EPS 50: Multi-talented Actor, Martial Artist & Entrepreneur Brandon Soo Hoo

Hello once again and welcome back to the Student Pages podcast. I'm also joined today by an equally special guest, Brandon Suhu, an incredible actor, voice actor, and martial arts specialist. Hello Brandon, how are you doing today? Hi, thank you for having me. What an awesome intro that was. I feel like I energized from that. That was great. And on the 50th one as well. You'd think I'd have run out, but no. But this podcast isn't about me. It isn't about the 50th episode.

Today I want to talk about you, Brandon, and And you've had such an incredible career from huge blockbusters like Tropic Thunder, action films like G.I. Joe, and my personal favorite, an episode on Community. Can I just say a huge fan? I am so starstrucked by that. If you guys haven't seen it, definitely check that show out. All the creators of that are brilliant. I'm a big fan of that show, too. They're making a film. I am like, sorry to go off on a quick tangent about that.

But yeah, they're making a film, too. I am honestly 10 out of 10, one of my favorite series. But before we start talking about coming projects, I just want to take it all the way back to when you first got into acting and film and television, when I believe you were 10 years old and appeared on Simmy Street. Yeah, that was like my way, way back first role, just starting getting into acting. The only thing I could really remember was being really surprised by a couple of things, actually.

One was the voice of Elmo. I got to meet the voice of Elmo and he was like an elderly black gentleman. And I had no idea that that was the voice of Elmo because, you know, it's a little high pitched baby puppet. And I saw the voice of he looks nothing like the puppet. So that caught me off guard. You know, I was like a kid back then. That really surprised me. And also I was trying to ride my bicycle behind the Elmo puppet really slowly

and I kept falling off my bike. So I remember that was kind of an obstacle in that project. But yeah, quick little tangent about my time on Sesame Street.

No, honestly, I love it. I want to know more. But not like, to me, the Muppets and Sesame Street and Elmo. Elmo is Elmo. Kermit is Kermit. I am convinced there's nobody pulling the strings behind that. I'm fully bought into the TV magic. That shattered the illusion for me. When I actually saw rolling the Elmo doll, I was like, wow, the magic got shattered for me. So at such a young age as well, I feel so sorry for you.

It's like someone telling me Santa Claus isn't real. Like, you know, like that was... It was almost devastating. I was like, that's crazy. So let's get to know a little bit more about you and your journey into acting. Obviously starting somewhere like Sesame Street, huge. But like, how did you move through your roles in TV and film after that? Honestly, like after Sesame Street, my next thing that I did was I think a Toys R Us commercial where I was playing with Power Ranger action figures.

And then the next thing I got sent out for was the audition for Tropic Thunder. And that was my first real role and my first real big break. And that completely changed the trajectory of my life. But I was like 11, 10 or 11 years old. I sent the tape for that. Yeah, I think I went through like four or five rounds. And around like round five, I finally met Ben Stiller and some Taekwondo. I did some martial arts in the room. And him and the casting were all very impressed by that.

And yeah, I booked that role when I was really young. That's so fantastic. I literally would have broken to pieces if I was that age. If I had to do Ticonder in front of Ben Stiller right now, I think I'd cry. And I'm 24. For me, it was like, I knew who he was, but the ideas of fame and I guess work and pressure and all that stuff, none of that even existed in my brain when I was that young because I'm just like, this is just playing around.

I kick stuff all the time. I get to pretend to be this grumpy little kid.

Like it was all just like messing around and it was very fun so I didn't really have the fear there was no conception of pressure at that age and that's so good to hear about because with our student listeners out there who are possibly trying to get into tv acting in front of the camera or maybe even behind the camera you've got so much pressure because you are like 18 fresh into the world but you're so aware of the concepts of nervousness and anxiety associated with moving into TV and film.

What would you say to the students listening about getting into acting today? I think definitely maintaining a sense of play is really important because you're getting the privilege to perform and you're getting the privilege to act and make art and create and be a storyteller. These are all things that are fun. I think when you find the fun and.

