Interview by Roman Portnoy
Photography by Ryan West
Styling and Grooming by Maxi
Chen Tang has an international background that instilled in him early a lifelong love and curiosity for different cultures, peoples, and experiences. As a Chinese citizen and US Permanent Resident, and fluent in both Mandarin and English, he has been able to bridge a gap between both Hollywood and China during his career.
What inspired you to pursue a career in the entertainment industry?
I’ve always loved movies and cinema. I remember even as a kid, I would always in the back of my head wonder “Hey that looks so fun, I would love to be in that world.” As I got older, and when I started exploring more of this craft seriously, I started to fall in love with the idea of becoming really good at a craft, and deepening my world and my life as an artist.
How do you approach preparing for a role, both physically and mentally?
My way of thinking of it is, whatever it takes to inhabit the role as honestly as I can. I do a ton of imagination work and immerse myself in the life of it, and often one of my favorite parts of working on a role is the physical life of the character. I’m a big believer in the idea that our bodies affect our minds and emotions and vice versa—it’s all connected. So I sometimes find a way of carrying myself, a walk, and it unlocks a different side of me. It all happens kind of together, to be honest, and it’s a very intuitive process for me.
What was it like being a part of such an iconic and beloved story as “Mulan”?
One of the great experiences and memories of my life. It was like a waking dream.
What was the most challenging aspect of filming “Mulan”?
Probably the physical training, since we were put into a kind of boot camp. I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired in a workout as I was running miles and miles up New Zealand mountains for hours.
The fight scenes in the movie are incredibly well-choreographed. How much training did you undergo to prepare for these scenes?
We did a daily boot camp of training, stunt work, horse work, even archery. Hours and hours a day, in pre-production and throughout shooting. We also had the luxury of having an amazing stunt team and creative team to make us little actors look very good.
Can you tell us about your experience working on “Warrior”. How did you prepare for your role as Hong?
Warrior is so close to my heart, and the cast and crew are like family to me by now. We are very tight knit, and I always feel like I’m the baby of the whole cast since everybody is so, so experienced, talented, and professional. Just amazing artists and human beings that care very much about our story, our show, and their work. I learn a little bit every day from going to work. Interestingly, I also learned and got so much creatively from being in Cape Town where we shoot the series, and the people and experiences that I encountered there. Besides my own work in preparation for Hong—which consisted of a ton of physical training and martial arts—the experience of being in Africa for the first time (like an alien in a strange new world) gave me so much of the actual experience that Hong would have in San Francisco. I think I found that wide-eyed optimism and childlike wonder from being in Cape Town, which is one of the most fun (and interesting) parts of playing Hong.
Your character has a complex relationship with Ah Sahm (played by Andrew Koji). How did you and Andrew work together to develop this relationship on screen?
It was so easy! Can’t speak for Andrew, but for me, it was built in chemistry and relationship since I connected to Koji immediately, and then got to know him more and more, of the man underneath. He’s such a cool, reserved dude, but has such a huge heart and would give everything he’s got for the people he cares about. It’s totally how Ah Sahm would be, and so I just used a bunch of my own feelings and experiences toward him in real life, and dropped it in. I’m a fan of taking the path of least resistance haha.
In addition to acting, you’re also a talented martial artist. How has your martial arts background helped you in your acting career?
First off, I can’t sit here and say that I’m an amazing martial artist when every day I went to work with some of the most talented, athletic, and otherworldly physically gifted people in the world—our stunt team and several of our incredible cast. But I try to hold my own and I can definitely say that a background in martial arts, movement, and sports in my life helped me pick up things like choreography and physical training pretty easily. It definitely gives me a good connection with my body, which like I’ve mentioned before, is such a huge part of who we are as people and how we carry ourselves in life. I think it helps me be really truthful as an actor, too. I always believe that our bodies don’t lie, our words and mind might, but the body is always honest, so I try to feel things in my body a lot as an actor to try my best to be truthful and present in the moment.
You’ve worked with some incredible actors and directors. Is there anyone that you’ve learned a lot from or that has had a big impact on you?
I got to get to know Mark Decascos this season on our show. I want to be him when I grow up. He’s so full of love, heart, and grace. Just talking to him between takes and waiting around, I got to hear his thoughts, his wisdom, and his experience on acting and life a lot. It reminds me to try my best to live a full, joyful, loving life as much as he has. He’s one of the coolest people I’ve met in my career.
Do you have any dream roles that you would love to work on in the future?
I come from a military family, so I’d love to play a soldier one day. Also, I’ve spent so much time in the past in stories as an actor these last few years—going from the Tang dynasty to 19th century Chinatown. Send my ass to the future! I want to be on a sci-fi movie, or on Star Trek. Always Star Trek. Put me on the bridge of a Federation starship and I‘ll die a happy man.
What advice would you give to aspiring actors who are just starting out in the industry?
Bring all of yourself to your work. “Be yourself” is so cliche, but it’s true! But I think what it really means is to do things as honestly as YOU would do it. Because only you have your own unique ways of seeing the world, and how you feel about it. And I believe that the most personal is always the most creative. And that makes great work, makes great performances, and doing that lets you really live a life as an artist in this industry.
Outside of acting, what are some of your other passions or hobbies?
I love to travel, I love to see new places and explore new cultures. I’m a big fan of learning new languages and accents too. I picked up a bit of Xhosa in Cape Town over the last two seasons, and I’m planning on learning that (probably with a tutor) so I can be somewhat conversational in it as a hobby. At least be able to order umngqusho in a restaurant. And if you don’t know what that is, at least it’s a fun word to say.
Are there any upcoming projects or roles that you’re particularly excited about?
I just wrapped a lead in fun comedy film called Found Footage a couple weeks back, and soon we are looking forward to it going through the festival circuit and hopefully make a few people laugh. It’s an improv-heavy mockumentary about an indie film crew making a Blair Witch-style horror movie about finding Bigfoot. A movie within a movie within a movie. We didn’t stop laughing from day one until it wrapped.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
