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SYDNEY PARK IS TAKING HER TIME... 2
WORDS TAYLOR STABLER PHOTOGRAPHY LEO DEVENEY
Sarah Silverman dubbed six-year-old ‘Syd the Kid’ an “evil genius” back when Park was the youngest comedienne to grace the Hollywood Improv with her stand-up act. “My mom was working there as a server, it was the first job she got in LA when we moved here. I would do pre-shows in the dining room. I looked like a little Filipino boy, I was spunky and I had a little short pixie cut.” This raw comedic genius proved herself on screen in the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival favorite, “Spork”—on which Sydney simply comments, “If I could play an adult version of Tootsie Roll, I totally would.” At twenty, young adult Ms. Park has booked box-office thrillers, a Dwayne Johnson YouTube Red series called “Lifeline”, and is enchanting families as ‘Pru’ in the Net8 ISSUE 20 2018
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12 flix/DreamWorks animated collaboration “Spirit Riding Free.” “As an actress, it’s magical when people come up to you, especially these little girls who look up to me—I’m so thankful for that. Because I’m like...I know that I am their melanin queen right now!” *laughs sincerely* “I gotta serve, I gotta come through! You know? You almost have an obligation to do your best. That’s when I feel most in my black girl magic for real.” The captivating beauty was raised by her African-American mama Kelly Park and Korean-American “Papa John” in the Bay Area and the trio are beyond bonded. Inscribed via her chic hip tattoo is the John Mayer lyric, “Keep me where the light is” and doubles as one of her parents’ teachings.