Inside of it that's when the performance really shines and you know when you're not thinking of it as like oh I got to get this job oh I got to like do this work and I got to make a living and all those things like that doesn't contribute to a good performance and when you're just like doing everything you can to contribute to a good performance you know the business stuff all comes afterwards so first and foremost make sure you're loving it make sure you're

having a good time make sure you're like dedicating to the craft of it as opposed to all of the thoughts around the career of it and the business parts of it because like you know that that doesn't really contribute to a good performance i think it's lovely that you touched on like how enjoyable acting actually is for you because i think especially in the world that we've got now of like method actors who go so far into it that they feel like they're pushing themselves to be something

they're not and doing all these horrible different things how do you sort of like view method actors well you know No, I think that is still doing it for the love of the art itself. And, you know, it doesn't necessarily always have to be comfortable. You know, you will have to push yourself. It still definitely is like a labor of love.

But I guess I wasn't really speaking to the effort of making good work and making good art and putting an effort to building a character, but more of just like thinking of things like, oh, I wonder what this casting director thinks or, oh, I wonder like what the paychecks going to look like for this project. I think that stuff doesn't quite contribute to the project itself and booking jobs. You're a method actor and that is your skill and that is your methodology.

You could still very much have fun doing something very difficult. And, you know, I think there is still a lot of love in something that's as sacrificial as method acting. It is definitely a labor of love and it's not easy to do that. So I respect people that get really invested into their characters like that wholeheartedly. Not necessarily my most effective path.

If that's your path, then I respect it. I always like to ask questions about method acting because I'm always like, it's just pretending. Just pretend to be mean. Come on. You don't need to go through all these different things. You don't need to start doing grotesque, horrible acts. Just pretend to be mean. I can pretend to be mean. The thing is, you don't have to go too grotesque because you're still like, there's a limit to everything, right?

Like if I'm going to like play a serial killer, I don't have to actually go kill a person. There's definitely limitations because that's the beauty of acting. Is you're still putting on a performance, you know, you're still crafting something, you don't actually have to be a killer. But if you do sacrifice and you get as close as you can to the source material, I do see how that contributes to better work. Like Daniel Day Lewis and, you know, Joaquin Phoenix and people like that.

You can't deny that they're putting out something really magical when they are on screen, but they do got to sacrifice a lot of themselves in order to do that.

Absolutely. Well, you definitely put in, like, the work for the the roles that you take on like just to touch back on what you said about Tropic Thunder you were performing Taekwondo what I did in that room was a performance but but you are trained in martial arts uh you've got there you put the hours in for this regimented skill which is not something that every actor out there has has that like changed how you've pursued acting first and

foremost for like my career for for acting I'd say like a third or a quarter of my my roles. I've performed some kind of martial arts, either doing like fight choreography or doing some mild version of stunts. I definitely value my physicality quite a bit during my performances. So that has helped tremendously in my career. I've gotten to do a lot of martial arts, which. I guess like being Asian, like people have this fear of being like pigeonholed into like, oh, Asian guy doing martial arts.

But I mean, as far as like the roles that are available sometimes or, you know, sometimes like that is the role that it requires of me. I don't find it to be off-putting at all that I am an Asian person that knows how to do martial arts. I think it's a cool thing. It's something I'm very proud of. But also aside from my career stuff, I think it's just like it's given me a lot of lessons on, you know, perseverance and discipline.

Being able to push through obstacles and push through difficult situations is something that martial arts has definitely given me. And general handbag coordination, I feel like I have that in spades because of martial arts. So you'll never catch me just like foolishly tripping and falling badly because, you know, I know how to land properly now.

So it's useful in many ways. I tell you what, if you ever have an upcoming project in which you have to play someone clumsy, I'll know in my heart, I'm going to go, he put so much into that because he never did really. Or maybe I'll have to hire like a reverse stunt double, someone that is like less coordinated than me so they could play the clumsy parts. So I'll have to just absolutely suck it.

Because every time I'll try to fall, I'll accidentally catch myself. So I'll have someone in there that actually will fall. I always like to ask whenever we have people in performance or on the podcast, what would you do if you didn't pursue acting or you didn't pursue TV and film? But I don't have to ask you because you are also a restaurant owner.

