Chen Tang Learns From His Childhood
Chen Tang's story is a complex and interesting tale depicting the modern, international immigrant experience - blending Chinese, Japanese, and American cultures, in a manner both wholesome and inspirational.
Each and every day our world is shrinking, in part due to rapid technological advances and a gradual philosophical shift in thoughts associated with globalization. Cultural exchanges are no longer limited to the physical world and, in general, society has been more receptive to experience foreign values. Chen is a by-product of such an environment, an incubator for intersecting ideas, and beliefs that ultimately encourage and influence impartial thought.
Actor, Chen Tang was born in Kobe, Japan and is of Chinese ancestry. As Chinese citizen and US Permanent Resident, and fluent in both Mandarin and English - he is a picturesque embodiment of homogeny and uniqueness. As far as acting goes, Chen is set to start in Walt Disney Studios' highly anticipated film “Mulan.” It is a live action version of the 1998 classic Disney animated film with the 2020 version drawing a lot more inspiration from the original Chinese fable "The Ballad of Mulan.” Chen will also appear in Bruce Lee Entertainment and Cinemax series "Warrior” later this year.
In addition, he is dedicated to giving back to his community and environmental preservation. He has partnered with the Cambodian Children’s Fund and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn about Chen Tang and his work.
Where are you based?
I'm based in Los Angeles, CA.
Having spent a good majority of your childhood in Asia, born in Kobe, Japan, and spending most of your childhood in Guangxi, China, do you feel your early experiences played a role in influencing your acting career? What inspired you to get into acting?
Definitely! I had a very international childhood, moving around and interacting with a whole spectrum of different cultures and languages. I feel like it's really affected my own personality — you learn to be a chameleon in many ways. I think it probably comes from my early experiences of needing to blend in or go with the flow of the environment. I am deeply interested in human beings and different peoples' lives. I'm fascinated by the fact that if I were born in a different place or a different situation, my entire being would be different. I believe we as human beings are that malleable and adaptive. I think it's so fun to go and live a different experience of life, in a different role or a project. I got into acting back in college. I was a business major and had to take a fine arts class, and I chose acting thinking it would be an easy A. I ended up really falling in love with it and, after doing a school play, I realized I had so much fun that it didn't feel like work. I woke up one morning and decided that I can do this and I would be an actor.
Mulan was one of the first real feminist focused Disney movies. How does it feel to be a part of this live action remake?
It's a great honor. I, as many other Asians who grew up here, really loved Mulan [the cartoon version]. Mulan was a story that all Chinese children have known since childhood. To be a part of something like this, especially in this time where diversity is so on the forefront, is a dream come true.
Can you tell us about your role as 'Yao,' a tough, machismo-filled young soldier and friend to 'Mulan' in the army training camp?
I felt that every group of guys needs a tough guy. And Yao's going to be that tough guy. As you mentioned, Yao's the manly man (or so he thinks). And through the film, he learns that being a man actually means learning to take care of the people around you. I drew a lot of inspiration from the original cartoon, but I wanted to make it my own. I wanted to make it like it was the Yao of old, but a younger version (before the permanent black eye). I also drew inspiration from my real-life home province of China. I'm from Guangxi, in the deep south near the Vietnam border, where there are tons of these unique mountains and limestone karst hills. I actually belong to a minority group — we are called the Zhuang people in China. They are indigenous to that area, who were known to be quite aggressive, independent, and warlike back in the dynastic days. So I thought to myself, "wouldn't that be interesting if Yao was from this rugged, mountainous place, where all these minority tribespeople were really fierce and manly-men?" It would totally make sense that he'd want to end up becoming "The King of the Rock" on his mountain back home.
You seem to enjoy the active roles. Your role in the Bruce Lee Entertainment and Cinemax series "Warrior" is very fast paced and requires physically demanding stunt work. Can you tell us a bit about your character and how you prepared for the role?
