Confession: We are excited that Fool For Love is still playing and there has been strong support cuz it’s such a good film! So we are continuing our support by giving readers Kathy‘s interview! Thanks Kathy!
 
#1. Your star power has been rising very rapidly and you have been able to work with notable directors Victor Vu (Sprirts, Passport to Love), Charlie Nguyen (Fool For Love) and Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow, Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Finishing the Game: The Search For the New Bruce Lee). How did you get your start in acting and what has made your acting career become so big so fast?
 

Kathy: I started acting in High school in plays and musicals. I kept pursuing acting as a hobby..until after I graduated college. It was then that I decided to follow my dreams of becoming a starving artist 🙂 haha.  It was tough.  I spent four years in Los Angeles, taking as many acting classes, workshops as possible, and did whatever films, commercials, plays I could get my hands on.  After four years of working in Los Angeles,  I got casted in Victor Vu’s “Passport to Love,” which shot both in Vietnam and California. That introduced me to Vietnam, and I started getting more work in Vietnam, so I decided to move there and give it a try. I still go back and forth, and I hope to continue to work in Los Angeles, as well as Vietnam.

 
#2. Since you have been able to work with some very notable directors in just 6 years, tell us about what it is like to work with these directors and how their styles are different.
 

Kathy: Yes, every director is definitely different…I learned so much and have grown so much in working with each and every director.  In regard to the last three directors I worked with….Charlie Nguyen is very good at pushing me in every take, every line…he’s a perfectionist, so I feel very protected, knowing he’s gonna get the best take outta me.  Victor Vu’s very supportive and wants to see what you can bring to the character, he encourages you to be as creative as possible.  Simon Yin is such a fun character and definitely knows how to rally the troups together and a positive team leader, he brings a very easygoing fun atmosphere.

 
#3. Your 2009 film Passport to Love was not only a big hit, but you received a Golden Kite Award for supporting actress! Can you tell us about your role, your reaction to winning an award and a bit about the Golden Kite Award for those who may not be familiar with it.
 

Kathy: The Golden Kite Awards are Vietnam’s version of the Oscars. It happens once a year, and they hand out awards for cast and crew in both Film and TV.  In “Passport to Love,”  I played detective Tiffany Ngo a young single mother that meets a wealthy vietnamese foreign exchange student, Khang (played by Vietnamese actor Binh Minh).  She’s a no nonsense, fair, opinionated, sassy, and not easily swayed into romance type of  character that definitely provides a big challenge for playboy Khang. 

This award was a big surprise to me, especially since it was the first film that would introduce me to audiences in Vietnam.  I played a Vietnamese-American character, but I was still apprehensive of Vietnamese audiences reaction to my Vietnamese-American accent. Luckily, they were very supportive of me.  It made me feel welcomed and encouraged me to act in  Vietnamese as well as English. 🙂

  
#4. Fool For Love has been released in the USA and has garnered great reviews. Tell us how you were selected for the lead role and what it was like to work opposite writer/star Dustin Nguyen.
 

Kathy: 🙂 Yes! Well…due to my “Viet Kieu”(Vietnamese-American) accent and status, they had originally offered me a supporting role in the film.  They had originally wanted a Vietnamese singer for the lead role of Mai, a sweet, ambitious, enduring lounge singer.  What happened, is the singer originally offered the role got really ill, so i was then offered the lead role and the producers, writers and director adapted the character to that of a Viet Kieu singer that moves to Vietnam to pursue a singing career.  I had one week to prepare for the character, learn to be a singer and learn all my Vietnamese lines!  Pure craziness!!!  It was a great opportunity and I learned a lot from working both with Dustin and Charlie.  Dustin is extremely professional, talented, hard working, fun to work with and really attentive to support those around him, both cast and crew.  It was a great experience and opportunity working with Dustin.

#5. You just finished filming Super Capitalist. What can you tell us about the film and your role. What projects are you working on now?

Kathy: Yes, I just finished shooting “Super Capitalist” directed by Simon Yin.  It was amazing to travel and shoot in Hong Kong. “Super Capitalist” is a financial thriller about money, power, wealth, love and risk.  It follows a young hedge fund trader from NY that gets commissioned to go to Hong Kong. In a world where the new American dream is to make as much money as possible, Conner (played by Derek Ting) goes through a journey that makes him question what true wealth and  happiness means to him.  In meeting Natalie (my character) he is finally able to take the risks he’s been running away from all this life…Natalie is a fierce down to business PR Director for an import export company in Hong Kong.   Surround by company of powerful business men, amidst a man’s world,  Natalie’s character is an intelligent, strong, and passionate woman, who is not afraid to fight for what’s right.  I’m looking forward to the release in the following year. 🙂
Next up, I will have a supporting role in a film tentatively titled “White on Rice” directed by Talun Hsu, and written by Joseph Ho and Brent Tonick. The film will be shooting in Los Angeles this month.  It’s a fun Asian-American college comedy, and I get to play a quirky sweet neighbor girl next door that bakes cookies. 🙂  I’m looking forward to coming back to Los Angeles!