Interview with Reggie Lee of Grimm – Part 1

Michael: I have one final question and I’m going to go off the beaten path here and get away from Grimm. I kind of have a personal question for you, Reggie. You’re one of those actors that, as soon as I saw you on Grimm, I said “You know what? I’ve seen him everywhere.” One of the things I saw you in was No Ordinary Family, you were Dr. Francis Chiles. You were in the latest Star Trek film …

Reggie: Oh, God … briefly for 2 seconds …

Michael: You had stints in the Pirates Of The Caribbean flicks?

Reggie: Yes. Yes.

Michael: Did I see that you’re in The Dark Knight Rises that’s coming up?

Reggie: Yes. You have.

Michael:  I know you had a stint in Prison Break.

Reggie: Yes, I was on Prison Break, too.

Michael: So all of a sudden I’m saying “This guy’s been all over the place!” You’ve had a pretty varied career. So it brings up the question: Is it true about an actor having a favorite thing they’ve worked on … or is Grimm the here and now and you’re all gung ho about it?

Reggie: For me, whatever I’m working on I have to kind of dig and it becomes my life for awhile. There are certain characters and certain experiences I’ve had that have had more of a varied emotional path that I really like. I have to say as an Asian-American actor, as an actor who is a minority, I feel like it’s getting better. You’re afforded some of these roles that are, I’d have to say, “stereotypical” and there are the ones that aren’t. And the ones that aren’t are my favorites. This role right now, there are certain episodes like the ones you’ll see that are coming up, that have really given me room to play and to experience viscerally a lot of things. Normally in other roles where say I play Chow Yun Fat‘s sidekick in Pirates … you know, there’s not a lot of depth that you’re afforded. There will be a lot more of that coming up in Grimm which is why I love it here. This was never really written for … I mean, they created it for me, so I really love what I’m doing now.

There’s a film coming up that I did, it’s called Safe, I filmed it in Philly with Jason Statham. I was offered this role to play kind of his villain. And I thought, oh no, another …

Michael: … stereotypical role …

Reggie: … yeah … and then I read the script and I was really floored by this experience. It was this guy who is put into a situation where this is what he knows to do yet he has a lot of emotional depth. He ends up being with this little 10 year-old girl for about a year that he has to use for these crimes, yet he starts to have feelings for her like she is his daughter. So there are things like that, like that role that has been really fun for me. I look back at that experience and I think, wow … I don’t know if I’ll ever have something like that again. And that has yet to come out, that’s actually coming out at the end of April. So that has been my favorite thus far … and Grimm. Because it’s what I’m working on now and David and Jim? The way they write for me and the things that are coming up with my character have really given me a chance to be not just an Asian-American in society, but a human being. So that’s really been great for me. Does that answer stuff, Michael?

Michael: For the most part … but I have a follow-up question on that. What you’re saying is those non-stereotypical roles are the highlights. So I’m wondering how the role you had as a dancer in Psycho Beach Party fits in there?

Reggie: [laughter] What the … ?!? Oh my God! You know? Okay … let me put it this way …

Michael: … dig in deep … dig in deep …

Reggie: I was asked to choreograph that. So I …. I … the only reason I put myself in was because I like … that was interesting, that was a long time ago. And you know who I choreographed it for? Amy Adams.

Michael: Really? That’s right! She was in that flick …

Reggie: Yeah! They were like “Can you choreograph this dance for Amy and a bunch of guys with her?” And I thought, yeah, that’ll be great, that’ll be fun. And she was just this little thing, you know, fresh … I think she’s from Oklahoma or somewhere. She’s as nice as can be. That’s the reason I took it. That’s hysterical that you know that …

Michael: I always knew there was a little back story there. I needed to bring that out.

Reggie: Yes, Michael. That’s a highlight in my career … a lot of depth …

Michael: That’s all I wanted to hear, Reggie. I wanted to hear that that’s a highlight of your career. [laughter]

Reggie: You may quote me on that.

Michael: We will do that. Definitely. Reggie? It’s been a pleasure, thanks for taking the time out.

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Mar 30, 2012 @ 19:24 EST5EDT