Believe it or not, I never sought out to do active or action roles, it just sort of happened. I had martial arts experience, but Mulan and Warrior were the first real projects where I had extensive stunt work. Warrior in particular, where we had to do most of our own stunts, was quite the experience. I played a character named Hong, and he was so layered and interesting to create. I saw him as a golden retriever, but a golden retriever who was a stray and grew up living a lonely, starving, violent life on the streets. He learned to be truly vicious to survive, but deep in his heart he’s still the sweet golden retriever. He’s a guy who’s genuinely happy-go-lucky, somewhat eccentric, and mentally a bit off, who also happens to be a mass murderer by the situation he's in. Hong is the newest soldier brought over from China to bolster the Hop Wei gang’s ranks in preparation for a massive Chinatown gang war. Through it all, he happens to make friends with the leadership and has some truly strange adventures in a foreign land.
Our stunt team on the show was like an all-star collection of the best of the best in the world. I had training daily, sometimes up to six hours a day, in mobility, martial arts, stunts, and choreography. I also needed to make sure I did daily recovery work (sports massage, ice baths, and physio) to prevent injury and just to be able to train more the next day. I really got a taste of what it felt like to be a pro athlete. Our stunt coordinator Brett Chan (who is a joy to work with) allowed me lots of input on how Hong would move, think, and fight. Little details such as feeling like Hong couldn’t take a ton of damage since he’s so skinny, so I wanted to dodge a lot and move in circular ways instead of blocking an attack. Or Hong would totally fight dirty and improvise using the environment to make weapons. Hong also fights with a chain weapon, so for my prep I sought out teachers who had experience with using a flexible weapon. I found an expert in the whip chain, and another expert in a Japanese weapon called a manriki-kusari (it’s a short steel chain with two heavy weights at the end). It was great fun creatively.
You are involved in the Cambodian Children’s Fund and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Can you tell us a little bit about these organizations and why they are important to you?
I took a trip to Cambodia several years back, and I was shocked how much the country has suffered from years of civil war and poverty. There were so many children on the streets selling things to make money, and begging for help. I knew that almost every single person had personally lost a loved one in the war. It really touched me. Coming from Asia myself, and knowing what it feels like to have very little, I wanted to help these children. I came back and looked up charities, and I found the Cambodian Children’s Fund. It was started by former Hollywood producer Scott Neeson, who gave up everything in his life to go there and start this charity. The organization takes funding and goes to help children in Cambodia’s poorest parts, providing food, clean water, education, home help, training, and many different programs.
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital is based in Memphis, Tennessee, where we lived when my family immigrated to the US. It is also the hospital my parents worked at when we came here, and helped us get green cards to stay. It is one of the leading cancer research hospitals in the world, specializing in cancer and childhood disease research, and also has a hospital section that cares for patients. The policy is, if you are a patient, the hospital will provide care and housing to the patient and the family, completely free of charge. It's my personal history with the hospital that gives me a personal investment in the organization.
You are interested in getting more involved in lending your voice to help save the environment. Can you tell us a little bit about your thoughts on this?
I grew up being fascinated by nature and science--animals, biology, everything. I dreamed of seeing the world, and all the beautiful natural places in it. I always felt, even from a young age, that I was connected, in my biology and being, to the Earth. I believe that we as human beings and as living beings on this living planet, are by definition connected to Nature. And so, we have a responsibility to live in harmony with it. To push against that fact is actually contrary to our own Nature, and is polluting our souls. It's been around far longer than we have, and we should do everything in our power to make sure it stays around. In my mind, it's a tragedy and a crime that, with all our power, we haven't been able to take care of our beautiful home. I remember I finally got to go see the Great Barrier Reef in Australia after wrapping up Mulan in New Zealand, and when I dived in it, it broke my heart seeing how much died. What have we lost in our carelessness and our tunnel vision drive for development? Do people understand that this little blue planet floating in space has just the right conditions for the miracle of life to develop here? We only have one home planet. We can do so much better.
How would you like to see more people help save our planet?
It starts with knowledge, and just knowing more about this planet and the nature in it. If we let it, that turns to appreciation. And appreciation turns to gratitude. I wish that people could strive to be more aware of their actions, and learn more about the importance of the environment. Starting with knowing that, even little things like using less plastic, or not throwing trash on the street, could begin to add up.
What is your motto in life?
”You, in all your perfect imperfection, are enough."
To learn more about Chen Tang please follow him via the below platforms:
Instagram: @chenlovesyall
Team Credits:
Photography: Ryan West Photo
Styling/Grooming: Maxi
