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Associated Press

USA TODAY

“Who are you?” It’s a question that actress/rapper Awkwafina hears all the time - so much so that she decided to make it her Twitter bio.
“There are entire Reddit threads called that,” says Awkwafina, real name Nora Lum, who co-stars with Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett in the heist comedy Ocean’s 8.
“I get tons of comments that are just like, ‘Who are you?’ I think it’s because people were appalled, confused and angry that my name is Awkwafina and they didn’t immediately know who I was in this line-up of superstars.”
It’s a name you should get used to hearing, though.

Not only is Awkwafina releasing her new EP, In Fina We Trust, on Friday, she is also co-starring in landmark romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, Hollywood’s first major movie in 25 years with an all-Asian cast.
But first there is Ocean’s, in which she plays the card-flipping, fast-talking pickpocket Constance, who’s recruited by Debbie Ocean, played by Sandra Bullock, to join her Met Gala heist.
Shooting the film was a full-circle moment for Lum: the park where viewers first meet Constance is one that her dad used to take her to as a kid, just a couple of subway stops away from where she grew up in Queens, New York.
Walking onto the set with Oscar winners and pop stars including Anne Hathaway and Rihanna, “there was a nervous excitement, kind of like your first day of school,” Lum says. “But that quickly dissipated, because they really treated me like their own.”
During filming, she recalls snacking on charcuterie in between takes with Helena Bonham Carter (“I knew where to go for a turkey slice”) and trying to teach Bullock Millennial slang such as “lit”.
‘Crazy Rich Asians’ trailer hits screens – and it’s glorious
She still texts frequently with castmates including Bullock, who says that Lum is “one of the funniest human beings” she knows.


The privilege of starring in a female-led major studio movie like Ocean’s is not lost on the newcomer, who marvels at the fact that she has her own billboard in Times Square.
“I never thought that would happen,” says Lum, 30, who was born to a South Korean immigrant mom and Chinese-American dad.
How ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ actors savoured Bali
Growing up, she says she could count the number of Asian-Americans she saw in movies and TV on one hand. It wasn’t until age 7, when she watched Margaret Cho for the first time, that she realised her desire to perform and make people laugh.
“If you can’t see yourself [represented] in any way, your dreams become impossible,” Lum says. “Margaret was the only glimpse of an Asian-American woman who was completely unabashed and her Asian-ness had nothing to do with her funniness. It was just her.”

You asked, “What advice did you get from the cast members?” @awkwafina answers. pic.twitter.com/oV0AsywxJG
— Twitter Movies (@TwitterMovies) June 7, 2018

Lum played trumpet throughout high school and got into music production at 16, when she started rapping under the stage name Awkwafina, meaning, “I’m very awkward, but it’s fine,” she says.
While Lum is a self-described neurotic in real life, “Awkwafina just doesn’t care, so I need to harness a little of both when I do movies or write a song.”
She made her TV debut in 2014 in MTV’s Girl Code, which she followed up with minor roles in Storks and Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising. Even starting out as an actress, she was always conscious of being a positive representative for the Asian-American community and young girls, in particular.
“I want everything that I do to uplift and not to set them back,” Lum says.

She remembers one audition when she was unexpectedly asked to use a fake “Asian” accent, and “I walked right out of that. Accents in certain scenarios for characters might be necessary, but if it’s not doing it in a way that’s good, it’s just wrong.”
The fact that Crazy Rich Asians is free of such stereotypes was part of the appeal to Lum, who plays Goh Peik Lin, the new-money best friend of Constance Wu’s Rachel.
Adapted from Kevin Kwan’s 2013 novel, the film follows Rachel as she accompanies her wealthy boyfriend to Singapore for his best friend’s wedding.


“It’s not a period piece, it’s not trope-y. It’s just a good movie that coincidentally has an Asian cast,” Lum says. The rarity of not being the only Asian American on a call sheet “was never spoken of. How could tokenism ever exist on a set like that?”
Lum, who now lives in Brooklyn, just wrapped shooting fantasy/sci-fi film Paradise Hills with Emma Roberts and is developing a series for Comedy Central inspired by her life.
Moving forward, “I want to play roles that I can’t even imagine right now because they don’t exist,” she says. “I want to try to see if I’m good at drama. Probably not, but we’ll see.”


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Cinema

Who is Awkwafina? Asian-American rapper shoots to fame in ‘Ocean’s 8’ and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’

Rihanna, Cate Blanchett and Awkwafina in Ocean’s 8. Photo: Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros. Pictures-Village Roadshow Pictures

Cast members (L to R) Cate Blanchett, Awkwafina, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway, Sandra Bullock, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter and Rihanna pose at the world premiere of the film "Ocean's 8" at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, New York, U.S., June 5, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

epa06788023 US actress Awkwafina arrives for the premiere of the film 'Ocean's 8' at the Alice Tully Hall in New York, New York, USA, 05 June 2018. EPA-EFE/JASON SZENES

Crazy Rich Asians trailer hits screens – and it’s glorious

The trailer of 'Crazy Rich Asians' has just hit the small screen.

How ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ actors Henry Golding and Harry Shum savour Bali 

Harry Shum (far left), with his wife Shelby Rabara, and Henry Golding (centre), with his wife Liv Lo, relax with The Luxe Nomad in Bali. Photo: The Luxe Nomad

Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan confident film version will find audience in US with its all-Asian cast

Kevin Kwan was recently in Hong Kong to promote Rich People Problems, the third and final book in his Crazy Rich series.

***ONE TIME USE ONLY, PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE RE-USE - OTUO*** Michelle Yeoh wearing Richard Mille RM 51-02 Diamond Twister Tourbillon during a Shanghai boutique visit in 2015. The watch was presented during SIHH 2015.

*** ONE TIME USE ONLY *** 31 May 2015, Los Angeles, California, USA --- Constance Wu at the 5th Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on May 31, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California, USA. Pictured: Constance Wu . [JUL2015 BROADSHEET LIFE]

Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan on new book Rich People Problems and upcoming Hollywood film

Author Kevin Kwan, whose new book Rich People Problems (published by Doubleday) was released on May 23.

Rich People Problems cover

Author Kevin Kwan

China rich Girlfriend cover

Crazy Rich Asians cover

Hollywood adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians has cast its Chinese male lead – and he’s half-white

Henry Golding will be acting in his first feature film.

This handout image shows the book cover 'Crazy Rich Asians' a novel by Kevin Kwan. [31JULY2015 broadsheet life]

(L-r) ABC's "Fresh Off the Boat," inspired by Eddie Huang’s memoir, stars Forrest Wheeler as Emery, Ian Chen as Evan, Hudson Yang as Eddie, Constance Wu as Jessica and Randall Park as Louis. Illustrates TV-HUANG (category e), by Soraya Nadia McDonald © 2015, The Washington Post. Moved Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. (MUST CREDIT: ABC/Bob D'Amico.)

Culture

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Nora Lum started rapping when she was 16 under the stage name Awkwafina, meaning ‘I’m very awkward, but it’s fine’


Nora Lum started rapping when she was 16 under the stage name Awkwafina, meaning ‘I’m very awkward, but it’s fine’.


American cinema

United States

Music

Asian-Americans

Who is Awkwafina? Asian-American rapper shoots to fame in ‘Ocean’s 8’ and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Nora Lum started rapping when she was 16 under the stage name Awkwafina, meaning ‘I’m very awkward, but it’s fine’

Nora Lum started rapping when she was 16 under the stage name Awkwafina, meaning ‘I’m very awkward, but it’s fine’