Yeah there there's so many things that I think kind of like draw my curiosity and for me food has always been something that I've loved and I've been very passionate about yeah food has always been in my family because my mom she taught me how to cook my grandma was a chef and my grandpa was a restaurant owner himself so like just kind of like food entrepreneurship and cooking and stuff like that's always been in my family so yeah I opened

up a restaurant last year here. It's a burger restaurant. My friend's in Cambodia, which is crazy story. Yeah, me and a friend went to go visit my other friend who was getting married. And we cooked him a burger as a wedding gift. And he liked the burger so much that he immediately offered to start a business with us. He's like, hey, this burger is so good. And I think this burger needs to be in Cambodia.

So we started developing the business the next day. And, you know, we opened up a restaurant in like five or six months. I don't think any meal I've ever made has been anywhere near as successful as that one bag you did. So moving on to your new ventures, you've just landed a role in Paramount Plus's animated film, The Tiger's Apprentice. Can you tell me a little bit more about The Tiger's Apprentice and your role in it? Yes. The Tiger's Apprentice is about a guy named Tom.

He's an Asian American growing up in San Francisco, and he discovers that he must, you know, reunite with these Zodiac warriors in order to defend the world from this evil force called Lou, who's trying to take over the world using the power of this thing called the Phoenix Egg, which Tom is the guardian of. Tom is protecting this Phoenix Egg and root all the Zodiac warriors in order to fight off Lou.

Is is my character i am tom and uh yeah he he goes through this movie like searching for a sense of community and he and i think the story itself is very much a celebration of of cultural heritage it's a celebration of finding your family and uh yeah just being proud of your own identity speaking about that do you see if there's any like similarities between yourself and the journey you've taken as well as tom's character i think me and tom definitely have a.

Growing up as a young man, it does take a lot to kind of like step into your shoes and find your purpose and discover the hero that's inside of yourself. And I think that's something that a lot of people can relate to. So yeah, like there is a lot of pressures to kind of like become the person that you're meant to be. And you know, there's fear behind that. There might be some resistance towards that.

But at the end of the day, like you kind of just have to like step into that and fill in those shoes. And because the world is waiting for that. And the the world deserves that. It's asking, it's beckoning you forward to become the hero that you can be. And I think that's what a lot of these stories are about. And that's why hero stories really resonate with so many people, because it speaks to all of us. It's like, you know, we can all be so much more. And that could be a scary thought.

But the other option is much worse. I think not stepping into those shoes is worse than the fear of stepping into those shoes.

So yeah, it's a classic hero's journey tale. And also just being Asian American in an American school, coming to terms with my own cultural identity, I feel like anyone who feels like they don't really fit in or anyone who maybe feels like they were not super proud of their culture or super proud of their identity growing up, I think this movie is for those people as well. To really embrace your identity and really to be proud of where you came from.

And I think that's a really powerful lesson because there is strength in embracing your culture. So Tom kind of has to learn that. And we see his journey of being this person who doesn't really accept who he is. And he really finds his own voice and he finds his power. And I think that's such a beautiful and fun thing to watch. You've spoken so eloquently there about such an important topic that's central to a hero's journey and seeing yourself in characters that you watch on TV.

And all the way through, I was thinking about when I was looking at the Tigers Apprentice guy, I really like animation because of the colors. I really like the characters and when they move. That's a great reason, you know? Anime is my favorite medium because of that stuff. Do you have a favorite cartoon? Man, I love cartoons. I love animation so much. Obviously, Studio Ghibli stuff is classic.

There's another animator named Yuasa that I'm a big fan of also Satoshi Kon also all of the stop-motion stuff that comes out of Studio Laika I'm a big fan I really I geek out over stop-motion stuff I really Kubo and the Two Strings Fantastic Mr. Fox Coraline Isle of Dogs you know a movie that I've seen recently Lou Over the Wall is from one of the directors I told you about named Yuasa The whole time I just felt like this childlike glee inside of my heart. It really spoke to my inner child.

