulted to me going to Beijing to train with the Beijing Sports Team University and that was even crazier than I could imagine and it was a very a different lifestyle. I went there to train eight hours a day, every single day and thinking back, I see how intense and crazy it all was! What do you do for fun when you’re not filming? Right now, and in the last two weeks I’ve been into ice hockey. I’ve been skating every single day and taking skating lessons and playing games. I got NHL 2013 and I decided that because there’s a lockout, I’m going to surround myself with hockey. I started a character on the game so I’m training at the same time. I have the same skill sets and I have the game so I’m mirroring my game life and my real life.
Interviewed by MARJORIE YAN
No. 52