Home 
Celebrities Taking the Wheel: Brian Tee crashes onto Starz
Celebrities Taking the Wheel: Brian Tee crashes onto Starz
| Taking the Wheel: Brian Tee crashes onto Starz |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by Hazel on Friday, 20 March 2009 00:00 |
 Taking the Wheel
by: Hazel LodevicoBrian Tee crashes onto Starz These days, Brian Tee’s acting career seems to be a steady climb uphill from playing bit parts to his current role on Starz’s Crash. It’s a role the 31-year-old is proud of, mainly because the part requires an amount of complexity that the strapping Japanese and Korean-American actor has rarely gotten to flex in previous roles. Tee, most recognized for his stoic-faced, bad-assed portrayal of D.K. in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, plays Eddie Choi, the former Korean gang member struggling to turn his life around in the television adaptation of the Oscar-winning film Crash. Talking to Tee, you realize that no one can blame Tee for not taking chances. Even while taking part in a phone interview while driving through the congested streets of Los Angeles, Tee insists that crashing is not a possibility since he swears he’s a pro at cell phone communication and driving at the same time. “If you’ve lived in LA as long as I have, this is nothing,” Tee reassures me. Tee, who grew up in Hacienda Heights, said he was stunned when producers told him that production of the Los Angeles-based series would actually take place in New Mexico. “There’s a distinct cultural essence and vibe of L.A. that I didn’t think New Mexico would be able match,” says Tee But with a little Hollywood magic, anything is possible and the arid Albuquerque landscape was transformed into the bustling L.A. metropolitan. While Hollywood production and technology recreated the Los Angeles aesthetic, trying to recapture the cultural and social impact the 2005 film version made was another. The film, starring an ensemble cast of Matt Dillan, Thandie Newton, Terrance Howard, Brendan Fraser and Sandra Bullock, made a compelling statement of how the burdens of the racial boundaries can be so strong that the tension forces us to crash together. Still, Tee says the television series offers audience something a little different. “The film had this really profound message about race, but with this series we go beyond race,” says Tee. “We are tapped into that theme of race, but there are a lot of other conflicts as well.” The 13-episode series explores issues of identity, culture and values as the characters try to survive in a multicultural city. The series follows several different strangers of varying backgrounds and ethnicities – maverick record producer Ben Cendars (Dennis Hopper); impulsive cop Kenny Battaglia (Ross McCall); frustrated Brentwood mom Christine Emory (Clare Carey); her real-estate developer husband Peter Emory (D.B. Sweeney); Ben’s street-smart driver Anthony Adams (Jocko Sims); illegal Guatemalan immigrant Cesar Uman (Luis Chavez); and hot-tempered detective Axel Finet (Nick Tarabay). Tee’s Eddie is a good-natured EMT who dreams of medical school, but can’t seem to fully put his gang-banging past to rest. “What really makes this show great is that you get really involved with the characters and you get to know their back story,” Tee says. “You get really involved in these characters’ lives and in their journey.” In one touching scene, Eddie shares a quiet moment with his diabetic grandmother. The young man with the tough façade takes care of his frail grandmother, cutting her toenails while she encourages him to be a man. “In that scene, you see that Eddie is innately is a good person,” says Tee. “He’s always trying to do the right thing and pursue his goals. But he can’t seem to move forward without his past catching up to him.” With production on Crash completed, Tee is back in L.A., working on a Korean American romantic comedy. Tee stars opposite Korean star Kang Hye-jung (Old Boy) in what he calls the “Korean My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Only this time, a Korean American fills in for the stereotypical Caucasian white male who marries a foreign girl and her crazy foreign family. The indie film also starring recognizable Korean-American stars Margaret Cho and Bobby Lee is a labor of love for Tee and director and producer Christine Yoon. The pair spent the last two years fundraising to see the film come to fruition. It’s a lot of work for one film, but for Tee it’s simple. “It’s the kind of pet project that makes all those nights of bartending and days auditioning worth it,” says Tee. photography provided by: Crash © 2008 Lions Gate Television Inc. and Starz Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. |
