6/7/2023 2 Comments Jimmy o yang good deal![]() Do you still feel like that, I mean, now that you're farther along in your career? You joke in this that there's a lot of pressure when it comes to representing the Asian population and that there's a lot of expectation among the Asian community for you to represent them. But "Space Force" that's coming out - you just might see Richard O. And maybe just a little surprise - I don't want to give too much away. But then that completely backfired 'cause he started booking everything because he's actually, like, pretty good. ![]() I was like, fine, you know? So I signed him up with my agent. YANG: He started acting after I did because he's like, so - if it's so easy, he can do it. He doesn't understand stand-up, but he understands acting and. In front of everyone that was, like, lining up to try to shake my hands. Do you think your son is funny? He did such a great job, right? Isn't he so good? And then my dad just - super dry just told us all - he was like, no. And then afterwards, my friend, who was the opener, asked him - was like, hey, Richard. YANG: One time, I did bring him out to Vegas. GARCIA-NAVARRO: He is a very central figure in this. GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter) Well, you do a great impersonation of your dad in this special. The prince called me up - said for sure, for sure. to the radio - stereo bumping to my favorite show. YELLOW PANTHERS: (Rapping) Woke up in the a.m. I still have some Yellow Panthers tracks. YANG: Probably wouldn't be OK these days - but no. So we're perfectly one-and-a-half black dudes and one-and-a-half Asian dudes. It was me, my black friend Julian (ph) and my other friend Yuji (ph), who is half-black and half-Japanese. GARCIA-NAVARRO: And it was called The Yellow Panthers. And you have this whole bit that's hilarious in the special about a rap group that you ended up forming with your friends. It wasn't just jokes, right? Beyond that, it's telling me about American culture, even on a very surface level. What is this art form? I've never seen this. And then at night, they would switch to BET "ComicView." And I saw all these comics doing five to 10-minute bits. So when I moved here, the first stand-up comedy I saw - because I was so obsessed with hip-hop music videos - I would watch BET all day. There wasn't really stand-up growing up in Hong Kong, at least the time when I was there. YANG: That was my love of stand-up and my introduction to stand-up. And is that where your love of standup was born and comedy? And then when you arrived in the U.S., you learned English and American culture watching BET "Rap City" and stand-up comics on that channel. And how - you talk about you did grow up like the Asian stereotype. I mean, you were born and grew up in Hong Kong until you moved to LA at 13 years old. Tell me a little bit about this because it tells sort of your story. GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter) Let's talk about the special. ![]() YANG: Now I'm just forced to be a good cook now. YANG: Lulu, not to brag - I've always been a good cook, OK? GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter) You feeling like you're a good cook now? GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah, hola, mi gente, she says. YANG: So I'm learning Spanish from this lady, as well. YANG: And now I understand what that means. But I can - like, now I know garlic is ajo, right? Like - and, you know, the chiles and the tomatoes. So I don't really know what she's saying. YANG: I watch her every night before I go to sleep. Her name is Dona Angela, who cooks out in the countryside in Mexico. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Speaking of this moment, you recently wrote an article for Bon Appetit titled "All I Need In Quarantine Is My YouTube Abuela And Carniceria 21." By the way, I love this lady. GARCIA-NAVARRO: The actor from "Silicon Valley" and "Crazy Rich Asians" joins me now. YANG: It's like, sir, is everything OK? Is your son dead? He's like, no. Nine-11 - what's your emergency? My son is dead. I'm like, you do understand if I don't call my dad back in three hours, he's going to call 911. And he was, like, oh, I haven't talked to my dad in three weeks. But I understand that's how he shows love. JIMMY O YANG: My dad still calls me, like, 20 times a day just to check up on me. But among all the filming and press, there's a joke in his special that suggests he's been preparing for quite some time for social distancing. He has a new Netflix show coming out later this month called "Space Force" starring Steve Carell and John Malkovich, among others, and a new comedy special on Amazon Prime. Yang is busy these days despite being on lockdown.
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