Netflix’s Wish Dragon is a Chinese take on Aladdin: star Jimmy Wong talks anti-Asian hate, Disney’s Mulan controversy – and why he idolises the film’s producer Jackie Chan
- Wong says not being able to act with Constance Wu or John Cho in person made playing Din in Wish Dragon harder, but that voice over work does have its benefits
- He prefers animation because it speaks for itself: ‘You don’t get distracted staring at Brad Pitt the whole time because he’s so hot’, the actor jokes
Jimmy Wong has earned success the hard way. The star of Sony Pictures Animation’s new film, Wish Dragon, Wong has climbed the ladder of success from the very bottom. After graduating from Middlebury College in Vermont, US, where he majored in theatre and drama, Wong headed for Hollywood with a dream to one day see himself on the silver screen.
That readied Wong for his biggest part to date, that of Din, the everyday hero of Netlfix’s animated Wish Dragon, a film that riffs on the classic Aladdin folk tale, setting the action in modern Shanghai and swapping a magical lamp for a tea pot, and the genie for a wish-granting dragon.
I think we’ve been in a downward spiral of awareness and the Asian attacks are just the latest [stage] … things have felt almost apocalyptic at times regarding the discourse, the intelligence level and the ability to have rational and reasonable discussions
Wong talks to STYLE about the film, growing up with Jackie Chan movies, and his feelings on the anti-Asian sentiment in the US at present.
What was it like working on this project? What were the highs and lows?
This was the first time I’ve done a voice-over project to this degree. One of the highs was having a new experience as an actor – and one that was pretty challenging because normally you have people to react off of, or you’re in a costume and you’re feeling the environment. But when it comes to voice acting you’re just in the room saying the same line 12 times in a row to try and get a very specific read-out in a room with just an animatic or a black and white drawing for company.
Does that mean you didn’t have any in-person interaction with your English-language co-stars Constance Wu or John Cho?
I did have one day with John and that was one of the most fun days I’ve ever had working. It’s pretty magical when you can record together. In the same way as when you have a conversation with someone, there’s a lot more natural interplay. You can tell when someone is about to finish a sentence, you can feel their energy as they take the scene in a different direction. It feels much more alive, even though on a film like this you can’t tell who was in the same room or not since the animation speaks much more for the characters than the actual actors do, if that makes sense.
No run-ins with the likes of Jackie Chan either then?
I wish! Jackie’s company was involved in a broader, top-down production way. That guy, I’ve idolised him since I was a very young child. You can feel his influence in the film because there are a couple of action scenes where my character gets into physical altercations and fights with gongfu. It’s really fun to watch because you feel the influence of Jackie’s choreography and his imagination and how he takes a fight scene to another level. While I didn’t get to see him or meet him in person I definitely know he had a touch on the final product.
When I was younger the first big Jackie film I watched growing up in America is Operation Condor. But the one I like most is the second Drunken Master film. It’s just incredible. He does some stunts in that one and I genuinely don’t know how a human can sustain that much self-damage in the middle of choreography and keep going at that level.
It’s safe to say this is your biggest role to date – have you felt a lot of pressure being the lead on this project?