'Interior Chinatown' stars loved getting to satirize Hollywood's portrayal of Asian Americans

For “Interior Chinatown” star Jimmy O. Yang, playing an invisible Chinatown extra in the new series hit close to home.

For “Interior Chinatown” star Jimmy O. Yang, playing an invisible Chinatown extra in the new series hit close to home. That’s because one of Yang’s first roles was “Chinese Teenager #1.” 

The irony helped him relate to his character, Willis Wu, and plays out in the series about a struggling Chinatown waiter who is pulled into investigating his brother’s disappearance, airing on Hulu on Tuesday. 

“Interior Chinatown,” based on the National Book Award-winning novel of the same name by Charles Yu, is technically a show within a show. The leads — Yang, Chloe Bennet and Ronny Chieng — play “Chinatown” extras within a police procedural called “Black and White.” They are largely ignored by everyone in the procedural until the lights fade and the cameras go away, bringing viewers back to the characters’ Chinatown realities. 

In the show’s meta world, Yang is a lead actor playing a background character. His character, Willis, sneaks into “Black and White” by disguising himself as the tech guy and the Chinese food deliveryman, using these stereotypes to his advantage. 

“We get put in a box,” Yang said. “They expect you to know kung fu, they expect you to be a good student, or the model minority tech guy.” 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/interior-chinatown-jimmy-yang-ronny-chieng-rcna180680

---