It was very colorful. The animation was so whimsical. And it was just very cute. The whole time I just had a big smile on my face. So if you want to feel really good, watch Lou Over the Wall. It's such a cute movie.

Thank you for that recommendation. I feel like we're almost in a little bit of a renaissance of cartoons right now because we've got that are aimed more towards adults as such. Because, I mean, we've got, I don't know if you've watched the UK's Admin Animations. They also do stop motion, but they recently brought out a second Chicken Run. And if you haven't seen Chicken Run 1, please watch it. It is one of the best stop motion animated films I've ever seen.

They're the people who win like Wallace and Gromit. yes well it's like chicken run is like game studios walls and grommet right yeah i i have seen that it's awesome i'm just astounded by how it takes them so long like four years to sort of like craft all these mini characters moving around i think that's it it's it's the it's the love and the care that we put into the production and that's why i'm so staunchly against live version remakes the ones that we've

seen of avatar i just think you've you've it was created in animation or stop motion for a reason, because all that love and all that care went into it. And every single one of the animators put a little bit of themselves in it. So it's lovely to hear you speak so passionately about animation as well. Absolutely. And I think the medium itself is so magical because really the limitations for what you can do with animation really is your imagination. You can do anything with animation.

And I think that's something that's really beautiful. And it's hard to translate that to live action because it just takes so much more resources.

Now, not only are you supported by an incredible animations team, but you also have force and a lineup of talented actors with you, The Tiger's Apprentice. How has the experience of working with this different talent shaped you as an actor? Yeah, I think always the people that I work with are, I, you know, it kind of just like their experience and their style kind of rubs off on me a little bit. I'm so inspired by the people that I get to share the screen with and I get to just like.

Play on set with because they're all such such professionals in their own fields you know everyone just has something about their performance that they that they really shine at and i think being able to just see everyone in their best element is really inspiring for me and i feel like it helps me grow as an artist too so just being being an artist in a room full of other really talented and passionate artists yeah inspires me to keep on improving my craft and really to take my

work and you know take my career to the next level yeah i mean especially especially being on a project like this with Tiger's Apprentice, where I'm sharing the screen with so many veterans of cinema, especially like people that I grew up watching as an Asian actor. You know, all of these Asian actors from Tiger's Apprentice were people that I really looked up to. You know, these are like my Asian Hollywood heroes.

So being able to be a part of this movie with all of them was definitely a huge milestone for me. It motivated me to put in my best efforts and put in my best work. And I really do think we made something really special with Tiger's Apprentice.

Speaking as leveling up as an actor there, is there anything in particular, any roles or characters that you'd like to pursue moving forward in an ideal world? In an ideal world? I mean, there's projects that I definitely am pretty passionate about that I would like to be part of more projects like that. Some recent Oscar-winning movies like Everything Everywhere All at Once, a project like that, or even Parasite or Beef.

These are all projects that I've been really excited about. out and if I could choose a direction to take my career to next I think like making these really like impactful and still fun really authentic films I think that's something that I want to continue to do working with the brilliant creative mind behind those projects I think would definitely be a dream for me it's been so lovely to speak to you today Brandon and hear about your past projects your upcoming projects as well

as just your general love for acting and burgers do you have any last advice or anything to say to the students listening to the podcast today god man it's gonna sound so cliche be be really present in in everything that you're doing and really check in with yourself to see how you feel while you're doing it is it out of love is it out of fear is it out of some kind of anxiety is it are you doing this because of a narrative that maybe someone else spun

for you at a really young age like really check in like Why is it that you're doing what you're doing?

And I feel like that'll get you closer to where you're meant to be. Because what a gift, right? I think you get the gist of it. Hey, I think that's been very important. At any point, people could take any advice from you all the way throughout this podcast, even if it is going to Cambodia and starting up their own burger restaurant. Yeah, dude, sometimes doors just open up. And, you know, it's the only way to know whether or not it's the right doors to walk through it.

Keep your eyes open for those doors. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me today, Brandon. And thank you very much to the listeners at home. Once again, I've been your podcast host, Grace Sanders. It's bye from me and bye from Brandon. I will see you next time.